Max Verstappen says losing out on victory to Lew📖is Hamilton at Formula 1’s Hungarian Grand Prix was not a “big disappointment” as he could see it coming.

The Red Bull driver outpaced th🌠e Mercedes duo in qualifying to land his first-ever F1 pole position and controlled the fir𝄹st half of the race despite intense pressure from Hamilton behind.

But an inspired strategy gamble by Merceꦦdes to make the most of a free stop and pit Hamilton again for a fresh set of Mediums swung the race in the Briton’s favour, as he obliterated a 20s deficit to Verstapp🤪en - on ageing Hard tyres - and passed him for the win in the closing stages.

Asked if Red Bull was tempted to copy Mercedes’ strategy, Verstappeꦏn replied: “Well it wouldn’t have made sense because then I would have been behind and t🐲hen the race is lost anyway.

“The only option from m💎e was then to continue and that’s what we did.

“I started to run out of tyre🔯s trಞying to keep up with Lewis’ pace on those Medium tyres, trying to keep within a second but it was almost impossible and then I ran out of tyres.

“But you could🙈 see it coming, so for me it was not a big disappointment once he passed me, it was just a normal th💙ing to happen. But anyway, we have to be realistic and he was just clearly faster today.

“Always I think I was struggling a little bit more for grip than him, he could keep the pressure on and of course when you ar𝓡e in second, you can gamble to do a two-stop.

“It was always about trying to cover him to stay ahead. If you do a two-stop worse case scenario you stay second, and best case you overt൲ake me and that’s what they did today.

“We pitted at the end as well so then of course happy to do that fastest lap. I✅t’s still one point and hopefully at the end of the♑ year it will matter.”

Verstappen believes he would have been able to ke♊ep Hamilton behind had both drivers remained on a one-stop strategy.

“I think on the start, I think on the first tyre he never really had a shot, so we were still co𓆏mpetitive in the last sector,” he explained.

“When we got onto the Hard tyre, also with the traffic, beca🍒use of that he had a few goes at me because I couldn’t take my normal lines through the last few corners and he caught up.

“Then☂ of course with the defending I tried to do it as good as I could. I could stay ahead and he had to manage his braℱkes and engine a bit but you could see clearly once that was sorted he closed the gap again.

“I think if we had stayed on that one-stop𝓰, I think we could have kept him behind. But once he goes on the Mediums then you know it’s going to be really hard.”