01
Talking Bull debrief the weekend in Austin
20 min
Talking Bull discuss the weekend in Austin
02
Hear from the Team after the 2026 United States Grand Prix
2 min
Hear from the Team after the race in Austin
03
Podium for Max, but it’s tough in Texas for Bulls
Max Verstappen secured his 10th podium finish of the season with third place, while Isack Hadjar took sixth after a tough afternoon at the Circuit of the Americas on which the Bulls lacked the final few tenths of pace needed to challenge for victory in Texas.
Race Results
When the lights went out, polesitter Kimi Antonelli made a clean getaway to retain the lead, but the Bulls immediately came under pressure from the fast-starting Ferraris. Charles Leclerc forced Max out of second place, and the Dutchman narrowly held off Lewis Hamilton at Turn 9. However, as his RB22 came alive after a sluggish start, Max soon closed on Leclerc, reclaiming second with a superb move down the inside at Turn 15.
Isack also made a slow start, losing places to both Ferraris into Turn 1 before defending against George Russell. He eventually settled into fifth.
An early Virtual Safety Car for debris briefly neutralised the opening-lap battles and once racing resumed, Max, on Soft tyres, began chasing Medium-shod race leader Antonelli. The gap between the leading pair remained steady at around 2.5 seconds, prompting the Team to pit Max at the end of lap 13. He took a fresh set of Softs and rejoined in eighth, behind the two McLarens.
Mercedes stayed out, but Ferrari reacted, with Hamilton pitting for Mediums on the following lap. Max passed Oscar Piastri, while Leclerc made his stop and rejoined behind the Dutchman but ahead of Hamilton.
Isack, meanwhile, remained on track in second, 11 seconds behind Antonelli. After reporting that his tyres felt good, he was instructed to extend his stint by 10 laps.
Max’s pace on the fresh Softs was strong, and he began lapping around a second faster than Antonelli. By lap 20, he had passed Russell to move into third, a little over 16 seconds behind the leader and just four seconds behind Isack.
On lap 23, Isack, whose tyres were beginning to wear, let Max through at Turn 15. The Dutchman continued to close on Antonelli, who made his sole stop for Hard tyres at the end of lap 24, promoting Max to the lead. Behind him, Isack came under increasing pressure from Leclerc, who was finding strong pace on his fresh Mediums. The Ferrari driver attacked repeatedly, but the Frenchman defended well before diving into the pits to exchange his starting Softs for Hard tyres.
Isack encountered a tricky moment at the pit exit leaving him to defend fiercely against Piastri.
Max also began experiencing problems. On lap 30, he reported issues with engine braking and started losing time to Leclerc and Antonelli, who had moved into third.
Despite his issues, Max found strong pace on his new Mediums. A string of purple laps helped him reel in Lando Norris, while the Ferraris made their second and final stops. Those stops promoted Max to third, with Leclerc rejoining fourth on fresh tyres. Hamilton passed Isack on lap 42, dropping the Frenchman to sixth.
Max continued to close on Norris, while Leclerc began gaining on the Red Bull. On lap 47, Norris’s fading tyres left him vulnerable into Turn 1, where Max swept down the inside to take second. Leclerc also passed the McLaren later in the lap, and with Max’s tyres considerably older, the Dutchman could do little to hold off the Ferrari. He slipped to third on lap 49.
A Virtual Safety Car was deployed on lap 51 after Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas stopped at the side of the track with an engine issue. With fourth-placed Hamilton on fresher tyres and just four seconds behind, the caution worked in Max’s favour, freezing the gaps and giving him enough breathing room to finish a second clear of the Ferrari.
Behind Hamilton, Norris finished fifth, followed by Isack in sixth, ahead of Piastri and Russell. Liam Lawson took ninth for Racing Bulls, while Alpine’s Pierre Gasly claimed the final point.
Our overall pace was not good enough, and the tyres we had available were probably not the right ones. That’s something we have to understand, because the last two races were always working well for us. For whatever reason, it didn’t work out here. But we still managed to get on the podium, and I’ll take it.
