Verstappen looks ahead to Austria: 'I expect it to be close again'

"It was an amazing weekend and it always feels good to get pole position, but to win was a great result. I’m super pleased with that, and we won the race on strategy. I hope now we can keep this up for the rest of the year. Everyone at the track and in the factory is working flat out and now we just need to keep pushing to win more races this year," he says in the official preview of Red Bull Racing.

Asked if the team had expected this result, Verstappen revealed that they certainly hadn't. "No we didn’t as Mercedes have been so strong there in the past but we are seeing that every race weekend is different in terms of competitiveness and you never know where you stand until you’re out on track. You never know what the others are capable of so we didn’t expect this result which makes it even more satisfying. It was a great team effort from everybody, you can see everyone is working very well together and it’s just a great team of people here."

Standings in world championship

Verstappen's victory in France means he is currently twelve points ahead of rival Lewis Hamilton. The Englishman took second place on Sunday afternoon and therefore has to chase in the world championship. Mercedes hopes to surprise at the Red Bull Ring.

"I’m really looking forward to Austria because of course it’s like a home Grand Prix and the opportunity to have two races makes it even better. It’s always nice to race here and we’ve had good results at the Red Bull Ring but nothing is ever guaranteed."

"We have to again set up the car well there, read the conditions and react to them. I don’t know what the weather will be like but for sure I’m expecting it to be close again. We’ll find out when we get there but hopefully we can have two very good weekends," he ends.