For Max Verstappen, third place felt almost like a victory at the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday in front of an estimated 60,000 Dutch fans.

It wasn't exactly the most eventful race for the Red Bull driver, as the hard work was done in the early laps, but it did help break something of a jinx around Spa-Francorchamps, having only had a best finish of eighth in his three previous visits. 

“For sure, I think it is always good to be on the podium and to be on the podium here is always more special,” Verstappen said.

“It was nice on the last lap because you don’t do the full lap after the finish so on the last lap they [the fans] were already cheering me on so it was amazing to see.”

A podium was also somewhat of a welcome surprise with his team struggling for pace all weekend compared to Ferrari and Mercedes, however, the key was avoiding the madness that took place at the start.

“Yeah there was a bit of chaos in Turn 1 but luckily I was on the inside, and no crazy things happening there,” he reflected.

“From then on, on Lap 1 I passed Grosjean up the hill so that was good for the race. I just knew that I had to be patient with the Force India's because we had the pace to just go by, but still, they were bloody quick on the straight.

“As soon as I opened the DRS, I thought I would drive by, but it was still a bit harder than expected. It was still enjoyable, though, but after that, it was quite a lonely race."

For teammate Ricciardo, however, it was a very different story with his third retirement in five races as the flying McLaren of Fernando Alonso damaged his rear wing before hitting Kimi Raikkonen on the exit of La Source.

“Getting into Turn 1, I felt a hit and then to be honest, I remember sliding and then next minute, I was in the back of Kimi so it all happened pretty quick," the Aussie said.

“I don’t know who caused it but I guess the consequence was that I went into the back of Kimi so apologies to him if it was related to him [retiring]."

Despite what would be normally race-ending damage without a rear wing, Red Bull mechanics fixed the issue in around five minutes to get him back in the race albeit a few laps down.

He stayed out in hope of a second Safety Car which would allow him to be unlapped, but that never happened in a largely uneventful race.

In the midst of his disappointment, the 29-year-old also revealed more pain is on the way in a week's time at Monza with his boss later confirming.

“Daniel will be taking an engine penalty next weekend for sure,” Christian Horner told Sky Sports.

“Max might be making engine changes, but Singapore might be our next chance to put some pressure on Ferrari and Mercedes.”