Red Bull reveals hidden damage on Verstappen's car behind Austin pace drop

Verstappen started the race from second on the grid but was unable to challenge Antonelli for victory, with the Mercedes driver converting pole position into his ninth win of the season. The four-time world champion also lost out to Leclerc, eventually crossing the line third after struggling with tyre performance and the handling of his Red Bull.

Following the race, Verstappen expressed his frustration with the team's strategy, particularly the decision to use two sets of soft tyres before switching to mediums for the final stint. The Dutchman explained that this approach differed from what had been discussed before the race, questioning why Red Bull committed to a two-stop strategy while Antonelli successfully completed the Grand Prix with just one pit stop.

However, Mekies subsequently revealed that the RB22 was also compromised by damage sustained early in the race. In Red Bull's post-race statement, the Frenchman acknowledged that the team lacked the pace to compete with Antonelli before explaining the problems that prevented Verstappen from retaining second place.

The damage occurred before Verstappen made his first pit stop, meaning he was already dealing with a compromised car during the tyre stints that subsequently caused him so much frustration.

Red Bull started the race on soft tyres and opted for another set of the same compound at the first stop, committing Verstappen to a two-stop strategy. Antonelli, meanwhile, completed the race on mediums and hards, taking victory by thirteen seconds.

The harder compounds performed better than expected in Austin, raising further questions about Red Bull's decision to avoid them. However, the team also had reasons to be cautious, given the difficulties teams experienced with harder tyres at previous races.

Speaking after the Grand Prix, Verstappen acknowledged that the unexpected difference between the compounds was one of the main issues Red Bull needed to investigate: "The biggest question mark is why the tyres didn't really work, while the harder compounds actually did really well, so that's something to analyse."

The combination of unexpected tyre behaviour, damage and balance problems made it difficult to establish precisely how much time Verstappen lost through each factor. The Dutchman also reported inconsistent engine response during the race, adding another complication to Red Bull's assessment of its performance.