Max Verstappen called his tyre failure a “shame” after falling out of second place at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
The Dutchman endured his third retirement in Italy this season as the right-rear punctured approaching the Villeneuve chicane.
That brought to an end what had been a strong race beforehand battling with Mercedes, as he made moves on both Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas at different stages.
“The start was good, I got Lewis then I was trying to stay with Valtteri,” Verstappen told Sky Sports.
“We both pitted, I tried to do the undercut, then he, I think had damage on the floor so he was losing a lot of lap time and I couldn’t get close, at this track it’s so hard to pass.
“Then, of course, Lewis jumped us and once I got past Valtteri yeah I think the pace was good, the car was feeling quite good, and then suddenly on the straight, I lost the car because there was a tyre blow out.
“I don’t exactly know what happened but when I quickly looked at the car there was nothing broken on the car, so it’s a big shame.”
Arguably, Verstappen was the fastest car on Sunday at Imola, as he was slightly closing on Hamilton once able to pass Bottas after the Finn ran wide at Rivazza.
And he admits the rather rare chance to go wheel-to-wheel with Mercedes brought a lot of enjoyment.
“Yeah it was a lot more fun as well, I was pushing and really trying to stay with them, it was a lot of fun out there,” he said.
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“Of course [a shame] not to be on that podium, and not only not be on that podium but also not be second, big shame.”
On the Bottas move, Red Bull boss Christian Horner claimed the Finn might have been a little naughty in trying to hamper Verstappen’s run onto the main straight.
“Yeah, we obviously listen to the team radios of the other teams, and occasionally you guys,” he confirmed.
“We were aware of the damage that Valtteri was managing and that obviously gave Lewis a pace advantage as well.
“And it made it even more important for Max to put him under pressure, force a mistake, which he got.
“I was just talking to him and he said Valtteri basically gave a little brake test in that corner where he had made the mistake and nearly went up the back of him, but he was patient enough to come on the straight and then use the DRS and pass him into Turn 2.”
With Red Bull failing to score at all at Imola, as Alex Albon finished 15th after a late spin, the Mercedes 1-2 meant they secured the Constructors’ Championship for the seventh straight year.
