How Lewis Hamilton stopped Max Verstappen from winning the Austrian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton

How Lewis Hamilton stopped Max Verstappen from winning the Austrian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen ended up finishing second at the Austrian GP

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 1 July 2026 13:57

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Max Verstappen admitted after the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix that his old rival Lewis Hamilton may have prevented him from winning the race.

Verstappen finished second in the race having qualified down in fifth, claiming his best result of the season so far.

Red Bull have been struggling for pace throughout 2026, but looked like a threat for the race victory once again in Austria, and Verstappen ended up just 1.6 seconds behind eventual victor George Russell.

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But his battle with Hamilton was one of the highlights of the entire race, with the two legends pushing themselves to the limit as Verstappen tried to get past Hamilton for second position.

Lap after lap came and went with Verstappen trying to overtake Hamilton into turn three and in the succeeding corners. The Dutchman would get his nose ahead, before Hamilton would fight back, desperate to keep hold of that position.

At one point, the Dutch driver suggested over team radio that Hamilton wasn’t following the rules while defending, asking for a penalty for the seven-time champion, but Hamilton was handed a no further action verdict by FIA race stewards before eventually Verstappen got past him.

Now, Verstappen has suggested that this mammoth battle was what prevented him from being able to get closer to race winner Russell, admitting that he lost time fighting the seven-time world champion.

Hamilton battle forces Verstappen to lose ground

"I think what was satisfying is that this was the first time I felt like actually I could fight for the win," Verstappen told media after the race. "I do think that the first half of the race, we were more competitive, because for whatever reason in the second half, something felt off on the rear of the car, where everything was just extremely difficult, from bumps, kerbs, traction, it was just completely gone.

"So that’s something that we need to understand again, what went wrong there.

"But yes, the first half I felt really good. I mean, I was closing the gap even after the battles that I had with Lewis.

"It was cool, but it made us of course lose quite a bit of time. So yeah, every time catching up. But then in the middle of the second stint, something happened with the car on the rear axle, which made me lose pace, and that just stayed there until the end. So that’s a bit of a shame.

"But still, to be that close to a win, I think is 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. And I could push a bit more.

"So that is definitely the positive, I think, of this weekend."