Verstappen puzzled by Q3 pace drop after taking P2 in Austin qualifying

After qualifying for the United States Grand Prix, Max Verstappen said he was left trying to understand why he missed out on pole. While Ferrari had led all three practice sessions in Texas, pole went elsewhere, with Mercedes and Kimi Antonelli denying Verstappen a third straight pole position this season.

Verstappen said Red Bull needs to get to the bottom of a very odd change in pace in Q3. He indicated that the car felt better on used tyres and said it was not as planted as he had hoped for in qualifying.

He also outlined what went wrong in the session as he ended up second on the grid. The result left him baffled by the final qualifying phase and focused on understanding the reasons for the drop in performance.