Formula 1 United States GP
Verstappen explains cause of track limits breach in F1 US GP qualifying
Red Bull Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen has said his 2023 United States Grand Prix qualifying track limits error was the result of trying to compensate for a first-corner mistake.
Matt Kew
Edited: Oct 21, 2023, 12:13 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Verstappen, who was crowned a three-time world champion last time out in Qatar, crossed the line in the dying moments of Q3 at the Circuit of The Americas to post a 1m34.718s flying lap.
That handed him provisional pole over Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc by 0.005s, but the RB19 driver swiftly had his time deleted for running wide at the exit of Turn 19 to drop down to sixth place. As a result, Leclerc will lead the front row over McLaren racer Lando Norris.
Verstappen explained that his uncharacteristic error, which he said was a “close call”, was the result of trying to make up for time lost through Turn 1, when he appeared to adjust for an under-rotating car to turn in later to run wide of the apex.
He said: “I knew in [Turn] 19 that it was going to be a close call. I had a little mistake in Turn 1, so I had to really push for it in the rest of the lap. It is fine margins.
“Honestly, I didn't even understeer. I just tried to really maximise the corner and I misjudged it by a little bit. It's very fine margins when you're pushing to the limit.
“Of course, it's a bit unfortunate but it makes the Sunday also a bit more fun.”
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB19
Verstappen acknowledged there were “a lot of things” to improve ahead of sprint qualifying and the shortened race on Saturday.
He continued: “It's probably not ideal, but I've also started from the back. It's all about if you have a good pace, you will pass, you will move forward. So just keep an eye on it.
“Of course, we want to win, so for sure today was not ideal.
“But like I said, it's still a long race where a lot of things we can do better. And have a bit of fun out there as well.”
Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez clocked ninth place in qualifying after running extensively in the simulator in a bid to arrest his poor form, with his performance hurt by a lack of confidence on corner entry as the RB19 has been developed throughout the season.
Read Also:
Formula 1F1 United States GP: Leclerc on pole as Verstappen has fastest lap deleted
Formula 1Alonso: F1 US GP a write off after "painful" qualifying
Formula 1Norris: F1 US GP front row unexpected but I should have grabbed pole
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Norris: F1 US GP front row unexpected but I should have grabbed pole
Next article Hamilton can ‘feel’ improvement of Mercedes F1 floor upgrade
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Matt Kew
Marko suggests Perez's improved F1 form because 2025 contract at stake
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Marko suggests Perez's improved F1 form because 2025 contract at stake
Russell explains how low-fuel runs expose Mercedes F1 inconsistency
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Russell explains how low-fuel runs expose Mercedes F1 inconsistency
Leclerc: No answer for "once in a season" Japan F1 qualifying struggle
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Leclerc: No answer for "once in a season" Japan F1 qualifying struggle
More from
Max Verstappen
Nicki Thiim's cheeky F1 jab: "Max Verstappen just wants to drive a proper race car!"
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance 3 h
Nicki Thiim's cheeky F1 jab: "Max Verstappen just wants to drive a proper race car!"
Did Max Verstappen already know the impact of Red Bull’s big upgrade when he signed his new deal?
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
8 h
Did Max Verstappen already know the impact of Red Bull’s big upgrade when he signed his new deal?
Latest news
Colton Herta “maybe underestimated the difference” from IndyCar – F2 boss
FIA F2
F2 FIA F2 32 min
Colton Herta “maybe underestimated the difference” from IndyCar – F2 boss
WEC Barcelona: Genesis secures maiden series pole from Toyota
WEC
WEC WEC
Barcelona
1 h
WEC Barcelona: Genesis secures maiden series pole from Toyota
Five-time IndyCar champion, first-time Indy NXT driver: Alex Palou tops IMS road course test
Indy NXT
IndL Indy NXT 2 h
Five-time IndyCar champion, first-time Indy NXT driver: Alex Palou tops IMS road course test
Gabriel Bortoleto on Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar's F1 success: 'Let's see where we are in 20 years'
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
3 h
Gabriel Bortoleto on Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar's F1 success: 'Let's see where we are in 20 years'
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe