Max Verstappen calls Austin track bumps “unacceptable”

Max Verstappen has called the bumps at the Austin circuit “unacceptable”, saying the situation is “getting out of control”. The driver elaborated on his concerns during media day in Austin, after joking about needing a new spine when discussing the jolts on the track.

He had watched the Texas round of the World Endurance Championship, the Lone Star Le Mans, staged over the weekend of 6 September, and was shocked by the circuit’s condition. Verstappen said he was shocked by the condition of the circuit. He had earlier laughed about the issue with Kimi Antonelli, but later stressed that the bumps were a genuine problem.

“From what I saw in WEC, it was extremely bumpy. I’m not really looking forward to that, to be honest, for my spine,” Verstappen said. He also believes the cars’ setup makes the jolts worse: “It’s probably worse because we have very low ride heights while cornering.”

The Dutchman says the problem is not new. He says he has already experienced the irregularities at COTA in previous years. Last season, he explains, drivers pulled around 5-6G in a corner, but some vertical impacts on his spine were more than 9G. He described those impacts as difficult to endure and said he thinks about them more as he gets older.

Verstappen also says his back is already not in the best condition after more than 11 seasons in Formula 1. Checks on his spine, he said, showed that its lower part “doesn’t look that great”. He believes the cars of recent years have already added to the physical toll and warns that continuing to accept such bumps could make the consequences for drivers worse.

In his view, organisers should not use the nature of the ground to excuse the condition of the track. If the soil is the problem, he argues, it should be anticipated and reinforced. He says patchwork fixes do not address the cause: the solution would require opening up the entire track, a costly and time-consuming job, but one he considers necessary to remove the bumps. Verstappen says he likes the circuit, while maintaining that its current condition is unacceptable.