AUSTIN, Texas — As dawn breaks over the Circuit of the Americas, the main storyline Thursday comes on the media side of things, as the drivers meet the media ahead of the United States Grand Prix.
Here are some storylines that are likely to come up during the various media sessions.
What is the next twist in the Drivers’ title race?
With McLaren wrapping up the Constructors’ Championship at the Singapore Grand Prix, many are now wondering:
Will the gloves be off for Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris?
As McLaren chased their second consecutive title this season, they remained adamant that the team came first. This opened the door to much debate over the so-called “Papaya Rules,” as Zak Brown and Andrea Stella worked to maintain harmony within the team while chasing that title.
Now that they have the trophy back in Woking, will Piastri and Norris truly be free to race? Currently, Piastri holds a 22-point lead over Norris in that fight, which has him well within striking distance with six race weekends, including three F1 Sprint races, remaining.
Of course, you cannot count Max Verstappen out. The Red Bull driver is 63 points behind Piastri, and 41 behind Norris.
We could also see a surprise. After all, just last year in Austin, we saw another clash between Norris and Verstappen as those two battled for a title, opening the door for a Ferrari one-two from Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr.
Can COTA deliver something similar this weekend?
Speaking of Ferrari, while McLaren has sewn up the Constructors’ title, the fight for second remains tight between Ferrari and Mercedes. At the moment, Mercedes has a 27-point advantage, thanks in large part to George Russell’s win at the Singapore Grand Prix.
This has been a difficult season for Ferrari, who came so close to catching McLaren last season. They have just five grand prix podiums on the season — all from Leclerc — and they have yet to win a grand prix.
But having tasted success here last year, can they spring a surprise this weekend?
More news on the drivers’ market?
Mercedes made some news as the grid arrived here in Austin, confirming that both Russell and Kimi Antonelli would be back with the Silver Arrows next season. While the terms of those deals have not been announced, Mercedes put to rest months of speculation as both drivers waited to hear their 2026 fate.
During those months, rumors swirled over Mercedes potentially making a run at signing none other than Max Verstappen.
Yet ultimately, Verstappen committed to Red Bull for 2026, and Mercedes confirmed that their current pair will be back next season. Still, given the uncertainty over the exact terms, many are wondering if the door is still open for the parties to separate after the 2026 season.
But as far as the 2026 grid goes, this leaves just four open seats for the upcoming season: A seat at Alpine alongside Pierre Gasly, a seat at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen, and the two seats at Visa Cash App Racing Bulls.
It is … unlikely we get news on those seats this week.
What is next in the midfield fight?
As is often the case here at SB Nation, we need to take a moment to appreciate the midfield fight. Yes, McLaren has clinched the Constructors’ Championship, and the battle between Ferrari and Mercedes remains tight, but do not ignore what is happening in the middle of the pack.
As dawn breaks over the Circuit of the Americas, Williams sit fifth in the standings with 102 points, with a third-place finish from Carlos Sainz Jr. at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix two races ago their best result of the season. While they enjoy a 30-point lead over VCARB at the moment, Isack Hadjar delivered a third-place finish at the Dutch Grand Prix, and Liam Lawson notched a P5 in Azerbaijan.
A little further down the standings, Aston Martin is currently seventh with 68 points, followed by Sauber with 55 and then Haas with 46.
With millions of dollars on the line, every point counts down the stretch for these teams.
Formula 1 returns to the United States for the second time this season with the United States Grand Prix, as the sport continues its push into the American market. That push has seen the schedule expand to both Miami and Las Vegas in recent years, teams focus even more energy and activations on the US audience, and there is even the expectation that Apple will confirm their media rights agreement this week, fresh off the success of F1: The Movie.
But this is F1’s 13th time in Austin, and if Austin-Bergstrom International Airport was any indication on Wednesday, the circuit remains a fan favorite. Waiting in the rental car line after landing, I was lucky to speak with several different fans, many of whom were making a return trip to COTA this week, with one having been to every installment of the United States Grand Prix since it arrived in Austin in 2012.
The current contract for this race runs through 2026, but reporting from the Austin Business Journal this week indicates that a contract extension could be coming this week for the race, to keep the United States Grand Prix at COTA through perhaps 2034.
This week will also see Turn 20, the final turn of the circuit, named in Mario Andretti’s honor, at a naming ceremony to come later today.
Add in the addition of Cadillac as a new team for next season, and you have even more signs that F1 is going to continue its US push.
An F1 Sprint weekend with a tire twist
As noted above, three F1 Sprint race weekends remain on the schedule.
The United States Grand Prix is one of those three.
That means the teams and drivers have little time to waste, as they have just one hour of practice this week before the lap times count for real, starting with F1 Sprint qualifying on Friday afternoon.
Complicating matters further is the interesting decision from Pirelli to institute a jump in the tire compounds for this weekend. The C1 will be the hard compound for the United States Grand Prix, with the C3 as the medium tire and the C4 as the soft.
This is the second time this season Pirelli has opted for non-consecutive tire compounds. The first time came at the Belgian Grand Prix over the summer, but wet conditions negated the chance to see how teams would implement strategies with the non-consecutive compounds.
We might get our chance to see that this weekend.
Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Director of Motorsport, elaborated on their choices in an interview with F1.com.
“It’s difficult to come to a conclusion for Spa where we had the weather that was not helping at all, but I believe the idea was good, and that’s why we decided to have the same approach for Texas and Mexico where we skip a compound between hard and medium,” said Isola.
“Basically, the target is always the same: to have a variation in strategies and to have teams planning a one-stop or two-stop, so different approaches to the race.
“We made some simulations, and we believe that creating a bigger gap between the hard and the medium means that if one team wants to use the hard and target a one-stop race, they are penalised by a slower tyre. While if a team wants to be aggressive, and that means moving to a two-stop strategy, at that time you can use the medium and the soft that are faster.
“So, this is the approach, and for Mexico and Austin we believe we can try this solution again.”
Isola and Pirelli believe, according to their simulations, that teams may opt for the two-stop strategy this weekend because of the jump in compounds.
“Because of the simulation we were running with our modelling department, that is telling us the two-stop strategy is slightly quicker than the one-stop.
“Usually, if you have a one-stop and two-stop that are very close in terms of total race time, the teams choose a one-stop. They don’t want to take a risk of an additional pit stop, traffic or a mistake during the stop, so they move in a natural way towards a one-stop race,” added Isola.
“That means in Mexico and Texas we have a simulation telling us the two-stop is a few seconds quicker.”
That’s right! As you can tell from the fancy bylines this week we are on the ground for the United States Grand Prix. Follow along with the action all week long as we report from the paddock.
