Saturday the 17th brought new, significant chapters to the Formula 1 season’s final stretch, with Kimi Antonelli arriving at the United States Grand Prix with a mathematical chance to clinch the title and Red Bull increasing pressure on McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship. Max Verstappen also drew attention again by predicting a physically tough weekend in Austin.
At Mercedes, the plan is to avoid turning the American round into a countdown to the championship. Antonelli leads the World Championship and could clinch the title as early as the United States, but the team prefers to keep the focus on the performance of the two cars and on the fight for the constructors’ title. George Russell, for his part, said that Mercedes still needs to “master” its updates better to finish 2026 strongly.
The battle between McLaren and Red Bull also gained weight. With six races remaining, the gap between the two teams fell to just seven points, placing the current champions under strong pressure in the fight for third place. Red Bull’s recent resurgence has turned what looked like a comfortable contest into one of the tightest battles in this closing stretch.
Verstappen already projects specific difficulties in Austin. The Dutch driver warned about the bumps on the Circuit of the Americas and joked that he will need “a new spine” after the weekend. The remark reinforces expectations of a physically demanding race as Red Bull attempts to sustain its growth trajectory.
Away from the track, Christian Horner again sparked debate by stating that Liam Lawson “should never have been promoted” to Red Bull in 2025. The former team principal also described the creation of the team’s own engine division as the greatest challenge of his time with the squad, highlighting the scale of the project and the initial lack of experience within the organization in power-unit production.
Another relevant topic came from Malaysia, which is evaluating a regular return to the calendar after the success of the Sepang race in 2026. The event generated an estimated economic impact of US$ 233 million and opened the possibility for the country to seek a fixed slot or even share a position on the calendar with another venue.
