IT'S RACE WEEK: 5 storylines we're excited about ahead of the 2025 United States Grand Prix

The final quarter of the 2025 season is upon us, as the Formula 1 paddock heads to Austin to kick-off a double-header in the Americas that also includes Mexico City. With the Drivers’ Championship picture getting tighter and multiple teams fighting for wins, it’s set to be a big weekend at Circuit of The Americas...

The drivers’ title fight heating up

Ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, we were asking if Max Verstappen is really a threat in the Drivers’ Championship picture, and another weekend where he beat both of the McLarens to further cut the gap would suggest that he is.

That said, Verstappen being limited to second place ahead of Lando Norris in third and Oscar Piastri in fourth meant he was only able to reduce Piastri’s lead by six points, leaving him 63 adrift with six rounds to go.

Zoom out a little, and Verstappen has taken 41 points out of Piastri in the past three races, so the trend is a strong one, but the two McLaren drivers will still have their eyes predominantly on each other at this stage. In fact, they got so close in Singapore there was light contact on the opening lap, leading to the post-race focus being on the rules of engagement between the pair.

Norris came out on top on that occasion to move within a race win of Piastri – 22 points back now – and with a double-header of Austin and Mexico City ahead, as we saw in 2024 the picture could change quickly.

Mercedes’ form and Russell’s contract

George Russell delivered an extremely impressive weekend in Singapore, producing two laps that were good enough for pole position in Q3, and then controlling the race from the front after a strong getaway.

The Mercedes wasn’t able to escape a huge distance up the road from the likes of Verstappen and Norris behind, but on a track where controlling tyre temperatures could have proven problematic, it was an encouraging performance from Toto Wolff’s team.

Although Mercedes have warned not to expect similar results on every circuit between now and the end of the year, trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin admits “hopefully we're seeing a progressive trend” when it comes to more competitive showings in different conditions.

That could open the door for more big results for Russell, who goes into the Austin weekend still waiting for his new contract at Mercedes to be finalised. While both sides insist it is only a matter of time and that the line-up of Russell and Kimi Antonelli will be retained in 2026, the longer the situation drags on, the more it becomes a talking point.

Activations as greater US involvement nears

We might be entering the final quarter of the 2025 season, but for a lot of teams there is already significant focus on 2026. That’s due to the major change in technical and power unit regulations, which also means there has been plenty going on behind the scenes when it comes to two major brands preparing to enter.

From a team perspective, this will be the first American race since Cadillac confirmed their driver line-up for next year. Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez will race for the American team, with Colton Herta one of the test drivers, and those were some of the biggest announcements among many.

The first running of an old car to help get the newest race team sharp is expected next month, but there are plenty of other areas Cadillac is still developing, and further plans for the project could well be discussed through any presence the team has in Austin.

Similar could be said of Ford, too, who are just a few months away from being back in F1 alongside Red Bull. Ford are offering expertise in partnership with Laurent Mekies’ team on the powertrain front, and have been working hard for a number of years already to prepare for the new regulations.

On top of the coming race weekend, American-based fans have plenty to get excited about for the future as involvement continues to grow.

The Sprint returns

There is only a quarter of the season left, but with three Sprint events included in the final six rounds, there are more than a quarter of the year’s points still up for grabs.

An extra 24 points could be scored if one driver were to win all three of the Sprint races on a Saturday – just one point shy of an entire extra race victory – and Circuit of The Americas is the first of the remaining Sprint rounds, with Brazil and Qatar to follow.

Where the Sprint adds an extra level of jeopardy for the teams is in the reduction of practice time, with just one hour in FP1 on Friday before the Sprint Qualifying session later in the day. That means arriving with a strong baseline set-up and hitting the ground running is crucial if you want to score points in both races.

The United States Grand Prix on Sunday is where the big return is, but at this stage of the season the added opportunity to pick up points feels like it carries that little bit more weight, particularly for any teams or drivers looking to continue recent momentum.

Everything’s bigger in Texas

The United States Grand Prix has evolved into one of the largest events on the Formula 1 calendar since it joined the schedule back in 2012. And perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised given the Texas tradition of making everything bigger.

The extra points mentioned above are on offer at a race weekend that regularly attracts over 400,000 spectators and could set its own new attendance record this year, as fans descend on Austin to soak up the F1 atmosphere alongside an eclectic city vibe.

And those fans get to see 20 of the best drivers in the world tackle a racetrack that has earned a reputation for being a bit of a modern classic. A number of the drivers rate Circuit of The Americas as one of their favourite tracks in the sport, with a high-speed first sector that pushes an F1 car to its limits, followed by long straights and heavy braking zones that also encourage overtaking.

Turn 1 is now one of the most recognisable on the calendar, with cars climbing a steep incline to a wide hairpin in front of tens of thousands of fans, and then plunging back downhill into that thrilling opening sequence of corners. It really is a spectacular venue, and has given us plenty of excitement both on and off the track.