Max Verstappen reveals spine scan findings amid COTA bumps concerns

Max Verstappen claims that the bumps around the Circuit of The Americas are “out of control” as he called for extensive, and expensive work to solve the problem.

Claiming that the issue could be even worse than with the ground effect cars in Austin, Verstappen also lifted the lid on scans which he’s had on his spine, admitting that the “bottom end doesn’t look that great”.

Max Verstappen claims COTA bumps ‘not natural’

Ahead of the 2026 United States GP, organisers resurfaced the stretch from Turn 9 to Turn 11, while the bumps on the approaches to Turns 12 and 19 received some smoothing out.

But, having watched the World Endurance Championship race at COTA, Verstappen has already quipped that a “new spine” will be in his shopping cart after the race weekend.

His verdict of scepticism on the COTA bumps treatment took a more serious turn when he called them “out of control” and “unacceptable”.

The four-time world champion says few tracks can hold a candle to this one, but the bumps have to go.

Put to him that COTA in F1 2026 could be less heavy on the back, with ground effect cars consigned to the F1 history books, Verstappen responded: “Well, it’s not.

“It’s probably worse because we have very low ride heights in cornering because on the straights you have the SM mode, so you go up. So in most places, on the braking especially, you actually bottom more than before because most of the bumps are under braking or in the corner, not on the actual straight.

“But yeah, it’s very bad, and of course you can use the excuse that the soil is the problem, but then you should have known that, and you need to make sure that you reinforce it more.

“I mean, I love this track. I love this place. It’s one of the best layouts ever, and it’s one of the, I would say, best venues, best cities to be at.

“But for me, the bumps that we have are unacceptable, and I mean, over time, they’ve been grinding a little bit here and there, but it’s just you’re putting a plaster on the big problem, and that’s just what’s coming underneath, and that’s what you need to actually tackle in the first place.

“But that, of course, means you need to really fully open up the track. That costs a lot of money and time, but honestly, that’s the only way to get rid of it because these bumps are not natural and they are out of control.”

While still only 29, Verstappen is increasingly mindful of the impacts bumpy tracks like this one is having on his body.

His spine scans suggest that being aware is wise.

Asked to expand on the impacts of these lumps in the road on a driver, Verstappen said: “Well, last year, for example, you pull around 5, 6G in a corner, but I had some impacts like vertical load, which was over 9G on my spine, which I can tell you is really not fun.

“And especially the older you get, you think about that more and more. That’s not what you want.

“And with these cars, especially under braking, you bottom out way harder because when the wings close and then the ride height comes down, under braking it’s actually a very stressful moment.

“I know around here in some places, it’s very bumpy under braking, and especially when it’s these kind of awkward bumps, not just bumps from the track getting older, but, I don’t know, the surface underneath the soil just moving up and down, sometimes it’s very hard to expect, or if you’re a tiny bit offline, you don’t know what is there because no one really drives here sometimes.

“It’s really not nice, and I think sometimes people don’t really understand that because I can tell you from the checks that I’ve done from my spine, the bottom end doesn’t look that great, the spine.

“I know that’s part of racing. I know that can be part of sport, but it’s of course also further damage from the cars that we had the last few years.

“And now, if we continue finding this acceptable to drive one, then you are going to suffer with that much more.

“People can say, ‘Yeah, but there are worse sports out there for damage to parts of your body.’ For sure. But that’s why I’m not doing them. So yeah, it’s not nice.”

Verstappen arrives in Austin following back-to-back wins at the Bahrain and Singapore Grands Prix.

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