United States Grand Prix preview: McLaren brings upgrades to Austin as Antonelli eyes early title

McLaren arrives with upgrades after a difficult triple-header

McLaren heads to Austin looking to arrest a poor run of form, with Chief Technical Officer and Chief Designer Rob Marshall confirming in the team's preview that it is bringing a modest selection of upgrades for the United States Grand Prix, aimed at improving braking reliability and performance issues, alongside small floor changes to test. ¹

Marshall noted that relative performance among the top teams has been difficult to predict over the last five or six races, and said Austin is probably a better circuit for the MCL40 after the Azerbaijan, Bahrain and Singapore triple-header yielded just 33 points across Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. He added that practice would be important for correlating what the team has seen in its development tools with the track, and that the team is still learning how best to extract performance from the car. ¹

Team Principal Andrea Stella said the response to the difficult triple-header is to keep building, developing and pushing forward together as one team. During the break, both drivers returned to the factory to work through the data and on the simulator, and the team hopes COTA will better suit the car's characteristics as a springboard for the final six rounds. ¹

McLaren sits third in the Constructors' Championship on 339 points, 105 behind second place. In the Drivers' Championship, Norris is sixth on 201 points, 14 off fifth, with Piastri seventh on 138. ¹

Formula1.com's race-week briefing by Chris Medland reports that McLaren is planning to introduce further upgrades in Austin to build on a package brought to Baku, with development useful for 2027 direction given the modest regulation changes for that season. Marshall echoed that most of the parts and philosophies on this car are relevant to next year's direction, and that every comparison of simulation, tunnel and track results improves the tools being used to develop the 2027 car. ¹⁶

Antonelli's first shot at the championship

Formula1.com highlights that Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, in only his second season, could wrap up his first Drivers' Championship as early as this weekend. The permutations require him to win the race, with team mate George Russell, his nearest challenger, finishing no higher than ninth and championship third-placed Lewis Hamilton coming home no higher than fifth. ⁶

Max Verstappen arrives as the in-form driver, having won each of the last two races in Bahrain (held in Malaysia) and Singapore, plus the Singapore Sprint for a clean sweep, added to a tight second place in Baku. Formula1.com notes that run lifted him to fourth in the standings, 119 points adrift, leaving him needing Antonelli not to outscore him by six points or more to keep his own extremely slim title hopes alive. ⁶

The same briefing sets the broader development context for the fluctuating form at the front: Mercedes started with a dominant car, Ferrari took the fight to them early in the European season, McLaren then strung together two wins and three pole positions in four races through late summer, and Red Bull is now the biggest threat. Mercedes has not stated it will bring new parts to Austin but is looking forward to three practice sessions to understand the upgrade brought to Malaysia after struggling to extract its full performance over the past two rounds. ⁶

The circuit and weekend format

The 2026 United States Grand Prix is the 18th round of the season, running Friday 23 to Sunday 25 October. After hosting Sprint weekends from 2023 to 2025, Austin returns to the standard format: practice on Friday, Practice 3 and Qualifying on Saturday, and a 56-lap Grand Prix on Sunday. McLaren's published schedule lists FP1 and FP2 on Friday, FP3 and Qualifying on Saturday at 16:00-17:00 local time, and the race on Sunday at 15:00 local time. ⁵¹

F1 first raced at the 5.513km, 20-turn Circuit of the Americas in 2012, in the first United States Grand Prix since 2007. The lap opens with a 250-metre run from pole to the braking point for the uphill Turn 1, sweeps through esses modelled on Silverstone's Maggotts and Becketts, and runs down the back straight to Turn 12, with a Hockenheim-inspired stadium section from Turns 12 to 15. Leclerc's 2019 lap record stands at 1m 36.169s. ⁵¹

Haas's preview notes that COTA's construction on soft clay means the circuit is prone to evolving year-on-year, creating new bumps that add to the driver challenge. The lengthy back straight into the tight left-hander at Turn 12 provides the best overtaking spot, with McLaren's preview identifying Turn 1 and Turn 12 as the two main overtaking zones and flagging that high lateral loads and searing Texan heat make tyre management vital. ⁴¹

Haas celebrates home turf with Godzilla livery

TGR Haas F1 Team marks its biggest home race with a special-edition Godzilla livery, in collaboration with Japanese entertainment studio TOHO CO., LTD., tied to the upcoming film 'Godzilla Minus Zero', with driver Ollie Bearman matching his helmet to the design. Team Principal Ayao Komatsu described COTA as the team's biggest home race and said the collaboration had always been planned as a season-long project following its launch in Japan earlier in the year. ⁴

Haas arrives after scoring points in two of the three races in the last triple-header, with Bearman ninth in last year's United States Grand Prix on his maiden attempt and Esteban Ocon 15th. Komatsu said the team made a step forward in Singapore in car setup and operations and is keen to continue that trend. Separately, Formula1.com reports Haas has confirmed Formula 2 championship leader Rafael Camara on a multi-year deal for 2027, expected to partner Bearman. ⁴⁶

Alpine and the support-race finale

BWT Alpine brings Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto to Austin after what both drivers described as a difficult run of recent races. Alpine's preview notes Gasly has made Q3 at each of the last three Grands Prix, the team has placed at least one driver in Q3 in each of the last five Grands Prix, and it finished in the top 10 in all Sprints and Grands Prix in Miami and Canada this year. Colapinto scored in Austin in 2024 in his fourth F1 start. ³

The F1 Academy round in Austin runs across four days of track action, with the circuit opening on Thursday. Nina Gademan represents Alpine, sitting third in the standings with five races remaining after two podium finishes at the Dutch Grand Prix in August. Haas-supported driver Kaylee Countryman also races at her first home event in the category. ³⁴⁵

Porsche Carrera Cup North America ends its season at COTA in support of the Grand Prix, with Tyler Maxson of TOPP Racing leading Kellymoss's Aaron Jeansonne by 27 points in the Mobil Pro class entering the final two 40-minute races, a maximum of 56 points available. Maxson has eight wins this season to Jeansonne's one, while Jeansonne has 12 podiums. Patrick Mulcahy and Marco Cirone of ACI Motorsports have already clinched the Pro-Am and Masters titles, and Cole Kleck has sealed Rookie of the Year. A field of 25 Porsche 911 Cup cars is entered, with the championship finale hosted by the United States Grand Prix for a fourth consecutive season. ²