Since his win at Zandvoort, the Australian has been on a slow but relentless downward slide — frequently finishing off the podium and getting caught up in incidents that have cost him a huge haul of points. He lost the championship lead in Mexico and dropped 24 behind his teammate by the time they reached Brazil.

“I have no explanation for that, to be honest,” the Dutchman commented in Las Vegas. “I find it very bizarre. I didn’t expect it to go like this, although at the end of the day it’s not really my problem. Honestly, I also don’t know how this is possible.”

Verstappen was also asked about the penalty Piastri picked up in Brazil after his clash with Kimi Antonelli — a setback that cost him even more precious points in the title fight.

“I don’t know why they handled it like that,” he added. “In the end, you can be angry about it, but the penalty will still stand anyway. You just have to live with it. If you have a problem with that, then you need to contact the stewards or the FIA, and maybe you can talk about it for the future.”

Finally, responding to comments from his father Jos — who a few weeks ago urged Piastri to bang his fists on the table a bit more — Verstappen added: “I think that has to do with how they operate as a team as well. That’s not how I operate. But that’s fine, everyone does their own thing. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I am a bit different in that regard.

The four-time world champion, like many others, had a tough opening day on track in Las Vegas, ending the first session in fourth and only ninth in the second.

The Dutchman struggled to find grip and piece together a clean lap, eventually finishing the session half a second off his title rival Norris, who topped the timesheets.