Max Verstappen came third in the German Grand Prix behind his Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo.
It was the Dutch driver’s third podium in four races and fourth of his career as he closes in on the two Ferrari drivers in the championship.
When asked by Sky Sports F1 if second place was possible at Hockenheim, Verstappen answered: “Yes, of course, I think I definitely took one for the team today but that’s alright.
“I think Daniel and I have a good relationship so we can do that. The most important thing for us was to be in front of Ferrari.”
Verstappen made a strong start passing the slow starting pole-sitter Nico Rosberg before overtaking his teammate Ricciardo around the outside at Turn 1 to hold second place early on.
He would drop into the clutches of Rosberg after the first round of pitstops which allowed the Mercedes driver to launch an attack into Turn 6.
Rosberg left it late to dive down the inside of the Red Bull with the latter moving slightly in the braking zone. The Mercedes ran wide, forcing Verstappen off the track on the exit of the hairpin.
The race stewards investigated the incident and penalised Rosberg with a five-second penalty.
The teenager compared the move Rosberg made to that he on Hamilton a few races ago in response to a Sky Sports F1 question.
“[Rosberg] braked really late and as soon as he came next to me he just didn’t turn in. It was a bit like Austria and forced me off the track.”
The Red Bull driver was also sceptical on Rosberg’s claim that he was at “full-lock” in turn six: “I could still see his hands going straight so I don’t know if that’s full lock.”
