Silverstone (United Kingdom) (AFP)

'I didn't expect it': Max Verstappen, Sunday winner of F1's 70-year-old Grand Prix at Silverstone, surprised himself, but he "hates waiting behind" and therefore took matters into his own hands when the Mercedes have slowed down, he said at a press conference.

"I had a good start which allowed me to take 3rd position and that helped me a lot," said the young Dutchman, 22, after the race. "I could see that the two Mercedes in front of me were having trouble with their tires and I got closer. Once they stopped to change tires I was able to pick up a good pace," he said. highlighted.

"I was able to stay on the track longer and then, when I changed tires myself, I had more grip and I was able to pass Valtteri again," he said.

This is the first time since the start of the season in early July that the Mercedes have been beaten. They had so far exercised unchallenged domination, claiming the first four races, three for Hamilton and one for Bottas.

The victory of Verstappen - his 9th in F1 - and Red Bull rekindles the interest of the championship, as the next race will be contested in Barcelona (Spain) next weekend.

“Max” was very relaxed throughout the race on Sunday. While his engineer radioed him to save his tires during the first part of the race while he was following the Mercedes, he replied jerkily: "I don't want to drive like a grown-up. -mother".

"I didn't want to just follow them like I did all the time during the other races. When I have the opportunity to put pressure on them, I want to be able to do it," he said. .

"I hate waiting behind, especially when I see the car behaving well. It can be suicide and you can kill your tires but it wasn't the case today," he said.

As he was then comfortably seated at the front of the race, he reminded the same engineer that he had to drink and ... wash his hands!

"Today was a good day for us. We have to be happy about it. But we also have to be realistic. We lack speed and we have to solve it," he said, however.

"I'm not expecting a miracle" at the Spanish Grand Prix, said the young Dutchman.

His victory on Sunday allows him to take 2nd place from Valtteri Bottas in the provisional classification of the world championship, but he is still 30 points behind Lewis Hamilton.

(Interview at a press conference)

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