What to expect from the 2023 F1 US GP What can we expect when F1 returns to the Circuit of the Americas for the US GP?
The 18th round of the Formula 1 season is this weekend, with the US GP taking place at the Circuit of the Americas. Max Verstappen claimed his third title last time out in Qatar when the championship was clinched in Saturday’s sprint race.
The F1 Sprint format returns this coming weekend in the United States for the fifth and penultimate time this year. Last year, Verstappen had a thrilling battle with Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc for the race win, while the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz collided with Mercedes’ George Russell on the opening lap. But what should we expect from this year’s 11th visit to COTA? The return of Ricciardo Daniel Ricciardo is back behind the wheel of the AlphaTauri this weekend after five races and recovering from a hand injury.
The Australian suffered a broken leg during practice for the Dutch GP, which ruled him out of the following rounds. Liam Lawson replaced Ricciardo at the events, but the rookie’s tenure at sister team Red Bull came to an end after last weekend’s Qatar GP. With Ricciardo now fit enough to race again, the 34-year-old star is targeting the final laps in preparation for next year’s full season, with AlphaTauri already securing his place.
However, he faces a challenge as he tries to regain momentum for the sprint weekend, having been offered little training time before being thrown into the competition sessions. Hot and bothered drivers One of the biggest talking points at the Qatar GP almost two weeks ago was the tired drivers at the end of the race. The temperature combined with the fast race pace around the fast cornering circuit meant that many drivers were physically exhausted after the checkered flag.
Although such extremes are not expected this weekend, the heat continues to present challenges to drivers, Air temperature above 30 degrees is expected during the session. This will be the biggest challenge during Sunday’s GP, but the much slower corners at COTA compared to Qatar do not offer such an extreme physical challenge.
However, hot weather is enough to make them sweat and compromise their ability to concentrate. The new direction of Haas Haas has been in “survival mode” in recent races, according to Kevin Magnussen, but this weekend will give the team a new direction.
The VF-23 has been fitted with a major upgrade that hopes to provide momentum as the battle for the seventh Constructors’ Championship heats up. In addition to the advantage of next weekend, Haas hopes that the new parts will provide him with lessons for the coming season and help the challenger that is currently being built in the factory.
Haas has been a team at the bottom of the pecking order for several years. With the innovations made at COTA, it launches a new direction for team excitement.
