Verstappen jokes COTA's bumps could cost him a new spine
Max Verstappen has warned that the Circuit of the Americas is 'incredibly bumpy' after watching sports car racing there, joking he may need a new spine after the US Grand Prix. He arrives in Austin fourth in the standings, 119 points behind Kimi Antonelli.
A bumpy welcome to Austin
Max Verstappen has not been shy about what he expects from the Circuit of the Americas. Ahead of the United States Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver said the Austin track looked punishing when he watched the World Endurance Championship cars run there, and he joked about the physical toll it could take on him.
According to PlanetF1 and GPFans, Verstappen said: "From what I saw in WEC, the track is incredibly bumpy." He added that he would probably need to order a new spine after the weekend, or become "like Robocop".
What he said about the weekend
Beyond the joke, Verstappen described the surface as a new challenge for everyone. He would not predict that Red Bull's RB22 will be in contention for victory in Austin, calling it a very different track and saying he would take the weekend race by race.
GPFans reports that he also looked ahead to the Mexico City race a week later, where he expects altitude to bring its own problems, with cars likely to run very hot.
Where he stands
Verstappen comes to Texas on a strong run. Our race data shows he won the Singapore Grand Prix on 11 October, finishing ahead of Charles Leclerc and Kimi Antonelli, with a winning margin of 7.335 seconds.
In the drivers' championship he is fourth on 221 points, according to the standings quoted by GPFans. That is 8 points behind third-placed Lewis Hamilton and 17 behind second-placed George Russell. Leader Antonelli has 340 points, 119 clear of Verstappen, with 150 still available across the remaining rounds.
PlanetF1 quotes Verstappen as saying Red Bull is not in a championship battle, so the aim is to enjoy the weekends and collect podiums and, if possible, wins.
What comes next
The United States Grand Prix starts at 20:00 UTC on Sunday 25 October, round 18 of the season. Whether the bumps live up to Verstappen's warning will be clear from the first practice session on Friday, when the drivers get their first laps of the weekend.
