GP United States: times, standings, circuit info, weather

United States GP times

Just like in Qatar, there will be a sprint race next weekend. This means that we are again dealing with an adjusted program, with qualifying for the GP already on Friday. The sprint qualifying and sprint race will take place on Saturday, followed by the United States Grand Prix on Sunday. If you like to sleep early, you have a tough weekend ahead of you if you want to follow everything live. It will even be some night work.

Championship standings

The battle for P2 in the championship is one to keep a close eye on, because although the difference between Sergio Pérez and Lewis Hamilton is still quite large with 30 points, Pérez’s current form is not really promising if you want him to finishes second this year. You can bet that Hamilton will go for it, if only to further emphasize the difference with teammate George Russell in P8. Russell in P8? Of course; Lando Norris is making good progress and even the two Ferrari drivers still have to be careful that the Brit does not overtake them.

We also see McLaren climbing considerably among the teams. The iconic team from Woking are still only 11 points behind the increasingly struggling Aston Martin and it seems only a matter of time before McLaren grabs fourth place. We wouldn’t be surprised if the team secretly dreams of third place and it certainly cannot be ruled out that this will happen. The team was no longer able to do that after 2020.

Circuit

The Circuit of the Americas in Austin was the only American host for Formula 1 for many years and that is why this GP (unlike those in Miami and Las Vegas) is called the Grand Prix of the United States. The Circuit of the Americas has been on the F1 calendar since 2012 and was designed with some famous older circuits in mind. For example, the corner combination 2, 3 and 4 are reminiscent of the ‘Esses’ at Suzuka and ‘Maggots and Becketts’ at Silverstone. A particularly challenging part of the circuit, because a bad exit in Turn 2 can immediately ruin the speed in the subsequent corners. The circuit designed by Hermann Tilke often offers an extra challenge due to its somewhat bumpy character here and there. Last year, thanks to new asphalt, this was less of a problem than before.

The drivers will complete a total of 56 laps on the Circuit of the Americas next Sunday, good for a total distance of more than 308 km. You will have to be careful, especially at the start, because turn 1 is a sharp and blind bend on top of a hill, which also turns left. The first corners on most other circuits are to the right. It is not uncommon for drivers to shoot straight onto the large run-off surface at the start. The fastest race lap is in the name of Charles Leclerc, who completed the 5.5 km long track in 1:36.169 in 2019. In qualifying last year, Carlos Sainz clocked the fastest time, with 1:34.356, closely followed by Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen.

Ultimately, Max Verstappen won the race, equaling Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel in the number of victories in one season. Next weekend the 26-year-old can take his 50th victory in F1. Then he is only one victory away from the number of victories of the French four-time world champion Alain Prost. Only Lewis Hamilton (103), Michael Schumacher (91) and Sebastian Vettel (53) won more races than Prost.

Weather

It was quite a bit too much in Qatar with the high temperatures, resulting in several drivers suffering serious health problems during and after the race. Next weekend it will probably be a lot of puffing and sweating again, because the weather forecast will be quite sunny and warm (about 37 degrees Celsius) all weekend.