Verstappen went looking for amusement himself: "Had nothing to do at the time"

"I could have had a puncture without a stop. It's so easy to talk afterwards. Now, who expects Lewis to get a flat tyre? That really never happens. I thought we made the right choice at the time and I still think that way now. I don't regret anything," Verstappen was very firm in the press conference, which included De Telegraaf.

According to the 22-year-old Dutchman, we shouldn't dwell too long on the fact that he might have been able to win if he hadn't dived in for fresh rubber.

"Mercedes is again the rightful winner," he said. "It's not that I'm disappointed or angry here. On the contrary. I'm very happy with that second place, because normally I would have been third here."

Verstappen jokes with engineer

Verstappen came to drive in no man's land at some point in the race. Valtteri Bottas was too fast in his W11, while Charles Leclerc could not keep up with Verstappen's pace. The eight-times Grand Prix winner then went looking for entertainment himself.

"At one point I reminded my engineer Gianpiero (Lambiase, ed.) that he had to keep drinking well. Hydration is important, huh. I also had nothing else to do at that moment. Sometimes you have to keep making things up to keep it fun while driving," he concluded.