F1 | Key Red Bull changes? Max Verstappen’s expectations for the Austin GP. Max Verstappen hopes Red Bull’s setup changes after the Austin Sprint will improve performance.

Despite winning the Sprint at the Austin GP, Max Verstappen was not entirely satisfied with his car’s performance, prompting Red Bull to make adjustments.

Verstappen is dominating the Austin weekend. With his Sprint win and the double zero for McLaren, he has closed the gap to the championship leader. Thanks to pole position in the main qualifying session at COTA, Verstappen could further reduce his deficit to Oscar Piastri, who will start only sixth. Lando Norris, another direct title contender, will start alongside him in second.

Changes from Sprint to qualifying

After winning the Sprint ahead of George Russell and Carlos Sainz Jr., Max Verstappen admitted he was not completely happy with his car. During the press conference, the Dutch driver confirmed that Red Bull made several modifications to the car compared to the Sprint qualifying session. “I hope tomorrow will be better. It’s hard to say what will happen, obviously also tomorrow. But at least I felt a bit more satisfied with the car compared to yesterday’s qualifying, and I hope that will be enough for the race,” he explained.

Verstappen’s goal, in his pursuit of a fifth world title, is to stay ahead of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in the Austin GP and score as many points as possible. The Red Bull driver appeared confident, thanks in part to the updates made to the car. “Yes, I don’t know. We changed some things on the car and I hope that will help tomorrow, and that’s the most important thing. But we’ll see. I’m not thinking too much about it. I’m confident; I think we improved the car and I hope I can show it,” he said.

Pole position with a twist

However, pole came with a little drama, as Verstappen was unable to make a second attempt in Q3. The driver explained the reason during the press conference: “Yes. There were some people ahead gaining easily ten seconds advantage. So, yes, at that point, there simply wasn’t any time left. I also had two cars in front of me that were battling. I think they set the fastest sectors on their out-lap. Yes, it’s not ideal. So, yes, we didn’t have any more time.”