Max Verstappen has revealed that there are problems with the Red Bulls Formula 1 car in the closing stages contributed to his collision with Lando Norris in the United States Grand Prix.

Red Bull introduced upgrades at the last round in Austin which appeared to have provided an improvement over the balance problems it had endured with the RB20.

Verstappen took advantage of the new parts to take his first win since June with a sprint success, while also qualifying on the front row for the main Grand Prix.

But while he maintained second place during the opening stint, Verstappen was unable to match Charles Leclerc’s lap times in the Ferrari to dispel his chances of victory.

The Dutchman dropped to third during the pit stop and Norris then overtook him as well, but an off-track pass saw him penalized and the two swapped places.

McLaren claimed Verstappen went deep pushing his driver at Turn 12, while Norris has since claimed his title rival’s intentions were “clear” in their battle.

But Verstappen has revealed that the problems he battled with his car in the closing laps contributed to his controversial move to run Norris off the track.

“It was a pretty difficult second stint,” Verstappen told the media, among other things Motorsport week in Mexico. “I lost a lot of grip on the front axle. It was very difficult to brake.

“I think that’s what made my defense more difficult because I knew if I braked a little too late I could lock up and I really didn’t have the front grip.”

Red Bull on the right track

Verstappen has expressed that the event represented a promising step in the right direction, despite admitting he had not anticipated Red Bull’s problems in race tuning.

“So, yeah, it wasn’t easy for me out there,” he continued.

“I think all in all it was still a positive weekend for us, but still some things, of course, that we want to do better to be in that fight.

“Because I honestly thought going into the race that I was going to be in the fight, and we weren’t, so it wasn’t ideal.

“But at least it showed some promising signs that maybe we could be back in the fight.”

Asked if he understood the reason the car’s handling changed during the race, Verstappen replied: “No, but even if I knew I wouldn’t say.”

Verstappen happier with the RB20 balance

Verstappen insists the development Red Bull brought to the Circuit of the Americas solved the imbalance that had made the RB20 a “monster”.

“It was definitely (a) performance (upgrade),” he added. – The car felt a little more in control. At least more balanced, that’s what we were looking for too.”

However, the reigning F1 champion has confirmed that Red Bull will not support it with more updates over the weekend in Mexico to further strengthen its competitiveness.

Pressed on whether more changes were coming to this round, he concluded: “No, not for now. Because here it’s just chilling.”

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