Verstappen felt he could fight for a win for first time this season

SPIELBERG, Austria, June 28 : Max Verstappen said he finally felt he had a winning car after finishing runner-up in Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix.

The four-times Formula One champion took the chequered flag only 1.6 seconds adrift of Mercedes' winner George Russell with the Briton's teammate Kimi Antonelli 0.3 behind in a tight finish at the Red Bull Ring.

"I think what was satisfying is that this was the first time I felt like actually I could fight for the win," Verstappen said after standing on the Austrian podium for the ninth time in his career.

"To be that close to a win, I think is a great effort from the team. They have worked really hard to get these upgrades on the car here, and this is the first time, I think, in the race where I felt really competitive."

Verstappen started fifth on the grid, after crashing in qualifying, but showed the car's pace in the first half of the race when he went wheel to wheel with old Ferrari rival Lewis Hamilton and came off best.

In the second half of the race he said "something felt off on the rear of the car" and it lost pace.

Verstappen's previous best this season was third in Canada in May and the once-dominant driver is now 98 points adrift of championship leader Antonelli after eight of 22 rounds.

Despite previously questioning his Formula One future, unhappy with the sport's new rules and wanting a more competitive car, the Dutch driver sounded more upbeat than for a long time.

"It’s been a pretty long road to be here and actually to sit here in the top three and have a real shot at it, that is I think already very positive," he said.

Team boss Laurent Mekies was similarly excited.

"I think the most satisfying element is the pace," the Frenchman told Sky Sports television. "For the