'Not our weekend - bring on America,' says Vertsappen

Max Verstappen had mixed emotions Sunday after a stirring drive from the back of the field to finish sixth at the Mexican Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver was stripped of pole position on Saturday when he was penalised for ignoring yellow flags and, after starting fourth on the grid, he clashed with race winner Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes and then picked up an early puncture in another clash with Valtteri Bottas. His right rear tyre disintegrated and after pitting he rejoined 20th before storming through to finish behind his Red Bull team-mate Alex Albon who was fifth. "It's not that bad, but it's not where I want to finish," said Verstappen. "I made the most of the race after an initial setback and, considering the circumstances, it was still a good race. "But it just wasn't our weekend so I have to bounce back in America (next weekend)." Team boss Christian Horner said it was a shame Verstappen had not been able to gain the result his pace deserved. "It's frustrating because we could've had a good result today. He raced very hard with Lewis and he got very unlucky with a puncture. "Some days things just don't go your way and another day he would've been a hero." Max Verstappen takes his Red Bull to sixth place