- United States Grand Prix is the first of the American triple race
- United States Prize includes Sprint race
- Liam Lawson replaces Daniel Ricciardo at RB
This weekend marks the start of an intense race to the end of the 2024 Formula 1 season.
There is six rounds in the next eight weeksstarting with an American triple headbutt whose first round is the United States Grand Prix. It takes place at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas and will include a Sprint race.
The Sprint race is an independent points race that takes place on Saturday, before the qualifying session for Sunday’s main race. It has its own qualifying session that takes place on Friday, after a single free practice session.
The Circuit of the Americas, which features a 3.5-mile track made up of 20 curves and a steep elevation change of 134 feet, is one of the best circuits on the calendar as it was designed primarily with F1 racing in mind. Some of its curves resemble curves from old and current F1 circuits.
Circuit of the Americas, home of the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix
There are also faster corners than Spa-Francorchamps and slower corners than the Hungaroring – a combination that makes the track a great challenge for teams and drivers.
Another real challenge is an unpredictable surface due to subsidence. Unpredictable weather could also be an issue here, although looking at this weekend’s forecast for Austin, we should have good weather all weekend. Pirelli named its mid-range C2, C3 and C4 tires for the round.
Heading into the weekend, Red Bull Racing Max Verstappen leads the way 2024 Drivers’ Championship with 331 points. McLaren’s Lando Norris is second with 279 points and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc is third with 245 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, McLaren leads with 516 points. Red Bull is second with 475 points and Ferrari is third with 441 points. Last year’s winner in Austin was Verstappen, driving for Red Bull.
One driver to watch this weekend is Red Bull RB feeder team Liam Lawson. Lawson has replaced Daniel Ricciardoand if he can outshine fellow RB driver Yuki Tsunoda for the remainder of this season, there is a chance he could be promoted to Red Bull as Sergio Perez’s replacement.