Max Verstappen's grievances regarding the Austin GP have elicited a reaction from the COTA president.

Bobby Epstein, the head of the Circuit of the Americas, has addressed Max Verstappen's remarks regarding the track, acknowledging that the dip at the base of Turn 1 is "not acceptable".

Prior to the United States Grand Prix, the four-time Formula 1 champion utilized his media appearance to voice concerns about the track surface, claiming the bumps were "unacceptable" and stating that they had spiraled "out of control".

"From what I observed in WEC, it was incredibly bumpy. I’m not really looking forward to that, to be honest, for your spine,” Verstappen conveyed to the press on Thursday. “I joked about it in the last race, but it’s not truly a joke, to be honest. We’ve been mentioning this for years, and it’s actually becoming a bit unmanageable.”

In an interview with ESPN, Epstein acknowledged the issue at Turn 1 but indicated that the circuit had only become aware of it this week.

"We don’t feel good about the bump at the bottom of Turn 1," Epstein confessed to the outlet. "We weren’t aware of it until this week. We would have addressed it sooner."

"As for the other bumps Max mentioned around the circuit, we’ve resolved those. The track is in excellent condition."

"I spoke with some WEC drivers who indicated there’s no issue. There’s one dip at the start of [Turn] 1 that I find unacceptable... It’s a dip, not a bump. If it were a bump, we’d smooth it out, we’d take care of it overnight, and that kind of work has been done before [at other circuits]. But when it’s a dip, it’s much different; there’s no straightforward solution."

Bumps have been a persistent concern at COTA, which is constructed on clay that shifts with the weather. The entire track underwent resurfacing ahead of the 2024 race, and the section between Turns 9 and 11 has been resurfaced again this year, with repairs conducted between Turns 12 and 19.

Verstappen argues that these efforts fall short. “Over the years, they’ve been grinding a little here and there, but they’re merely covering up the major issue, which lies beneath,” he stated.

Other drivers have supported his statements, including reigning champion Lando Norris.

Photos from F1 United States GP - Saturday