Max Verstappen was over the moon with his podium finish at the United States Grand Prix after carving his way through the field to finish in second place behind race winner Kimi Raikkonen.
Starting 18th after suffering a suspension failure in qualifying and taking a further penalty due to taking on a fresh gearbox, the Dutchman immediately made gains at the start of the race, helped by some of the collisions around him on the opening lap.
Deciding to start on the soft tyre, this allowed a lot of room for strategic play and permitted the 21-year old the opportunity to undercut Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas in the pit stop phase.
“It is safe to say it went a lot better than expected," said Verstappen. "I managed to stay out of trouble on the first lap while progressing up the field as the pace of my car was really strong.
![Isack Hadjar [pictured] has deferred to Max Verstappen for Day 2 of the F1 pre-season test. Image: Red Bull Content Pool](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Isack-Hadjar-Red-Bull-test-2026-120x86.webp)
"This was crucial as it allowed me to settle into my own rhythm and catch the cars ahead. I didn’t think the Soft compound was the best out there, once I pitted I felt more comfortable and able to control the Supersofts.
"The undercut on Valtteri was ideal and probably the key to achieving the podium, a great call from the team. In fact, our entire strategy was spot on and once we stopped we were able to manage the Supersofts all the way to the end."
The final stages of the race became incredibly tense as Raikkonen was trying to manage the gap to Verstappen with championship leader Lewis Hamilton baring down on them at a swift pace.
The British driver decided to make his move on Verstappen with just a handful of laps remaining, daring a pass around the outside of Turns 17 and 18 but lost out to the Red Bull driver after getting out on the dirty line around the outside.
"The last 10 laps were pretty exciting, especially being the only car on the softer compound fighting at the front," added the Dutchman.
"I was trying to get close to Kimi but at the same time keeping an eye on Lewis in my mirror, it was close but we managed to hang on to second.
"Lewis had a go but we both gave each other plenty of room and thankfully he ran a bit wide and onto a dirty part of the track.
"I think I started to run out of traction towards the end so attacking Kimi was not on the table. The team have certainly earned a little celebration before we head to Mexico, where we will try to do even better."
![Isack Hadjar [pictured] has deferred to Max Verstappen for Day 2 of the F1 pre-season test. Image: Red Bull Content Pool](https://www.motorsportweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Isack-Hadjar-Red-Bull-test-2026-350x250.webp)
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