Verstappen could take penalty after snapping suspension

Verstappen could take penalty after snapping suspension

Originally written by Joas van Wingerden. This version is a translation.

Sunday 21 October 2018 01:01

Max Verstappen might be forced into taking grid penalties at the United States Grand Prix after snapping the rear suspension of his Red Bull in Q1 at the Circuit of the Americas. The Dutchman ran wide and over the kerbs to cause the failure.

New kerbs have been installed at tun 19 to avoid a repeat of Verstappen's off-track overtake of Kimi Raikkonen in last year's race – however it was a different part of the track to catch him out.

Article continues under video

Running onto the kerbs at turn 15 labelled 'Verstoppers' by COTA's official Twitter account did the damage, which was a surprise to the Dutchman.

Having qualified 15th, Verstappen could start 13th if his car is fixed without taking new parts, but Verstappen is not sure it will be plain sailing.

He told Sky Sports: "I touched the outside kerb and it failed the suspension and took the drive shaft out, which is weird because we always taken that kerb sharp, and everyone else in qualifying is taking the same ones but it was our car which failed.

"We'll see what we can do otherwise we will take a penalty.

"I think the pace in the race is more competitive, so I hope we can clear the midfield quickly and we can still do a good job."

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VIDEO: Verstappen snaps suspension in qualifying