Four-time Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen has warned that the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is "incredibly bumpy" ahead of this weekend's United States Grand Prix, joking he may need to "order a new spine" afterwards.
The Red Bull driver heads to Austin with the momentum of two consecutive victories at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia and the Singapore Grand Prix. However, Verstappen has tempered expectations for the race in Austin.
"I mean, it's very difficult to say. I don't want to say now that I will be in the fight in Austin, but yeah, the last few weekends have been great," the Dutchman explained during the Singapore Grand Prix post-race press conference.
"But I just take it race by race, and once we are in Austin, then we'll see how it will go there. But it's again a very different track."
He watched the World Endurance Championship's visit to COTA, which left him concerned about the track surface.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images
"From what I saw in WEC, the track is incredibly bumpy. Oh my god, I probably need to order a new spine after the weekend or become like Robocop. Crazy," he joked.
"That's again a new challenge for everyone, you know, to deal with those bumps. And then we just go from there. We have to go to Mexico, again, high altitude, everything will run super hot.
"We need to see how the engine is going to perform at that altitude, how the car is behaving, because it's very different. So, you know, there are so many different things that you can get right or wrong in those races, but we'll see."
With six rounds remaining in the 2026 season, assuming the final two races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi continue as planned, Verstappen currently sits fourth in the drivers' standings. But after collecting 58 points across the last two race weekends, including a sprint race, he has closed the gap to Lewis Hamilton in third to just eight points and George Russell in second to 17 points.