An amazing US GP for Verstappen and Sainz

Max Verstappen (STR10-02, Car 33) - Race: 4th

“I really enjoyed today’s race! A fourth position is a great result, definitely the best we could do today, and I’m just really, really happy! There were some very good battles out on track and I’d say this was the most complete ace of the season so far, everything worked out as it should have: I made no mistakes and the team did a perfect job with the strategy, making all the right calls. It was difficult to know when to make the move on to slick tyres, because you never want to go too early and lose time, so you just try and wait and see if someone else does it… When I heard over the radio that another car was on slicks and not doing too bad, I said okay, now we go. Once on the Softs, I didn’t risk much as I knew I had to look after the tyres and we managed to get to the end in a strong way. I’m delighted with today and I’d like to thank the team for all the efforts this weekend.”

Carlos Sainz (STR10-04, Car 55) - Race: 7th

“What a mad, amazing race! We were fast from start to finish and I’m really happy with today’s result, my best so far this season. To start from P20 and to finish P6 is just unbelievable. Okay, P7 after adding the 5-second penalty for speeding in the pit-lane because of the pit-limiter not working is a bit of a shame, but I’ve still got a very big smile on my face! It was an action-packed race, with many safety cars, tricky pit-stops, plenty of overtakes…

I really enjoyed it out there this afternoon! My race engineer even said over the radio that I was “on fire”, which made me smile! I’d like to thank the team for getting the car ready in time for the race and I’m happy that I’ve been able to reward them with such a positive result after a troubled morning. Max also did a great job and it’s great that the team got so many points today, we definitely deserved it!”

Franz Tost (Team Principal): “First of all I would like to congratulate Lewis Hamilton for his third World Championship title, which is really well deserved! As for our performance here this weekend, because of some technical issues in yesterday’s free practice session and because of the rain this weekend, our drivers, who had little or no experience at this track, were not able to do many laps before the race. I must say that Max did an extraordinary job. Today’s qualifying session was the first time that he could properly drive here and to get into Q3 shows his great skills.

His race was also really good: after the start he was immediately fighting with the Ferrari’s and other rivals and he was able to keep his position, crossing the line in fourth position, without making one single mistake during the 56-lap race. Carlos also did a fantastic job, recovering very quickly after his accident in qualifying this morning. He went from P20 to P11 in only one lap and he was able to keep this position and overtake a few more cars in front of him. Unfortunately he had a problem during one of his pit-stops with the rear-right wheel nut and then he got a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit-lane.

We then called him in once more to put on the new Option tyres which gave him the chance to do plenty of overtakes at the end of the race… And ended in a very good sixth position, which then became a P7 after the penalty. I’d like to congratulate both drivers for the great job. We must not forget that this was their first ever race weekend here. I must also say that the engineers and the strategists worked really well, as the strategy worked out just as we expected it to, and once more the STR10 showed its potential.

After this amazing result, I’m really looking forward to the next three races and I’d like to congratulate the whole team for all the effort put in this weekend – it definitely paid off! Finally, I’d like to say that today’s race was a really interesting one from start to finish. It was great to see the Red Bulls fighting for the lead and actually running in P1 for some time, as well as Sebastian Vettel closing the gap. I think that these fights between different teams for the victory is what Formula 1 needs, it’s something we all enjoy!”

Cedrik Staudohar (Renault Sport F1 track support leader): “What a great race after such an amazing weekend. This morning’s session didn't go according to plan but we knew that anything was possible this afternoon. For the last couple of races we have seen that the reliability has been there and it was crucial today. Everything was under control with our power units through the race, and it's a great reward for everyone including the guys at the factory to score so many points. We can't wait to race again in one week time in Mexico.”

Scuderia Toro Rosso