Max Verstappen reveals Canadian GP concern: 'I was worried'

Max Verstappen has admitted he was worried his pace would evaporate late on during the Canadian Grand Prix.

Verstappen clinched second place in Montreal as the four-time champion secured his fifth podium of the campaign.

Mercedes enjoyed the strongest race in the field as George Russell won while rookie team-mate Kimi Antonelli claimed his first podium result.

Antonelli placed Verstappen under pressure on multiple occasions during the race, forcing Red Bull into their pit stops.

Verstappen explained he feared the “aggressive” strategy would leave it vulnerable towards the end of the grand prix.

“The first two stints, I was struggling a lot with the tyres,” Verstappen told media including RacingNews365. 

“Just too much degradation again. So we drove quite a defensive race, to be honest, because basically two times, Kimi was about to overtake me, and we boxed. 

“So that worked out quite well for me. 

“We did a very aggressive strategy. I think the last pit stop, I was a bit worried if I was going to make it to the end competitively because on the hard tyre in the second stint, I was already struggling as well.”

Verstappen detailed his effort to preserve the tyres and stay ahead of Antonelli late on was aided by having a lighter car as the fuel burned off.

“So I think just a lighter fuel load helped a bit,” he added. “But the gap wasn't that big towards George, and I never really felt like I had the pace to do anything. 

“It was more about just looking in the mirror, trying to maintain that gap, try to look after my tyres to not overstress them. It was not the easiest race, but I think as a team we managed it well. 

“I think we definitely optimised everything we could because, honestly, throughout the whole race, I never really felt like I was actually holding on to second. 

“We did a good job. I mean, the whole weekend, I think the car was reasonable. Strategy-wise, we did the best we could.”