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Key events
How did people fare in practice? Friday was a good day for Charles Leclerc. As our Giles Richards wrote:
In first practice at the Circuit of the Americas, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets from Verstappen, with Lando Norris third for McLaren and Russell and Antonelli in fourth and fifth. Ferrari had brought their final swathe of upgrades to the race and on the early showing they had found some extra pace.
In the afternoon running Leclerc was once more on top, four hundredths clear of Antonelli in second. Verstappen was in third, from Hamilton in fourth.
Here are the top 10s from FP1:
1 Charles Leclerc 🇲🇨 Ferrari 1:36.052
2 Max Verstappen 🇳🇱 Red Bull +0.084
3 Lando Norris 🇬🇧 McLaren +0.245
4 George Russell 🇬🇧 Mercedes +0.326
5 Kimi Antonelli 🇮🇹 Mercedes +0.481
6 Lewis Hamilton 🇬🇧 Ferrari +0.503
7 Oscar Piastri 🇦🇺 McLaren +0.734
8 Gabriel Bortoleto 🇧🇷 Audi +0.943
9 Arvid Lindblad 🇬🇧 Racing Bulls +1.011
10 Liam Lawson 🇳🇿 Racing Bulls +1.257
and FP2:
1 Charles Leclerc 🇲🇨 Ferrari 1:35.291
2 Kimi Antonelli 🇮🇹 Mercedes +0.4042
3 Max Verstappen 🇳🇱 Red Bull +0.189
4 Lewis Hamilton 🇬🇧 Ferrari +0.615
5 George Russell 🇬🇧 Mercedes +0.744
6 Liam Lawson 🇳🇿 Racing Bulls +1.040
7 Lando Norris 🇬🇧 McLaren +1.082
8 Oscar Piastri 🇦🇺 McLaren +1.096
9 Isack Hadjar 🇫🇷 Red Bull +1.120
10 Oliver Bearman 🇬🇧 Haas +1.245
One man has had to take the rough with the smooth almost all season. George Russell has endured a frustrating 2026, which was supposed to be his year. As the Associated Press reports:
Many thought Russell [would be winning a maiden title] when the season started in Australia. Russell won his eighth career victory in a new generation Mercedes that was the class of the field.
Instead, the British driver heads into the final stretch of the season far behind his teammate, and fending off mounting frustration, and hoping he can somehow pick off a win or two to send him into a better 2027.
“It’s been a season that has very much tested my character and resilience,” Russell said this week.
…
“I’ve had to look at myself in the mirror numerous times and think: ‘How do I want to bounce back from these blows?’ Do I just want to give up and accept the misfortune or the poor performances, or do I want to try to rectify things, make the most of it and control everything I can control.”
Russell said he’s capable of doing that. “I intend to be here for many, many, many years to come, and you can’t give up when you’re being kicked to the floor. You’ve got to bounce back. I can at least be proud that I’ve given it my all in that regard.”
Antonelli is a happy bunny, with Mercedes posting social footage on social media of their kid on a rollercoaster, but not all the rides at the Circuit of the Americas have been smooth, as our man in Austin reports:
Going into the weekend, however, the circuit has drawn unusually severe criticism from drivers. The race was first held in 2012 and the circuit has a contract until 2034. It has become hugely popular, with sold-out crowds, but the track has come under intense scrutiny.
It is built on marshland and the bumps caused by the ground beneath the track have been condemned as potentially harmful, with the uneven surface forcing impacts into the base of the drivers’ spines.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull’s four-time world champion, said: “The bumps are unacceptable. Over time they’ve been grinding a little bit here and there but it’s just putting a plaster on the big problem. You need to really fully open up the track. That costs a lot of money and time but that’s the only way to get rid of it because these bumps are not natural and they are out of control.”
Forty-five minutes to the off. How has Antonelli built that lead? Well, as our graph shows, he burst out of the traps, overtaking George Russell with his second consecutive victory in Japan in race three and only briefly looking as if he could be hauled back. Russell won in Austria, with Antonelli third, then second at Silverstone, with the Italian out of the points. But the 20-year-old was soon back in command.
Preamble
Newsflash: Kimi Antonelli is going to win the world drivers’ championship. Oddsflash: he is unlikely to do so this weekend.
You probably know the maths roughly, so here it is exactly. With six races left, Antonelli leads George Russell by 102 points and Lewis Hamilton by 111, and if he leads everyone by at least 125 after Sunday then that will be that. He would be guaranteed to have had more race wins should he go pointless for the rest of the campaign while a rival swept the board and levelled the points up.
But to stand a chance of reaching that 125-point advantage, he has to win in Austin. He then needs Russell to get no more than the two points for ninth place, and Hamilton to get no more than the 10 points for fifth place. No one seems to be offering odds on Antonelli pulling it off, but Russell is a 1-9 shot to be in the top 10, and 1-3 to be in the top six; somewhere between those two lie the odds on him making the top eight, while Hamilton – 1-7 to make the top six, 8-5 for top three – looks to be a shade of odds-on for fourth.
Antonelli himself is only second favourite for the race, behind Max Verstappen, and that status is questionable: Antonelli has not stood on the top step in the past three races. The Dutchman has won two GPs in a row, as well.
But if we knew what was going to happen we wouldn’t be watching. Never underestimate Russell’s 2026 susceptibility to misfortune, for instance.
So, join me from what is 3.15pm in Austin and 4.15pm eastern time – and 9.15pm in the UK, for Guardian sport’s last BST blog of 2026 – for the buildup to qualifying, which starts on the hour.
In the meantime, Giles Richards has been looking at the make-up of the (fairly) soon-to-be champion:
At the heart of this engaging character it seems is a grounded and emotionally rich relationship with his family. While he was supported in following his racing dreams, he was told unequivocally that if he was to kart on a weekend, school must follow on a Monday until he graduated. He duly did so, completing his maturità school exams just after coming third – his first podium – at the Canadian GP last year.
“Which driver has done the A-levels or the baccalaureate? Name me one that has finished school. No one,” Wolff observed pointedly of his prodigy. The role of his family has clearly been crucial. His father as guide, mentor and, both have admitted, stern taskmaster at times, whom Antonelli has described as his “rock”. But there is also clearly a hugely important relationship with his mother, Veronica, and younger sister Maggie.
Have a read of the full profile as you wait …
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