Max Verstappen has complained about Red Bull’s repeated radio issues, calling them “a disaster” and joking that they should start communicating in sign language instead.
The four-time champion finished third behind winner Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc at the United States Grand Prix after what was a frustrating and issue-ridden race. And to make things even more difficult, the Dutchman suffered radio issues that made communication with the pitwall much harder than it should have been.
Asked in the press conference following the race how frustrating it is to have those types of issues for a second time, Verstappen was keen to correct the journalist.
“It’s not the second time. It’s already, I don’t know how many times this year. Maybe we should just start communicating in sign language. It’s probably cheaper as well. It’s a disaster. Yeah, it’s a disaster. It’s really frustrating, to be honest,” he said.
Verstappen was not the only Red Bull driver to be affected. Team-mate Isack Hadjar, who finished sixth after dropping from third on the opening lap, said he could not hear his engineers properly and left the pits with the wrong engine setting potentially as a result.
“And then I have poor radio coverage. I can’t hear what’s happening in the pits. I leave the pits with the wrong map,” Hadjar told Sky Sports F1.
Radio was only one of several problems Verstappen listed after the race. He was disappointed with the team’s tyre choices, lamented a slow pitstop and highlighted inconsistent behaviour from the power unit, which he said had made it impossible to build a rhythm.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Mark Thompson / Getty Images
“Too many issues with the power unit, where it was just very inconsistent behaviour around the corners, every lap, every corner, different behaviour. So, you can’t build up a rhythm, you can’t build any kind of consistency in the car. I had a slow pitstop. So, yeah, too many things today that just didn’t go well.”
The result ended a run of two consecutive wins for the Red Bull driver, who had won in Sepang and Singapore, and he admitted he had been fortunate to finish on the podium.
“We still managed to get on the podium, maybe a little bit lucky with the VSC at the end, but I’ll take it,” he said.
It was Verstappen’s 10th podium of the season. But with five rounds remaining, he is now totally out of contention for the title. If Mercedes’ Antonelli finishes in the top nine in Mexico next weekend, he will be the 2026 Formula 1 world champion.
Red Bull arrived in Austin fighting McLaren for third in the constructors’ championship, and Verstappen admitted the team had fallen below its usual standards.
“Normally we’re very good at these things, but today we weren’t,” he ended.
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