Thursday the 22nd left Formula 1 poised for the start of the United States Grand Prix, with Kimi Antonelli facing the first opportunity to claim the 2026 title and Mercedes bringing its latest package to both cars. Max Verstappen also stepped up his criticism of the current power units, while Ferrari unveiled a special livery for Austin.
Antonelli arrives at the Circuit of the Americas with a 102-point lead over George Russell. To become champion this Sunday, the Italian must win, with Russell finishing no higher than ninth and Lewis Hamilton finishing fifth or worse. The championship scenario also gained an unusual twist: a potential alteration to the Qatar and Abu Dhabi races, with the possibility of replacing them with Imola, could even influence the moment when the title is mathematically secured.
A Mercedes is attempting to rebound after tougher weekends in Malaysia and Singapore. Toto Wolff confirmed that Antonelli and Russell will use in Austin the latest specification of the W17, after the team had worked with different setups in the last race. Jolyon Palmer assessed that the traditional weekend, with three free practice sessions, will be especially important for the team to better understand the car and close the gap as rivals evolve.
Verstappen, buoyed by consecutive victories, said that Red Bull is ready to try to keep its positive streak, but also again attacked the 2026 engine regulations. The Dutchman criticized the weight of energy management on lap performance, while Mohammed Ben Sulayem said he expects progress in the coming months in discussions about a possible return of V8 engines at the start of the next decade.
At McLaren, Lando Norris acknowledged that he needs to rethink his decisions after the collision with Oscar Piastri in the Singapore Sprint. Ferrari, for its part, unveiled the special livery it will use for the United States Grand Prix, while Audi confirmed Freddie Slater, 18, for TL1 sessions of the Mexico and São Paulo rounds. The action in Austin begins this Friday (the 23rd), with TL1 at 2:30 PM and TL2 at 6:00 PM, Brasília time (GMT -3).
