'I was trying everything' – Verstappen gives verdict after missing out on Azerbaijan GP victory

Max Verstappen admits he "was trying everything" to claim victory on the streets of Baku, the Red Bull driver eventually falling short by just one tenth against George Russell.

The Dutchman was left a frustrated eighth on the grid for Saturday's 51-lap race after issues in Qualifying, but Verstappen quickly began to make progress with the medium tyre.

Moving into third, Verstappen demoted Oscar Piastri's McLaren for second at the first of two Safety car restarts, allowing him to challenge race leader Russell in the closing stages.

"Starting in P8 I knew it wasn't going to be that straightforward but we worked our way quite nicely up into the top three but that first stint was very tricky," said the four-time World Champion.

"That medium tyre was just not very good, not having the grip that I think the soft tyres had so was just trying to survive on that stint to try and stay with the guys on the soft.

"I think that Safety Car came at the right time for everyone to box onto that soft, because once we were on that soft tyre, it felt a lot better, just miles faster.

"I think that also showed once George and I were on the soft, we were pulling away quite a lot over everyone else."

Verstappen stayed on the cusp of a one second gap to Russell over the final laps down the main straight, with Red Bull enjoying straight-line speed during the race.

A yellow flag at Turn 15 after Valtteri Bottas crashed gifted Verstappen the chance to gain an even stronger slipstream on the run to the line for the final time. But the Dutchman ultimately fell short by just one tenth, meaning he has still yet to record a victory during the 2026 season.

"I was trying everything that I have available," said Verstappen in his quest to pass Russell, which included glancing the wall on the entry to Turn 16 several times.

"Of course on the last lap because there was a yellow, I think George picked up a bit of boost lag, so he didn't pull out of Turn 15 and that gave me a little bit more of an opportunity and that's why it was so close to the line. We were constantly one second, so we were very close to each other."