Some team bosses didn’t want to be drawn on the topic, others stated it could create a major performance advantage, but that they trust in the FIA to police it from here on. The FIA’s Nikolas Tombazis even described it as a “non-story” moving forward, now seals are fitted under parc fermé.
It was a clear sign of a championship battle heating up, with McLaren putting the scrutiny on Red Bull after the reverse was true relating to rear wings in Singapore. For Red Bull’s part, the end result was perfectly timed as Max Verstappen beat Lando Norris in both the sprint and Grand Prix at the first race where McLaren could have no suspicions.
Not that the race itself passed without controversy given the stewarding decisions on overtaking moves and track limits. Whichever way you view individual incidents, it’s clear that there is a lack of consistency because the stewards follow driving standards guidelines that set a simple target: be ahead at the apex and what happens next effectively doesn’t matter.
Verstappen plays to those rules, so was going too quickly to stay on track at both Turn 1 at the start and Turn 12 against Norris later on, but by getting his car to the apex first he has fulfilled the criteria he needs to.
Other races must learn from Austin’s scale and excitement
The United States Grand Prix has always felt like a massive event, and it had even more scope to do so this weekend because of the gap between races. That meant there was just that little bit more energy in the paddock, and it’s needed given the amount of sponsor activity that takes place.
Throw in a college football game that brought in another estimated quarter of a million visitors to Austin and it was a pretty special few days for the city. One team member who made it to the football described it as “arguably the greatest sporting event I’ve ever been to”.
A crowd of 140,000-150,000 on Sunday alone watched Leclerc win in Austin
Bryn Lennon/F1 via Getty Images)
But every F1 race doesn’t feel like this. A big part of that might be due to the importance of different markets, but this is a global sport, a huge international championship, and it should be aspiring to make as many of the races as possible receive similar attention.
Speaking to US stakeholders, the less-is-more approach could help here, with an acceptance that NASCAR has too many races, with 36 championship rounds. There’s an example from the way the condensed college football season and NFL, which has 17 regular season games, continue to bring in enormous crowds, coverage and of course revenues.
It’s unrealistic to expect every race to feel the same and all be as significant as each other, and when there is a championship battle developing then it almost feels like you can’t have enough racing, but F1 should be aiming to replicate the the excitement that COTA generates with both the season schedule and race weekend format.
Acting skills on show
Following on from that theme, the Las Vegas race organisers were in Austin to do some promotional work, that includes some content for the iconic Sphere that the track loops around.
Mike Krack is set to be one of the figures looking down from the Sphere in Las Vegas next month
Grand Prix Photo
Last year the Sphere became a central component of the Vegas weekend, with lots of animations and advertisements, as a key part of the race’s location. To step it up a level, this year there will be drivers and team bosses reacting as their cars drive by, meaning they had to record different emotions and gestures at COTA.
One such idea is for them to gesticulate and the Sphere appear to break, which led to the unusual scenario of Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack trying to create a crack…
It’s always an awkward feeling having to act out unnatural movements for the camera, and on being encouraged to really commit to it Krack joked: “I just wanted to be an engineer!”
I can’t wait to see how some of those turn out.
Rookies set for big outings in Mexico
Mexico City has often been the location for rookie practice session outings in recent years due to the altitude and lack of a sprint format ensuring a lot of aerodynamic testing takes place in the first practice session — which race drivers are happy to sit out.
This year is no different, but two big appearances have yet to be officially announced that will be worth keeping an eye on.
Antonelli will looking to complete a full practice session in Mexico — and to bring the car back to the garage
Grand Prix Photo
Kimi Antonelli is going to get his second outing for Mercedes ahead of his debut for the team next year, with the Italian looking for a smoother appearance than his first when he crashed early in the session in Monza.
He’ll be joined by his current Prema F2 team-mate Ollie Bearman, but not for Haas as you might expect. Bearman had been due to run for Haas in Mexico again – as he did last year – but following his one-off race for the team in Baku, he will now get behind the wheel of the Ferrari for the first time since Saudi Arabia.
Remembering Pete Samara
If you were watching the start of the television coverage ahead of the race you might have seen a tribute to Pete Samara, who sadly passed away this week in the United States.
Pete Samara was mourned this weekend at Austin
Samara was the Director Of Innovation and Digital Technology at Formula 1, and had been part of the company for over two decades. I can only claim to know him in passing, but those who worked closely with him described him as one of those people that there would genuinely never be a bad word spoken about.
He’s had a huge influence in the sport’s growth and impressive diversification as technology has evolved, particularly under Liberty Media’s ownership.
His death came as a real shock to those within Formula One Management, with many of the company wearing black armbands on Sunday in Austin. Our thoughts are with his friends and family.