"It makes the Sunday a bit more fun": Max Verstappen looking forward to the 2023 F1 US GP after qualifying in P6

Max Verstappen had a rare, unfortunate qualifying session at the 2023 F1 US GP. Though the Dutchman is currently dominating the sport, he was unable to bag a pole position around Austin due to track limits. At the end of the Q3 session, his seemingly pole clinching lap was deleted, sending him all the way back to sixth place. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari ended with the pole position.

After the race, Max Verstappen spoke about how he went wide on turn 19, saying that he was pushing for the rest of the lap to compensate for a mistake on turn 1. He also mentioned how the fine margins are hard to gauge, especially when one is on a push lap. Speaking to the media, he said:

"I mean, I knew in 19 that it was going to be a close call. Yeah, I mean, I had a little mistake in turn 1, so I had to really push for it in the rest of the lap. And yeah, it's fine margins. Honesly, I didn't even understeer, I just tried to really maximize the corner, and I misjudged it by a little bit, you know, it's very fine margin when you are pushing to the limit.

Despite starting from sixth, The Dutchman said he is looking forward to the US GP on Sunday and recovering as many positions as possible. Since Max Vertstappen has been so quick, there are high chances that he will still reach the top and challenge Charles Leclerc for the lead.

"Of course, it is a bit unfortunate but it makes Sunday also a bit more fun"

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Max Verstappen on importance of consistent team dynamics for a long and successful dominance

Amid rumored tension between Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, three-time world champion Max Vertstappen stated that every key team member in Red Bull will remain in the exact same role simply because they are operating perfectly at the moment and are dominating the sport. He stated that if a team is successfully winning almost everything, there will hardly be a situation where team members will have to leave or shift.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Max Verstappen said:

"That's why they are not leaving. Everyone is staying in exactly the same role. That has never really been a discussion. It's very important when you are doing well, and the team are doing very well, that you keep those people that are very important to the success of the team. Everyone knows that."

As of now, both Max Verstappen and Christian Horner have made it clear that Helmut Marko will not be leaving the team anytime soon. Furthermore, Marko himself has stated that the decision to remove him only lies in his and the shareholder's hands.