Max Verstappen did not expect to start Formula 1’s Hungarian Grand Prix after he crashed on his way to the grid,🐎 and labelled second place as feeling “like a victory”.

The Red Bull driver sustained damage to his front wing and suspension of his RB16 after he slid off into th🐟e Turn 12 ba🍒rriers on his reconnaissance lap to the grid.

Verstappen’s mechanics were hurriedly forced to fix his car in the build-up to lights, with Rജed Bull boss Christian Horner revealing the crew did so with “25 seconds to go” before the five-minute warning cut-off.

But a brilliant start from seventh put Verstappen in early contention for the lead, and the Dutchman went on to claim second behind race-winn♐er Lewis Hamilton.

"It was not how I wante📖d it in the beginning of course, ending up in the barriers on the laps to the grid," Verstappen said.

"But the mechanics🅰 did amazing job to fix the car. I don't know how they did it, but incredible. To꧂ pay them back with the second place, I was very pleased with that.

"The first lap was very cr🍌ucial and from the❀re on, I think we had the right calls, and we had good pace.

"We just kept doing our own thing a✃nd of course to be able to split the two Mercedes cars is goo🐭d for us.”

V𒅌erstap👍pen explained that the repaired suspension felt “like new” from the start was “working like normal”.

Verstappen had to🌟 fend off a late attack from Valtteri Bottas as th🧸e Mercedes driver recovered to the podium after botching his start.

“I was just trying to do m🔜y own pace,” he explained. “Of course I could see he was catching like a second a lap.

“But of course following here is quite tricky so as soon as he was within one🔴-and-a-half seconds it was a bit more d💃ifficult for him.

“Then in the last lap we had also traffic in front whiꦛch didn’t make 🍒it easier for me on those old tyres but we managed to hang on and very happy with second.

“I thou꧂ght I was not going to ra☂ce so to be second is like a victory today.”