Verstappen visibly affected by sad news: 'It's a tough day'

It was a strange day for Red Bull Racing. Amid the budget cap saga currently unfolding around the team and the FIA, the team was dealt a hard blow with the sad news about Dietrich Mateschitz. Max Verstappen is determined to make the Red Bull boss proud by scoring a good result at the US Grand Prix.

Strange day for Verstappen and Red Bull

Just before qualifying, Verstappen was told that Mateschitz had passed away. "It's been bad news for everyone. What he has meant for Red Bull and for the sport and especially for me. What he has done for me and my life... really tough. It's a tough day but we tried to give it everything today, but unfortunately missed out," said a visibly affected Verstappen.

As team boss Christian Horner said, Mateschitz would have wanted his team to continue more than anything else. "There is still a race a head of course and we will try to make him proud tomorrow," Verstappen continued. "I think our car normally is quicker in the race then qualifying. Today, already in qualifying was fine margins."

The Red Bull driver therefore expects a better race pace than qualifying pace, as has been the case so many times in the current Formula 1 season. "I am expecting a good race tomorrow," said Verstappen, reiterating that the most important thing is that the car is fast on Sunday.