Irritated Max Verstappen criticises Red Bull: 'That wasn't agreed'

Max Verstappen has launched a scathing attack on Red Bull's strategy calls after salvaging third place at the United States Grand Prix, insisting "this was not what we agreed" when it came to his tyre choices.

Verstappen had hoped to fight for victory from second on the grid at the Circuit of the Americas, but Kimi Antonelli proved untouchable up front.

The Dutchman ran a two-stop strategy and had to fend off a late charge from the Ferraris, eventually losing second to Charles Leclerc before narrowly holding off Lewis Hamilton to secure the final podium spot, having been aided by the late Valtteri Bottas-induced virtual safety car.

Despite the result, the four-time F1 drivers' champion was far from satisfied, telling Viaplay that very little had gone to plan.

"I've had more enjoyable races," Verstappen said. "Not that much really went well. The start wasn't good, and neither was the way we handled the tyre choice. Soft, soft, medium — that wasn't agreed beforehand. I don't really understand why that happened."

"I also had too many problems with the engine, but that was already the case in qualifying. Just really inconsistent.

"One corner there's not enough engine braking, so it just carries on through, and then the next one it's suddenly really aggressive.

"Another moment it wasn't shifting properly. I can't make sense of it. I'm not going to complain every lap, but it just wasn't good. The whole weekend wasn't good, and in the race it was even worse."

Hard tyre left unused

Verstappen also pointed to the pace of the hard compound, which he never got the chance to use.

"They didn't put that on my car," the 29-year-old said. "That's not what we'd agreed.

"Everyone immediately knows you're doing a two-stopper [once you switch back to softs]. We'd agreed on the medium, but I need to have a word about it. No idea why it happened that way."

The Red Bull driver said the car's inconsistency ran through the entire weekend.

"The balance of the car wasn't optimal, but there were also too many issues," he added. "You just can't drive with any consistency when something's different every single time. Every lap, every corner, it's just not consistent."

Asked about settling for third rather than fighting Leclerc for second, Verstappen shrugged off the distinction, concluding:  "It doesn't make that much difference whether you're third or fourth.

"When they told me how close Lewis Hamilton was behind me and how much he was catching per lap, there was no point fighting Charles, because then I'd have lost that position too."