Max Verstappen after P2 in the US: “The car was hopping like a kangaroo – what happened?”

Of course, Max Verstappen would have loved to clinch pole position during qualifying for the US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA). But this time in Texas, Kimi Antonelli is ahead of him in the blazing sun, securing second place on the grid.

The Red Bull Racing star needn’t be too disheartened: a remarkable five of the 13 Grand Prix victories in Austin have been secured from second on the grid. In six of the last eight Austin Grands Prix, the driver starting from second on the grid has emerged as the leader from the first corner!

And, let’s not forget, the World Championship is on the line for Kimi Antonelli, but not for Verstappen, so the four-time world champion can be more aggressive in the first corner of the Grand Prix than the incoming champion from Italy.

Max assesses his performance in the Austin qualifying session as follows: “My Q3 simply wasn’t good. Things went quite well in Q1 and Q2 (Max was in P3 and P4 at that stage, but without getting the most out of the car and, moreover, running on tyre-saving mode, M.B.), but then I didn’t have a good car balance in the final qualifying segment, with neither set; I don’t know what happened there.”

“I wouldn’t say I made many mistakes, but there was simply a lack of grip; the car was sliding far too much.”

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Austin: Das Rennen

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25.10.2026 - 19:30

“On my final attempt, I also had a nasty tailwind; I tried to push harder, then I hit one of the bumps here – the car bounced like a kangaroo – and as a result I veered off the ideal line. That’s when I knew my battle for pole was over.”

“I’m really unhappy with how things went in the final part of qualifying. That’s not how I’d imagined it. And we hadn’t expected that for the final practice session either.”

“To still be second fastest under these circumstances, I’ll gladly take that, but I’d really like to know what happened to the car in Q3.”

“I set my fastest lap in Q2 on used tyres, which isn’t normal. Naturally, I had high hopes of snatching pole position here. But then the grip faded, and so I couldn’t push as hard as I had been able to before.”

“Second place looks quite good, but I’ll admit it: I’m disappointed. That’s not the result we’d hoped for, and I don’t think it’s the best result we can achieve here with this car either. If the car doesn’t feel right and we’re still on the front row, then I’ll gladly accept that. But I’m not happy – I’m not going to hide that at all.”

“Right, the wind did pick up. But that doesn’t explain why the car felt so different in Q3 compared to the second qualifying segment.”

“As far as race pace is concerned, I got the impression on Friday that there’s still room for improvement. We need to understand the tyres’ behaviour on this track even better. But generally speaking, we’ve been very satisfied with our race pace in recent Grands Prix, and I hope I can find some of that here in the race.”

Does Max Verstappen have any advice for Kimi Antonelli, who is on the verge of his first world title? Max: “Kimi doesn’t need any advice; he already knows what he’s doing. If he becomes world champion here, then great. If he doesn’t, then it’ll be in Mexico. And if it doesn’t work out there, then it’ll be in Brazil.”