#1 ·
Any music suggestions for reading through the intro theme?
Hi everyone. Welcome to the opening thread for the first ever US Grand Prix at a track we haven't seen on the calendar for a year now. Before we dive into the details, I should probably mention one thing. During the Mexico City Grand Prix, the CEO of Formula 1, Stefano Domenicali, promised a refresh of the Formula 1 logo. It's all part of the push to promote their new 100% sustainable fuel called Drop-In. He also mentioned some updated graphics coming our way.
São Paulo is set to be the next battleground for Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. To make things more interesting, we have this new sprint qualifying race format added to the mix. Ironically, Max Verstappen hasn't really finished his races when they've included sprints, so he’ll need to stay lucky in Brazil.
The first lap at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is usually pretty chaotic. We've seen everything there—from total mayhem back in 2009 to cars slamming into catch fencing like an old-school IndyCar oval crash from '93. Honestly, I worry this sprint qualifying format might just invite more trouble in São Paulo. Even Monza felt a bit dicey because that chicane is basically a magnet for accidents, though drivers have been being careful there lately. Here, though, we have those tricky, winding sections.
What's going to really spice up the weekend is the fact that, as with all sprint events, the drivers get only one hour of full preparation before qualifying—especially since Formula 1 hasn't been to this track in a year. Mind blown. At least, that's how it feels to me. It used to be four hours of prep, then it dropped to three, and now with this new setup, it's down to just sixty minutes. Either way, it won't be boring, and they are actually calling for light rain on Friday.
It's also worth noting that this will be the last race on the calendar held during daylight; the final three races are all scheduled as night races.
Action Zones
Turns 1-3
2015 - Max Verstappen vs. Felipe Nasr.
Turn 4
1994 - Jos Verstappen / Eric Bernard / Eddie Irvin / Martin Brundle.
turn 10
2019 - Lewis Hamilton vs Alex Albon.
turn 11
2012 - Romain Grosjean crash.
Goodyear is sticking with the C2/C3/C4 compounds, and that’s what we’ll see for the next two races too.
In such an unpredictable season, we have only four races left and it's just Mercedes and Red Bull Racing, separated by a single point! It's rare, especially during this turbo/hybrid era. Mexico did some interesting things, particularly regarding Lewis Hamilton, who is now trailing Max Verstappen by 19 points.
Max Verstappen needs a clean weekend and a win to pull further away from Lewis Hamilton, while Hamilton has to get back to the very top immediately if he wants any kind of chance. Of course, all of this goes out the window if there's an unexpected DNF.
Ferrari did a great job in Mexico. They are 13.5 points ahead of McLaren now, which isn't huge, but they're moving in the right direction toward securing third place. Daniel Ricciardo caused that mess at the start, ruining his own race but giving Ferrari the opening to pull ahead. It wasn't perfect, but they need to focus on what's coming next. Lando Norris isn't shining quite as much lately, and his chances of even passing Sergio Perez are slipping away.
Alpine will almost certainly lose 5th place to AlphaTauri. Pierre Gasly is carrying the whole team on his back, and honestly, props to him. In this current power dynamic, Alonso's magic provides small scraps, whereas the AlphaTauri car is just a very strange machine. If they nail the setup, Gasly can easily be the strongest of the rest (realistically, 5th place is basically locked), but in other cases, the setup just fails and AlphaTauri can't even scrape any points. Gasly is heading to a track that holds a special place in his heart, so we might see him up high again, maybe even near the Paddock.
Aston Martin is in a tough spot; 7th place feels pretty much guaranteed for the rest of the season. Alfa Romeo's only hope is some chaos at the start against Williams, but I can say with confidence that the order of the bottom four teams will likely stay exactly as it is until the end.
From what we can see, this track suits Mercedes, but Red Bull Racing is on a completely different level this season—a level Mercedes hasn't seen since 2014. The Sprint qualifying race could really shake things up, and the final race on the classic calendar will set the stage for heading into the unknown.
