Verstappen felt he could fight for a win for first time this season

Max Verstappen said that he finally felt he had a winning car after finishing runner-up in Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix.

The four-times Formula One champion took the chequered flag ​only 1.6 seconds adrift of Mercedes' winner George Russell with the Briton's teammate ‌Kimi Antonelli 0.3 behind in a tight finish at the Red Bull Ring.

"I think what was satisfying is that this was the first time I felt like actually I could fight for the win," Verstappen ​said after standing on the Austrian podium for the ninth time in his career.

"To ​be that close to a win, I think is a great effort from ⁠the team. They have worked really hard to get these upgrades on the car ​here, and this is the first time, I think, in the race where I felt really ​competitive."

Verstappen started fifth on the grid, after crashing in qualifying, but showed the car's pace in the first half of the race when he went wheel to wheel with old Ferrari rival Lewis Hamilton and came ​off best.

In the second half of the race he said that "something felt off on the rear ​of the car" and it lost pace.

Verstappen's previous best this season was third in Canada in May and ‌the ⁠once-dominant driver is now 98 points adrift of championship leader Antonelli after eight of 22 rounds.

Despite previously questioning his Formula One future, unhappy with the sport's new rules and wanting a more competitive car, the Dutch driver sounded more upbeat than for a long time.

"It’s been a ​pretty long road to ​be here and actually ⁠to sit here in the top three and have a real shot at it, that is I think already very positive," he said.

Team ​boss Laurent Mekies was similarly excited.

"I think the most satisfying element is ​the pace," ⁠the Frenchman told Sky Sports television. "For the first time this season we have the pace to be very, very close to have enough to win.

"We know we will need more because we know ⁠the ​competition will also continue to bring updates, but certainly ​it's very impressive that we are now within the last tenths of what is needed to be on the top ​step of the podium."

Verstappen's French teammate Isack Hadjar finished sixth.