The four-time Formula 1 world champion qualified second at Spa-Francorchamps before finishing third behind race winner Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
It marked one of Red Bull’s strongest weekends of the season as the team continued to chase Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren.
During the race, Verstappen had several discussions with race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase over the team radio. One exchange came after Lambiase warned that the front tyres were too cold and suggested Verstappen increase his pace to build temperature. The Dutchman replied that he believed something else was causing the problem.
Later in the race, Verstappen also referred to the engineers analysing data on the pit wall, telling Lambiase that he trusted the people studying the information.
Speaking after the race, Verstappen said the two conversations were about completely different issues.
“All the things that you mentioned were not related to each other,” Verstappen said. “The tyres were cold, and looking at the laptop was about other stuff.”
The Red Bull driver then explained why he is often so demanding over the radio.
“I just like to keep people on their toes,” Verstappen said. “I know that everyone is doing their best, but we are not here for fun, so we have to keep being sharp at every time during the race.
“I demand the most and the best because that’s also what they expect from me.”
