"My race might have ended there" – Max Verstappen's perspective on the first lap encounter with Lewis Hamilton.

Securing his fifth podium in seven race weekends, Max Verstappen made the most of the inaugural Formula 1 event at the Madring. The Dutch driver claimed second place in the Spanish Grand Prix, finishing behind Kimi Antonelli, a result that the four-time world champion felt exceeded his actual performance.

"We optimized our finish and perhaps got a bit fortunate with Lando's unfortunate situation of missing the chance to pit during the VSC. I didn’t have the pace of Kimi and definitely not Lando,” Verstappen remarked during the post-race press conference.

"So, yeah, we’re on the podium, which is fantastic, but we still need a bit more to genuinely contend for the victory."

The fact that Verstappen ended up just behind Antonelli raises questions about whether he could have clinched the win had he not ceded positions early on. Verstappen was directed by his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, to relinquish his position to Lewis Hamilton, but since Antonelli was between them at that time, it effectively meant surrendering two spots.

While Verstappen expressed his frustration over the team radio, he ultimately recognized the necessity of following the team's directive, as he later acknowledged.

"Yeah, what else can I do? If they instruct me to do it, then I will comply," the Dutchman stated.

Verstappen is also convinced that failing to comply would have led to a time penalty from the stewards: "If I hadn’t done that, I would have received a penalty. No doubt about it."

Nonetheless, the current sixth-place driver in the championship standings believes he was justified. The Red Bull competitor asserted that Hamilton had lost control of his car over the curbs and noted that he had to veer off the track to avoid a collision with his 2021 title rival.

Second place was all Max Verstappen could muster in Madrid

"I would have sustained damage at the start if I had remained on track, so winning was not an option. It’s as straightforward as that,” Verstappen elaborated.

"I just focused on my own line in Turn 1, but Lewis attempted to overtake the first two drivers and got caught on the curb. He just re-entered the track, which forced me to go off the road.

"Had I stayed in that position, I would have definitely collided with him. My race could have potentially ended in Turn 2, and that’s why I’m content with where we ended up."

According to Verstappen, second place was the best he could realistically achieve, and based on pure speed, it should have been the last podium spot.

"We sometimes benefit a little from the misfortunes of others, but we’re also striving to truly maximize our performance and occasionally, perhaps, slightly overachieve. And that’s positive,” he noted.

"That’s the only course of action available to us right now. We need to focus on enhancing our overall package to genuinely contend for wins."

Max Verstappen: "We sometimes profit from some misfortune of others"

Currently, Red Bull simply lacks the raw pace to achieve that, even though it seemed close during the final laps in Madrid. Verstappen trailed Antonelli by under a second for several laps, but he asserted that this impression was deceiving, and in reality, he had no chance against the championship leader.

"It might have appeared that we were in contention for the win, but that was largely because Kimi was being impeded by Charles.

"Once he had clear air, he simply pulled away from me again, while I was occupied defending against Lando behind. But around here, if you drive even slightly in the middle, it’s impossible to overtake."

However, Red Bull is constrained in what it can still achieve with the RB22. Laurent Mekies has already acknowledged that the budget cap prevents them from maintaining the development pace seen in the season's first half.

Verstappen mentioned in Monza that some updates will still be introduced for the 2026 car, but the focus behind the scenes has already shifted towards 2027.