Max Verstappen was spotted unwinding at a lively post-race party in Austin, Texas, following his podium finish at the 2026 United States Grand Prix. The four-time Formula 1 world champion appeared to be enjoying himself away from the racing action after a well-fought third-place finish at COTA.
A video shared by @f1gossippofficial on Instagram showed the Red Bull Racing driver in party mode alongside his friends. Audi driver Gabriel Bortoleto was also present at the party, adding another familiar face from the Formula 1 paddock to the post-race celebrations.
Watch the video here:
The appearance offered a glimpse of Verstappen enjoying some downtime after a frustrating U.S. Grand Prix weekend. The Dutchman faced radio issues, poor tire strategy, and a slow pit stop.
A late-race Virtual Safety Car allowed him some breathing room from a charging Lewis Hamilton, who finished the race just 1 second behind the Dutchman in fourth.
“Maybe we just start communicating in sign language. It’s probably cheaper as well,” Verstappen commented sarcastically about his radio issues two weekends in a row during the post-race interview.
Max Verstappen Is Set To Sit Out FP1 in Mexico
Red Bull has announced that reserve driver Ayumu Iwasa will replace Verstappen for the opening practice session of the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix. The 25-year-old driver will get back behind the wheel of Verstappen’s RB22 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez as the team completes its mandatory rookie practice outings for the season.
Iwasa, the 2025 Super Formula winner, will make his fourth and last FP1 appearance of the season on Friday, October 30. He first took over the car for a practice session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, then at Monza, and in Austria, to gather data and support the team’s development programme.
Max Verstappen will sit out FP1 in Mexico because of F1’s mandatory rookie-running regulations. Under the rules, each team must field eligible rookie drivers in four FP1 sessions during the season.
The Red Bull Star will return to the cockpit for the remaining practice sessions, qualifying, and the main race on Sunday.
Max Verstappen and Red Bull Have To Fix Multiple Issues After COTA Setback
Even though Verstappen secured a podium finish at COTA, the team needs to fix some major issues before this weekend’s race.
Communication was not the only concern; the team lacked in choosing the right tire and pit stop strategy, which ultimately cost him a second-place finish.
“Too many issues with the power unit, where it was just very inconsistent behaviour around the corners, every lap, every corner, different behaviour,” Verstappen addressed the issues after the race.
“So, you can’t build up a rhythm, you can’t build any kind of consistency in the car. I had a slow pitstop. So, yeah, too many things today that just didn’t go well.”
However, Max Verstappen is heading to Mexico City with momentum. Recently, the Dutchman and Red Bull have made a strong comeback as they secured back-to-back victories in Malaysia and Singapore, and then managed to earn another podium finish at COTA despite the setbacks.
The track in Mexico has been a good hunting ground for Max Verstappen, who has won the race on five different occasions. The Dutchman will be hoping to get back to winning ways this weekend. Watch the Mexican Grand Prix from 2 PM local time on Sunday, November 1.
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