United States GP: Timetable, standings, track info

United States GP Timetable

The United States is of course a lot of hours behind the Netherlands and that means that you will have to hang out in front of the TV in the evenings next weekend to follow the action in Austin live. The second free practice and qualifying are even night work. The second free practice also lasts half an hour longer than usual, because the teams also test new tires for Pirelli in that session. That would also happen in Japan before, but the bad weather threw a spanner in the works. Incidentally, the tire test was already planned for this weekend, the session that fell into the water in Japan will be made up at the Mexican GP. Even then there is an extra long free training.

Championship standings

With the second title in his pocket, Max Verstappen’s lead over his direct rivals is no longer so interesting. It’s all the more interesting what happens between those other drivers. Sergio Pérez and Charles Leclerc in particular are still involved in a fierce battle, with only 1 point difference at the moment. While the title was of course the ultimate goal, second place is also something beautiful to compete for. After all, both Pérez and Leclerc have never finished so high in the championship and even in the top 3.

With the constructors, it seems only a matter of time before Red Bull takes its fifth title. Mercedes, meanwhile, has to work hard to have a chance of finishing second in the championship, because the gap with Ferrari is currently 67 points. It is still more exciting between Alpine and McLaren. After a dramatic Singapore GP for Alpine and a great result for McLaren, Alpine struck back in Japan and reclaimed fourth place in the championship. Slightly less relevant, but very important for the teams concerned, is the battle between Haas and AlphaTauri. Those teams are still tied, as no runs were scored by them in Japan.

Circuit

The second GP in the United States (unlike the GP in Miami) is actually called the United States GP. After all, the Circuit of the Americas in Austin was for many years the sole American host for Formula 1. In 2012, F1 returned to the US after a four-year absence and made its first appearance at the then quite new circuit in Texas. The Circuit of the Americas was designed with some famous older circuits in mind. The combination of turns 2, 3 and 4, for example, is reminiscent of the ‘Esses’ at Suzuka and ‘Maggots and Becketts’ at Silverstone. A particularly challenging part of the track, as a bad exit in Turn 2 can directly ruin the speed in the following corners. The Circuit of the Americas also often offers an extra challenge due to the somewhat bumpy character here and there, although it should be less bad than last year thanks to new asphalt.

The drivers will complete 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 turns on most other circuits are right. It is not uncommon for drivers to shoot something straight onto the large run-off surface at the start. The fastest race lap is in the name of Charles Leclerc, who crossed the 5.5 km long track in 1:36.169 in 2019. In qualifying last year, Max Verstappen clocked a time of 1:32.910. He then also won the race, after a blistering battle with Lewis Hamilton. Should Verstappen win again next weekend, he will equal Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel with the most wins in one season ever. It must be said that Schumacher and Vettel took the record in shorter seasons.