Max Verstappen says Red Bull "have work to do" if they are to reassert their dominance of Formula One after the mid-season break, while Lando Norris rued some mistakes.

Verstappen finished fifth in the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday, having come back from P11.

The Dutchman had qualified in pole, but had to deal with a 10-place penalty that was dealt his way following a collision with Lewis Hamilton last weekend.

While George Russell and Hamilton finished first and second for a Mercedes one-two, Verstappen missed the chance to become the third driver in F1 history to win four races in a row at Spa.

Indeed, he has failed to win the last four races, marking his worst run since 2020, and he knows Red Bull have to get back on track after a shaky few weeks.

He told Sky Sports F1: "If I'd have started P1, of course there's a much better opportunity.

"I was just stuck in the train, saving my tyres so I can't optimise the pace – the race was all about damage limitation. I knew that.

"They're ahead of us. Sometimes McLaren, sometimes Mercedes, I think we were faster than Ferrari but coming from P11, didn't have enough time to pass them.

"We know we have work to do, we want to do better, we're not satisfied, but everyone is doing a great job and you have to take your hat off to that as well."

Verstappen's closest rival in the championship standings, Norris, could not gain ground on the three-time reigning champion, however.

And the McLaren driver lamented his errors over recent races.

"The strategy was good, in the end it seemed whoever undercut more, won the race," he told Sky Sports F1.

"We did what we thought was best. The pace in the car was good. Maybe I could have been more aggressive but I was happy otherwise.

"I felt the pace was good, the few laps I had clean, or behind Carlos [Sainz] when he went long, the car went good, came alive a little bit. The pace felt better, I just couldn't do anything with it.

"From the team side, super happy. I just feel the last few races I’ve messed up a lot, and given away a lot of points."