Will new-look COTA help or hinder Norris? 2024 US GP preview

He added that over the next six grands prix, Lawson’s performances will be compared directly to team-mate Yuki Tsunoda. The pair proved closely matched throughout their time as temporary team-mates in 2023, with the latter proving quicker in qualifying while the former often finished further ahead on race day.

With Sergio Perez continuing to struggle at Red Bull, Marko has hinted that Lawson is in line to be promoted into a seat next to Max Verstappen for 2025.

“The GP appearances of Oliver Bearman and especially Franco Colapinto have shown that the youngsters are ready for the step up and that the old philosophy of some team bosses that only drivers with three or four years’ experience can be promoted to a top team is outdated,” said the Austrian in his column for Speedweek. “Mercedes has now proven this with its driver decision [hiring Kimi Antonelli], just as Red Bull Racing has done several times in the past.

“So you can rely on youth. It’s a certain risk, but it’s manageable and worth it. You have to give the youngsters a chance to prove themselves in a GP car after they have climbed the junior ladder.”

In preparation for his F1 return, Lawson was given time behind the wheel of Red Bull’s RB20 during a Pirelli tyre test earlier this week. He completed 116 laps of the Mugello circuit, and was the second-fastest runner on the day — albeit two seconds behind Norris’s fastest time.

 

COTA’s new look: resurfaced and revised 

COTA has undergone its second resurfacing in the last three years ahead of the 2024 US GP, after numerous drivers suggested that the venue was “more suited to a rally car” with its various hills and bumps.

“It was time,” said circuit promoter Bobby Epstein. “Some of that track was 12 years old.”

But while the resurfacing may stop cars from “jumping”, it may create some new issues. Similar changes to Monza ahead of a searing hot 2024 Italian Grand Prix created a very different racing experience for teams, with most drivers opting for a two-stop tyre strategy instead of the traditional one-stop due to heightened degradation.

At the 2023 United States GP, most teams opted for a two-stop strategy. Could a new surface prompt teams to opt for a rare three-stop? Or could the smoother asphalt allow tyres to last longer? Teams will only have a single FP1 session — courtesy of the condensed sprint race weekend format — to decide.

COTA has also taken advantage of the resurfacing by making revisions elsewhere which could help drivers avoid track limit violations. At Turns 6, 13, 14 and 15, asphalt verges have been narrowed by 1.5 metres and replaced with turf in order to dissuade drivers from running across them.

Austin also stated that it had added cameras in “strategic places” — which could help stewards better determine when a driver runs outside of the track limits — as well as ‘fake gravel’ at the exit of Turn 11.

 

Could the sprint race help or hinder Norris’ title ambitions? 

Lando Norris’s chances of claiming his first drivers’ world title are slimming by the race weekend, as the Briton now needs to outscore Verstappen by at least 8.6 points per race weekend in order to draw level. But while a double-race win in Austin could certainly aid his hopes, it also doubles the risk of falling further behind.

If Norris claims victory in this weekend’s US Grand Prix and sprint race — scoring 33 points in total (without fastest lap bonuses) — he would want Verstappen to finish third or lower in at least one of the events in order to make a significant dent in his championship lead.

But after applying key upgrades in Singapore, McLaren may well find Red Bull back in the fight for victory, and VErstappen had proven himself unyielding before, at the Austrian Grand Prix earlier this year.

While battling for the lead at the Red Bull Ring on F1’s last sprint race weekend, Norris and Verstappen clashed wheel-to-wheel twice through Turn 3 — leading to punctures for both drivers and a DNF for Norris, which severely reduced his points total from the weekend.

Given the ample overtaking opportunities COTA provides; Norris’s desperation to claw as many points away from Verstappen as possible; a potentially reinvigorated Red Bull; and the unknown track conditions, there’s a real chance that we’ll once again see Verstappen and Norris fighting on track — with unpredictable consequences.

 

Toyota is back

Toyota will return to the Formula 1 grid for the first time in 15 years this weekend, after announcing a technical partnership with Haas that begins immediately. The rear wings of Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen‘s Haas will include Toyota branding at this weekend’s US Grand Prix.

As part of a multi-year agreement, Toyota will provide design, technical and manufacturing services while Haas will offer technical expertise and commercial benefits in return.

“I’m hugely excited that MoneyGram Haas F1 Team and Toyota Gazoo Racing have come together to enter into this technical partnership,” said Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu. “To have a world leader in the automotive sector support and work alongside our organisation, while seeking to develop and accelerate their own technical and engineering expertise – it’s simply a partnership with obvious benefits on both sides.

“The ability to tap into the resources and knowledge base available at Toyota Gazoo Racing, while benefiting from their technical and manufacturing processes, will be instrumental in our own development and our clear desire to further increase our competitiveness in Formula 1.”

Toyota is highly unlikely to hand Haas a massive performance boost this weekend or even for the remainder for the 2024 season. But as its influence is felt over the years to come, it’s possible that the Japanese car giant could prepare for a works entry of its own.

“Although Akio Toyoda has pleaded for the media not to present this as ‘Toyota Return to F1’, this new Haas deal has made that prospect down the line much more realistic and painless.” said Mark Hughes for Motor Sport. “It’s difficult to see the downsides of this arrangement for either side.”