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United States Grand Prix: Times, Statistics, Predictions

United States Grand Prix: Times, Statistics, Predictions

Formula 1 arrives in Austin, Texas this week looking forward to an exciting battle for the title with just six races remaining.

Red Bull is behind in the constructors' championship, while Max Verstappen's lead in the drivers' championship has been reduced to just 52 points by McLaren's Lando Norris after his outstanding start to the season.

This weekend the action continues at the Circuit of the Americas. Did Red Bull regain performance during the break or did McLaren continue to benefit from its development success?

The weather this weekend will be hot, dry and settled, with highs of 28 and 29 degrees Celsius over the weekend and partial cloud cover.

According to Austin Circuit boss Bobby Epstein, the US Grand Prix saw a surge in ticket sales after Verstappen stopped winning.

The heir to the throne of Hamilton: Andrea Kimi Antonelli is the next big thing in Formula 1.

United States Grand Prix Preview | Listen to the latest episode of ESPN's F1 podcast Unlapped.

Route statistics and history

America's history with Formula One dates back to the sport's beginnings in 1950, when Indianapolis hosted the event between 1950 and 1960. In 1959, Sebring hosted the first United States Grand Prix, and since then the race has been held at five other circuits.

The Circuit of the Americas (COTA) became host in 2012 when the track was opened by Mario Andretti after four years away from Formula 1 in the United States.

While Formula 1 gained popularity in the 1980s, during the time of Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Niki Lauda, ​​other Grands Prix were held in the USA, including Long Beach from 1976 to the early 1980s and around the same time Time Dallas, Las Vegas and Detroit.

Miami, Austin and Las Vegas are now on the calendar in the USA.

COTA is a varied route with straights, climbs up to the second sector and a series of hairpin bends in the third sector. The high-speed corners are inspired by Silverstone and Hockenheim.

Round: 56 laps of 5.5 km each. Total distance 308.4 km

Lap record: 1:36.169 Charles Leclerc (2019)

Most wins (COTA): Hamilton (2012, 2014-2017) has the most wins with five. From the current starting lineup, Verstappen (2021-2023) and Valtteri Bottas (2019) both won here.

Most Poles (COTA): Hamilton (2016-2018) with three. From the current starting grid, Bottas (2019), Verstappen (2021), Carlos Sainz (2022) and Charles Leclerc (2023) were all on pole.

What happened last year?

Verstappen secured his 15th win of the season and the 50th of his F1 career after battling his way to victory from sixth on the grid. Hamilton was 2.2 seconds behind but was later ruled out of the race for a breach of technical regulations, with Norris moving up to second and Sainz to third.

Who will win?

Top teams including Red Bull and McLaren are expected to bring improvements to the Circuit of the Americas, which could change the competitive landscape at the United States Grand Prix. Nevertheless, McLaren showed the most consistent performance among the top four teams in the last ten races, making Norris the favorite to win again after his victory in the last race in Singapore.

Here's how to look at the GP

Watch on ESPNEWS and ESPN+ (US only) – see schedule.

The live broadcast in the UK will be on Sky Sports F1 and BBC Radio 5 Live.

For news, analysis and updates, follow the coverage ESPN's F1 Team Nate Saunders and Laurence Edmondson in Austin and on social media.

Friday
Free Practice 1: 6:30pm – 7:30pm BST
Sprint Qualifying: 22:30-23:14 BST

Saturday
Sprint Race: 7:00pm – 8:00pm BST
Qualification: 23:00-00:00 BST

Sunday
Race start: 20:00 BST.

What the championships look like

Norris is 52 points behind Verstappen in the drivers' championship with three wins; the Dutchman has seven wins this year. Aided by Oscar Piastri's two race wins, McLaren led the constructors' championship by 41 points, just two wins behind Red Bull's seven wins.

Ranking | Calendar | teams

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