Verstappen says Red Bull’s Austin tyre plan was not agreed

Max Verstappen left Austin with third place and a complaint about Red Bull: he said the tyre sequence used at the United States Grand Prix had not been agreed in advance.

Starting second, Verstappen had hoped to fight for victory, but said Kimi Antonelli was very strong. Antonelli won ahead of Charles Leclerc, who passed Verstappen for second. After two stops, Verstappen spent the closing stages defending from the Ferraris and narrowly held off Lewis Hamilton.

Speaking to Viaplay, Verstappen said Red Bull had used soft tyres despite an agreement to use a medium. He described the soft-soft-medium sequence as not agreed beforehand and said he wanted to discuss why the decision had been made.

His complaints extended beyond the tyre call. Verstappen said the start had gone badly and that engine problems had already appeared in qualifying. In the race, he described too little engine braking in one corner, a response that then became aggressive and a gear change that did not work properly. He said the car’s balance was not optimal and the changing problems made it difficult to drive consistently from lap to lap and corner to corner.

Verstappen said he saw no point in fighting Leclerc for second because Hamilton was closing quickly; he feared losing third as well.