Verstappen Rues Car Issues After Fading to Third in Austin

A day of things that didn't work out

Neither Red Bull got off the line well at the Circuit of The Americas, both dropping positions through the first sequence of corners. Max Verstappen recovered back to P2 and went aggressive with an early stop for a second set of soft tyres, committing himself to a two-stop strategy.

When he came in again, the Dutchman looked set to push for victory, but he could only make limited headway against Kimi Antonelli and instead found himself defending from Charles Leclerc, who was on the same strategy. Verstappen could not keep the Ferrari at bay, with car issues seemingly blighting his pace in the final stint, and he had to settle for third.

"It wasn't the strongest race for me, as there were a lot of things that didn't work out and we seemed to experience different problems," Verstappen said.

Hadjar's lonely afternoon

Verstappen was, by his own account, moderately happier than team mate Isack Hadjar, who one-stopped after a solid effort to extend his opening stint on the softs. But the Frenchman's pace faded and he wound up having a lonely end to the race between the two McLaren cars.

The result leaves Red Bull with plenty to examine as the paddock heads straight on to Mexico City for the next round of the championship.