Max Verstappen admitted he briefly thought a second F1 win was up for grabs when Mercedes' drivers collided on the final lap of the Austrian Grand Prix.
Verstappen turned in a stellar drive to hold off Kimi Raikkonen in the final stages after a 56-lap stint on soft tyres, a fight that had originally been for the final podium spot before the Mercedes drivers collided while fighting for the lead at Turn 2. Lewis Hamilton was able to drive on and win, though Nico Rosberg dropped to fourth after the collision wiped out his front wing, elevating Verstappen to second.
"It was a great start and a good first lap," Verstappen said. "Straight away the pace was there in the car so I smoothed up to the front and once I cleared some guys I got into my own rhythm. I think everything was going well and I did a long stint on the soft tyre so the last ten laps made it very hard and I could see Kimi behind me, he was catching up a lot.
"To finish second after what happened on the last lap and to finish second as a Red Bull driver at the Red Bull Ring is a great feeling."
The final laps were reminiscent of Verstappen's maiden win in Spain, where he held off Raikkonen in another masterful drive of tyre management. He admits that battle did cross his mind at the time.
"As soon as I saw him in the mirrors I was thinking about Barcelona, he was catching quite a lot compared to Barcelona, but I tried to make no mistakes and in the end we kept him behind which is what we wanted. It is great to stay on the limit until the end of the race."
That maiden win also came after a Mercedes collision, though on that occasion it was on the first lap and both Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton retired from the race. Verstappen admitted he briefly thought a win was there for the taking again in Austria.
"Of course [the thought crossed his mind], the chance is bigger but today one crashed ... you take the opportunity but it is normally not like that."