Max Verstappen admitted there was nothing he could do about the pace of Lewis Hamilton as he settled for P2 at the Eifel Grand Prix.
The Dutchman benefitted from the issues that befell Valtteri Bottas, but had no answer to the six-time world champion who claimed a record-equalling 91st career win at the Nurburgring.
Instead, a fifth second place of 2020 was all the Red Bull driver could achieve, in addition to the fastest lap, which he claimed on the final tour.
“Overall I think the race was good, I just tried to stay with Lewis but over the whole race he was just a little bit faster,” Verstappen told Sky Sports.
“Nonetheless I think we can be happy with the weekend, I think we improved the car a little bit.
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“Yeah, happy with that, fastest lap at the end was enjoyable. I didn’t think I would get it, I was just trying to go flat out and see what would happen, and luckily it worked out.”
Having fallen 10 seconds behind at one stage, Verstappen did get a final chance to attack Hamilton in the form of a late Safety Car restart.
But with temperatures barely making 10 degrees, Max struggled for grip when Lewis dropped the hammer.
“The track is very cold and the tyres are already cold when you leave the box and I just didn’t understand why the Safety Car was out for so long after the car was cleared,” he admitted.
“I understand they want to bunch up the field but it’s pretty dangerous with these cars when the tyres are so cold.”
Looking ahead, the goal remains the same for Verstappen as he and Red Bull try to further cut Mercedes’ advantage.
“It’s good, but I’m a racer, I want to win,” he said of having to be happy with second.
“But that’s Formula 1, there’s normally only one team where you can win, and the others are always catching up and that’s what we are trying to do.
“You just have to adjust in the role you are, so I’m happy with what I am achieving, but as a racer, you want to win, so that is of course what we are targeting.”