Since 2012, the United States Grand Prix has embodied American Pride. Situated right outside Austin, the Circut of the Americas (COTA) provides good entertainment and great racing. This high-force track provides two DRS zones that launch the drivers forward before the curves. With 20 turns, the drivers have to take advantage of the straights as much as they can.
The United States GP prides itself on being “The Home of World Champions”. Unfortunately, we won’t see anyone win the title this year with the battle still going on. In 2019, Hamilton took his 6th World Drivers’ Championship (WDC) title at COTA while his teammate Bottas took the win. COTA features a sprint race and a feature race, making for an exciting weekend full of races and opportunities for points.
If Lando Norris wins both the sprint and feature race, he will gain 33 points, bringing him closer in the battle for the WDC.
United States Grand Prix 2024 predictions
McLaren has rapidly risen to the top of the championship rankings this year. They currently hold the lead in the World Constructors’ Championship but do they have what it takes to pull off a win?
McLaren recently upgraded their floor which saw them clinch a win by 21 seconds ahead of Red Bull at the Singapore Grand Prix. While it is risky to bring more upgrades, McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella says they “need to keep being aggressive in terms of development”. (Racer).
⚠️ | Lando Norris has dismissed Max Verstappen’s idea that the F1 world title is “unrealistic” for Red Bull, believing he simply thinks that to “make himself feel better.”
“That is just Max saying what he wants to say,” Norris said.
“Even if I win every race, [catching him] is… pic.twitter.com/RD5hN2r5Sm
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) October 11, 2024
Ferrari is also bringing what they call their last upgrade of the season. Their upgrades have been working for the past few races however, the United States GP has a bumpy track and Ferrari’s upgrades at Barcelona have caused a bouncing issue. Barcelona seems to be a popular track for botched upgrades with that being where the problems started for Red Bull. Red Bull has made some radical changes to try and defend Verstappen’s title.
With the top four teams all having recent upgrades, COTA is truly anyone’s track. Despite being on the tail of the drivers since 2019, could we see Leclerc lose his World Drivers’ Championship position to Oscar Piastri here? Could we see Hamilton extend his record of the most wins? Could the United States GP give us our first Verstappen win since May?
Rookies Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto have a lot to prove at COTA
After Daniel Riccardo’s unexpected exit, all eyes will be on Liam Lawson as he once again races for Visa Cash App RB (VCARB). During his five-race run last season, Lawson managed to score points (2) at the Singapore Grand Prix. Not only will he be racing for points but Lawson will also be racing for the Red Bull seat. Lawson’s lowest result was 17th place at the Qatar Grand Prix, with the Qatar track being similar to COTA and his grid penalty, could Lawson miss out on points?
Colapinto has blown everyone away with his stellar performances the past three races!
With only six races remaining and one seat open for 2025, it’s time to start wondering:
Should Colapinto remain in F1 in 2025?#F1 #Formula1
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— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) October 1, 2024
Another rookie that everyone is looking at is Franco Colapointo. Colapinto has swept the crowd off their feet with both his personality and racing skills. At the Singapore Grand Prix, he just missed out on points placing 11th. At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, his second race ever, he placed 8th. With long straights similar to Singapore could the DRS zones launch Colapinto back into the top 10?
 coming up, who will we see dominate the track?){kind=link}