Verstappen takes second in Austin as Ferrari miss the top three

Max VerstappenMax VerstappenRed Bull · Netherlands · Driver4th POS221 PTS will start second in Austin, after a qualifying session that spent much of its length looking like a private fight between Red BullRed Bull RacingAustria4th POS332 PTS and Ferrari and ended with neither Ferrari in the top three and Kimi Antonelli emerging as a surprise contender at the front.

Verstappen's afternoon did not run cleanly to the end. He lost grip in Q3, the final phase that sets the front of the grid, and was left puzzled by it. He discussed the session afterwards in a Dutch-language media appearance in the paddock.

2026

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POS

4th

PTS

221

WINS

2

PODIUMS

9

Season 2026

Verstappen's Q3 grip loss

Ank kumar · CC BY-SA 4.0

The problem has not been explained. Losing grip in Q3 costs a driver the one lap that decides the front row, and second place is the measure of what the compromised run left on the table. No account of what caused the drop-off has been given, and Red Bull have not said whether they expected it.

Red Bull's progress on a difficult day

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The more significant reading of the session concerns the car underneath him. The assessment from Austin is that Red Bull no longer falls away when a weekend turns awkward — that a car with an awkward balance now yields a place at the front rather than a slide down the order. That is a claim about how the team has developed, and a single qualifying hour does not settle it.

Ferrari's challenge dissolves, and Antonelli arrives

For long stretches Ferrari looked like the counterweight to Verstappen, with the fight for pole running between them. By the end, neither Ferrari was in the top three. Losing that ground on Saturday leaves the team with a Sunday problem before a racing lap has been turned.

Antonelli was the unexpected name in the final phase, becoming a contender as the established order around him broke up. A driver arriving in a front-running qualifying battle changes the shape of the session for everyone: it removes a pole slot from the pool and alters how the leading teams use their runs.

What is not yet known

The race has not been run, so whether Red Bull's single-lap form survives a full stint is unresolved. Verstappen's grip problem has not been diagnosed in public, and Ferrari have not explained how a session they controlled for long spells ended with neither car at the front.

Austin will answer part of it. A race distance tests whether a car that is quick over one lap is also consistent through a stint and gentle on its tyres — the difference between a Saturday result and a Sunday one. For now the facts are narrow: Verstappen second, Ferrari outside the top three, Antonelli in the fight. The interpretation, that Red Bull has learned to hold its ground when the car misbehaves, is what Sunday must confirm.