Second fiddle

SILVERSTONE, United Kingdom (AFP) — Max Verstappen said he was “lucky — and unlucky” after finishing second behind Lewis Hamilton’s “three-wheel” Mercedes in Sunday’s dramatic British Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver and his race crew believed they might have had a chance of victory as Hamilton and his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas both suffered tire failures in the closing laps.

But instead of staying out on his worn set of hard tires to seek his first win of the season, Verstappen came in under orders to take a new set of tires and deliver the fastest lap of the race.

Bottas had slowed and pitted on lap 50, gifting second to Verstappen when it was not apparent that Hamilton, more than half a minute clear, would suffer similar problems en route to his 87th career victory.

In the end, Verstappen closed the gap to 5.8 seconds as Hamilton limped across the line and the Dutchman expressed some frustration on the team radio before reconciling himself to the runners-up spot.