2026 United States Grand Prix Preview: 5 Big Talking Points Heading into the Weekend

Linus O'Howell

20 hours ago

4 min read

Will Kimi Antonelli Make History?

If things were to go perfectly for the Italian side of the Mercedes garage, Andrea Kimi Antonelli would leave Texas as the brand-new Formula 1 World Drivers’ Champion! In fact, Kimi would also make history as the youngest Champion in the sport’s history, a record currently held by a 23-year-old Sebastian Vettel! Whilst Kimi Antonelli could break the record this weekend, he would need to win the Race whilst teammate George Russell finishes P9 or lower, which I suppose is potentially possible given his lack of luck in 2026! To be fair, even if Antonelli doesn’t win it at COTA, Kimi has a great chance of finishing things off in Mexico City, whilst it’s worth highlighting that the young Italian still has 3 years left to break Vettel’s record! 3 years, that’s insane!

A Ton of Special Liveries

Just like last year, we have a ton of special liveries to talk about ahead of the 2026 United States Grand Prix, with 5 different teams all running a slightly different look around the Circuit of the Americas! Ferrari have added some cool drawings to the engine cover, whilst Cadillac are running an “American West” themed livery! Then there’s a ton of blue, with Mercedes, Haas, and Aston Martin all adding a different shade of blue to celebrate a bunch of partnerships! Personally, Haas’ special livery is my favourite; that looks really cool!

Haas and Cadillac’s Homecoming

Alongside their special liveries, we have to remember that this weekend serves as a home Grand Prix for both Haas and Cadillac; the first US GP to have two home teams! Haas are currently fighting Audi for P7 in the Constructors’ Championship; they currently lead that battle by 7 points, but we already know that Esteban Ocon will be departing the team at the end of the season! Speaking of Esteban Ocon, perhaps his only chance at staying on the Formula 1 Grid beyond this season would be to move to Cadillac, a fellow American team that has an uneven driver pairing! Whilst Sergio Perez is doing a decent job all things considered, Valtteri Bottas is nowhere; he’s 100% been the worst driver of the season, so the pressure remains on the Finn if he wants to stick around in F1 moving forward! Sadly for the American crowd, in terms of teams, Haas and Cadillac are two of the worst, so the likelihood of any points being scored is fairly low!

Racing Bulls’ Driver Dilemma

Racing Bulls are currently on for their greatest-ever season, with them running 5th in the Constructors’ Championship, now 32 points clear of Alpine! Whilst the battle between VCARB and Alpine has been thoroughly enjoyable, it feels almost over now, with it being incredibly difficult for Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto to gain that many points back with just 6 weekends (at most) left to go! So, now the focus for VCARB turns to its driver lineup, and whilst this shouldn’t be a conversation, it definitely is! Liam Lawson has been absolutely fantastic this season; he’s helped Racing Bulls to break the 100-point mark whilst being one of the drivers of the season! His teammate, Arvid Lindblad, has impressed as a Rookie, putting in a ton of strong performances (especially in Qualifying) to prove to people that he’s a future top-team driver! Speaking of the top team, Red Bull’s main driver lineup is sorted for years, with Max Verstappen around for the long haul, whilst Isack Hadjar is only going to get better! So, really, Red Bull’s lineups should be sorted for years to come, except it’s not! That’s where Nikola Tsolov enters the chat: a young Bulgarian who clearly has all of the potential in the world, hence why he sits second in the Formula 2 Standings! It’s pretty obvious to see just how highly Red Bull rates Tsolov, as there’s no other reason why you’d get rid of either Lawson or Lindblad, as they make each other better! I think it’s safe to say that most people would be annoyed if VCARB were to drop Liam Lawson from their lineup, but with Tsolov lurking in the background, it’s a real possibility!

Max Verstappen’s on a Roll!

A few weeks ago, we spoke about Max Verstappen’s recent run of results, and how his form is starting to rival the best on the grid! That feature came in our preview for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, a Race Verstappen went on to win! In fact, Max also went on to win Singapore, so this conversation has only grown! In that article, I said that a continuation of his good form could allow Max to rise a few places in the standings come season end, but he’s already done that! In fact, Verstappen is now just 17 points behind George Russell in the standings, meaning Max now feels like the favourite to finish second only to Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the overall Championship Standings! Finally, Max Verstappen has pulled Red Bull right into the fight with McLaren for P3 in the Constructors’, so keep an eye out for that!