Race Week in Austin, Texas
United States Grand Prix Weekend Warmup:
About the Grand Prix: The United States Grand Prix has been hosted at the Circuit of the Americas since 2012, but its history dates back to the 1950s. It has been held at six circuits: Sebring, Riverside, Watkins Glen, Phoenix, Indianapolis, and COTA. Bruce McLaren won the first US GP held at Sebring in 1959 in his Cooper-Climax.
About the Circuit: The Circuit of the Americas is a twenty-corner permanent motor racing circuit 3.426 miles (5.514 km) long. With a combination of fast sweeping corners, high-speed esses modeled after maggotts and becketts (Silverstone), and the iconic hill climb corner 1, COTA is a beloved circuit on the F1 calendar. The race is 56 laps long.
Weekend Highlights: As we enter round 19 of the 2024 F1 championship, F1 heads to the Americas for a triple header starting in Austin. The grid will look slightly different with the recent news of Liam Lawson replacing Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo has raced in every US GP at COTA since the inaugural race in 2012; Daniel has two third-place podiums at COTA. The vibes will be different without Mr Texas himself, but the racing should be exciting with a sprint race format.
MCLAREN is HIM. McLaren is doing everything necessary to win these (yes, these...plural) titles. With a forty-point lead in the constructor's championship and Lando trailing Max by 50 in the driver's title, it's a full-court press for McLaren. One title seems evident, and both are more of a possibility than it was last race. It's not the time to relax for McLaren; it's time to push, push, push.
Red Bull is in damage control mode. I don't know what's happening at RB; it's strange now. Max is singlehandedly keeping Red Bull afloat, still a 50-point lead in the driver's title while slipping to second in the constructors. RB is on the back foot going into this triple header, which seems an unfamiliar position for the team. There's a lot of strange dialogue around the driver's lineup for the remainder of the season. What appeared to be the strangest send-off race for Ricciardo at Singapore, the talks of Lawson/Ricciardo switch seem off target when the evident struggle is Perez. I see this going one of two ways: RB figures something out and fights to the end, hopefully walking away with at least one title or the team implodes fully, and both titles slip between their fingers. If it's the latter, expect the gossip and dialogue to be very toxic around the RB garage.
Ferrari needs to step up and stay locked in. With Red Bull struggling, Ferrari can capitalize and finish second in the constructors championship if they remain consistent as a team. The key word here is team; Ferrari needs both cars to perform well on race days if they want to overtake RB in the constructors. With a margin of thirty-four points, Ferrari is one to two good races away from taking second place. This could come down to the last race if RB can get a jolt of luck as the season winds down. Second place in the constructors is achievable for Ferrari, and the goal should be nothing short of that.
Mercedes. Mercedes has yet to quite have the race pace since Lewis's win in Belgium, with only one podium after the Perez/Sainz crash by Russell at Baku. Hovering around the top 5 but not podiums, I expect to see Mercedes competitive in Austin and Mexico. I would love to see another Hamilton victory before he leaves the team. Upgrades are scheduled for COTA, so this may be the boost Mercedes needs to get back into the podium and race-win contention.
Aston Martin. I expect one really good weekend from AMR before the end of the season. Alonso has found a groove recently with a handful of solid finishes. However, with its stable position in the constructor's title, I expect little from Aston Martin. Meanwhile, Lance is tied with Nico Hulkenberg with 24 driver points; this might be an exciting battle to watch as the season ends.
Whatever...VCARB. In what felt like one of the strangest PR events in recent F1, the conversation around Daniel Ricciardo's dismissal after Singapore started as a rumor and, by the end of the weekend, played out like a bad high school play. A few days later, the official announcement came out that Liam Lawson would drive the remaining races of the 2024 season. Expect the competition between Yuki and Liam to be intense; it could be for a Red Bull seat in 2025. With Haas on its heels for sixth place in the constructors, the remaining races are essential for VCARB.
Haas did it again. Haas is one perfect weekend away from taking over sixth place from VCARB. Haas has been making magic happen all season, and there is no reason to stop now. With a triple-header coming up, I predict Haas will come out the other end ahead of VCARB in the constructors.
Williams. A double-point race last season at COTA, Williams has had success in Austin in the past. With both cars consistently fighting for points, I see no reason Williams can't walk away with at least one point during the sprint weekend in Austin.
Alpine. Consistency has been an issue for Alpine; there are fewer reliability issues and more overall team performance. Which Alpine team shows up each weekend is a coin toss. With Williams' double-digit points haul a few races ago, Alpine is ninth among the constructors. I doubt Stake Sauber will score a point this season, but can Alpine find some race pace in the last six races and close that three-point gap to Williams to retake eighth place?
Stake-sauber needs to be competitive. It has almost written this season off and is virtually sure to finish last in the constructors championship. I want both drivers to finish the season with one point each. It's doubtful, but I would like to see it.
