Kimi Antonelli has admitted his wild start to the Austrian Grand Prix was down to being "a bit too excited" and said he needs to cut down on mistakes.
F1's title leader finished third and saw his lead cut to 40 points as teammate George Russell won the race.
The 19-year-old started fourth and over the first few laps had several moments off the track as he fought with the Ferrari drivers for position.
He was left ruing his early mistakes, as he finished 0.4 seconds behind Verstappen, with Russell just a little bit further ahead as he took the checkered flag.
"I was a bit too excited on the first few laps," Antonelli said. "Definitely didn't drive well.
"I did too many mistakes and on the first stint on the medium [tires], I lost three or four seconds with the mistakes. I was struggling with the brakes.
"After I changed tires, I reset and the pace at the end was very strong. It was a shame I joined the party a bit too late. On my side, there's a lot to improve, but still.. [have to] minimize the mistakes."
Russell's win was his first since the opening race of the year in March, the Australian Grand Prix.
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Antonelli said it was not surprising to see his teammate coming back strongly.
"I think there will be for sure weekends where he's going to be in front and weekends where I will be in front," Antonelli said. "He's very strong. He's very complete. And especially in qualifying, he still has that little bit of edge."
Antonelli had started the week strong, going quickest in Friday practice, but was outqualified by Russell on Saturday before struggling early in the race on Sunday.
He said it was an important lesson as he looks to keep his title lead in hand going forward.
"I think this weekend was good learning for me, especially after starting so strong the weekend," he said. "I kind of lose a little bit my rhythm. Probably, I don't know, maybe I relaxed a bit too much or I was too confident, but for sure it was good learning. And now we'll be back stronger in Silverstone."