He rose as high as second early on and managed to cling on to a podium position under heavy pressure from teammate Daniel Ricciardo late on — all of which was enough to win F1’s official driver of the day award.
Race winner Hamilton led the praises for the 19-year-old.
Speaking alongside Verstappen at the post-race press conference, Hamilton said: “I quite like him up here it makes me look younger while I’m up here, it’s good to have a younger person around. Max has obviously done a fantastic job since he’s been in the sport and a real breath of fresh air for everyone.
“He’s got a great following and he’s definitely been in some great situations in some races and really maximised above and beyond, which is why he gets driver of the day. It’s a lot harder to do that when you’re in the lead of a race obviously because you can’t do much overtaking.”
On hearing that, Verstappen joked: “If you want to swap [positions] it’s alright!”
Hamilton replied: “Ah nah, I’m good! I honestly hope that Red Bull can improve during the season because I think a third element in the fight for the championship will be more exciting