Hamilton concedes Red Bull “just too quick” in Dutch GP

Mercedes attempted to undercut Verstappen by switching Hamilton onto a two-stop strategy but Red Bull covered the move, enabling Verstappen to remain ahead of his main rival.

With Hamilton fading in the closing stages, Mercedes opted to make a precautionary third stop, enabling Verstappen to scamper clear and secure a comfortable seventh win of the season.

The result meant Verstappen enjoyed a six-point swing over Hamilton as the Dutchman reclaimed the championship lead by three points.

“Max did a great job, congratulations to him,” Hamilton said.

“I gave it absolutely everything today, flat out, I pushed as hard as I could, but they were just too quick for us.

“I’ve had an amazing time here in Holland, thanks to the crowd, thank you so much for having us.”

Hamilton was left frustrated to have lost crucial time in traffic after his second stop and again towards the end of the race.

“I’m going to call him [Verstappen] Noah [Moses] from now on,” Hamilton joked. “Every time he got traffic they just moved out of the way and it was very hard to navigate through all the traffic.

“But they just had that upper edge and it’s very hard to follow here.”

There was some solace for Hamilton in his defeat to Verstappen, with the seven-time world champion taking the bonus point for setting the fastest lap of the race on the final tour.

“The last lap was one of the best parts of the race for me because this track is just incredible on a single lap, low fuel,” Hamilton added.

“This is now one of my favourite tracks so I’m looking forward to coming back here next year.”