Red Bull’s Max Verstappen secured a second consecutive podium finish, which was crucial in his championship battle against Lando Norris.
The Dutch driver finished 3rd after a challenging race, which seemed to be over for him after the first corner when he was unable to maintain the lead.
The winner of the US Grand Prix, Charles Leclerc, dominantly pulled away from Verstappen, who later lost 2nd place to Sainz and 3rd place to Lando Norris in a nerve-wracking battle over the last 10 laps for the final podium spot.
Norris’ 5-second penalty resulted in Verstappen being promoted back to 3rd place. However, the championship leader was far from satisfied with the result of what he called a ‘very difficult race.’
“For me, it was a difficult race, I never had the pace to attack, so a bit different to yesterday, understeering a lot, braking, so that made the defending quite difficult.”
“Every time someone went for a move I couldn’t brake late. It was a tough battle and tough to keep him [Norris] behind.”
Reflecting on his battle with Norris, Verstappen was hesitant to provide detailed insight into the tussle with McLaren’s lead driver.
“I have my opinion but I don’t need to say it here, I’ll let the stewards do their thing.” – Verstappen stated.