Verstappen feeling relieved to get P3 in Austin: "Large piece of floor was missing

Max Verstappen noticed a large piece of his floor was missing when he climbed out of his F1 car following the conclusion of the United States Grand Prix. Aston Martin Red Bull Racing noticed that a problem had a occurred but didn't realise the severity according to the Dutchman. 

Verstappen managed to climb up to third and would have had a challenge with Lewis Hamilton for P2 on the final lap had it not been for waved yellow flags. At the Exact sponsor event, the 22-year-old referred back to his qualifying performance before explaining his performance loss in the race. 

“It went pretty well. We were competitive on a circuit that is normally less suited to us in one lap, but it went smoothly. In some weekends it is very difficult to find the right balance, but it worked out well," Verstappen said. 

"I was disappointed right after the race that I may not have with Mercedes to fight, but when I got out of the car, I saw that I was a big I missed a bite from my floor - a part that has a major impact on performance, so I thought I had done a pretty good job. The damage was caused in the fifth round. At first, the team reported that I had front wing damage, but that was just a scratch.

"The team thought something was wrong, but the problem was with the rear of the car. We finally concluded that we should have hit something in round five, or that something was falling off. You often lose a lot of time because your balance is down. So, in the end, it was a good race," Verstappen added. 

Verstappen finished ahead of rival Charles Leclerc and therefore closed the gap to just 14 points in the F1 world championship. With two races remaining, the battle for third place in the championship is going to be one of the talking points over the next month.