Formula 1 USA Grand Prix Prediction: What's happening with McLaren?

The Formula 1 World Championship is entering the very end. Three-quarters of the season are already behind us, we found out the constructors' champions at the last race, and we still have an interesting fight for the driver's title. Six exciting races are ahead of us, the first of which is the US GP in Texas, and there are three contenders for the throne: Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, and Max Verstappen. Thanks to a distinct dominance during the season, but also to various problems plaguing the competition, McLaren very early secured the title of the best team in Formula 1. The second consecutive constructor's title was mathematically confirmed at the Singapore Grand Prix, and the company from Woking could afford a moderate celebration before leaving for the American tour.

USA GP - Austin

Tensions between the two neighboring garages are very pronounced, as Oscar Piastri has a 22-point advantage over Lando Norris, and the battle for the driver's title could not be more tense. Lately, there have been a lot of sticky situations between the two, with a certain amount of interference from the team with the strange and unclear 'Papaya rules'. Although many would disagree with him, Zak Brown said that the team's strategy will not change and that the approach remains the same. After the last race in Singapore, the main topic was Norris's move in the first lap, when he ran into Piastri very aggressively, risking a collision. The nervousness in McLaren is further increased by Max Verstappen. At one point in the season, it seemed that the four-time world champion simply had no chance of defending the title this season, but the perception has changed. In the last four races, the Dutchman has two wins and two second places, while Piastri and Norris had their own setbacks, so 63 points behind does not seem unattainable at the moment.

Chaos in the sprint: Verstappen wins ahead of Russell, both McLarens out in the first lap!

Max Verstappen received a new gift already in the first corner of the first lap of the sprint race in Austin. Lando Norris had a slightly slower start, which allowed Oscar Piastri to catch up with him already at the beginning of the starting line. Piastri thought about overtaking from the outside, but changed his mind and decided to cut under Norris anyway. He probably would have succeeded if it hadn't been the first lap when there were several cars on the top of the corner at that moment. Piastri hit Hulkenberg's Sauber, which was sandwiched between him and Fernando Alonso on the inside. Piastri was launched into his teammate, and both retired due to damage to the suspension of both cars. George Russell took advantage and broke into second place, and both Ferraris also made excellent breakthroughs, with Charles Leclerc ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Russell pressured Verstappen for several laps and, at one point, attacked aggressively, but failed to stay within the track limits. After that, his pace dropped, and Max reached the finish line without much challenge.

Verstappen won the first starting position in Austin

Verstappen was fastest in all qualifying segments and will be joined on the front row by Lando Norris in McLaren. Charles Leclerc finished well in qualifying, placing Ferrari in third place, while George Russell in Mercedes was fourth. Lewis Hamilton took fifth, and Oscar Piastre only sixth on the grid. It was a pretty poor qualifying for the championship leader.

Norris: The MCL39 is impossible to drive

Lando Norris admitted he was almost surprised to qualify second for the United States Grand Prix, after describing his McLaren as "undrivable". The Briton felt the team had suffered more than his rivals due to the deteriorating track conditions. During the first qualifying round, Norris had an embarrassing moment after having to abandon his first fast lap due to mistakes in the opening sector - he missed the entry into the first corner. He went wide on the exit of the ninth. A second attempt, on the same set of tires, was enough to get him through to the next stage, and he later secured another front row starting spot alongside Max Verstappen. However, he was almost three tenths slower than Verstappen, who failed to start the second lap in Q3 after running out of time. Norris said after qualifying that his MCL39 was "a nightmare to drive" and that the changes in conditions from Friday to Saturday - particularly the wind and track conditions - had hurt McLaren more than their rivals.

Expert Betting Tips

The race at the Circuit of the Americas will last 56 laps. There are as many as 20 corners on the 5.5-kilometer-long track, and some of them are modeled after some legendary places in world motorsports – Silverstone, Suzuka, Hockenheim… The track is also characterized by an elevation difference of as many as 41 meters, with a steep climb on the start-finish line before reaching the first corner. Formula 1 fans have generally loved this track, and the 2022 race weekend in Austin holds the record for the number of spectators on the track over three days: around 440 thousand. The weather forecast announces a mostly dry, sunny, and very warm weekend in Texas. The highest air temperature will exceed 30 degrees Celsius every day, but the possibility of an occasional shower is not entirely ruled out, especially on Saturday. The chances of rain are not great, but they still exist.

With a win in this race Verstappen will be fully in the title race, and it will disrupt McLaren's drivers even more. Considering everything we saw this weekend, I believe that Verstappen has enough power to finish first in Austin.

OUR PREDICTION: Red Bull Racing car to set the Fastest Lap