Max Verstappen secured his tenth podium finish of the 2026 Formula 1 season in Austin, his sixth in succession since his crash at Zandvoort. It is an impressive statistic, although it did little to satisfy him at the Circuit of the Americas.
On Saturday, the pace appeared to be there to take pole position – at least judging by Verstappen's impressive Q2 lap – but he inexplicably lost grip in Q3. Based on the practice sessions, his race pace still appeared good enough to challenge for the win, but according to Verstappen, too many small things went wrong during the race.
