I am looking forward to Austin USA. I am slightly less excited about the possibility of Kimi Antonelli finishing the championship while I am still trying to convince myself George Russell has a way back. Kimi, bruv, you don’t have to finish everything early like the clever kid who asks for extra homework.
Nothing against him, obviously. He has been brilliant, and I would be proud to see him become World Champion. I just thought this might be George’s year, and I am not quite ready to sit through the congratulations while George explains another weekend that could have been.
The 2026 United States Grand Prix takes place from 23–25 October at the Circuit of the Americas. Austin usually brings plenty of noise, music and cowboy hats, but I am mostly interested in that enormous climb towards Turn 1. The drivers arrive at the top and somehow have to agree on who gets the corner. They rarely seem keen to discuss it politely.
COTA gives them 5.513 kilometres, 20 corners and 56 laps to sort themselves out. What I like is the mix: fast changes of direction through the opening sector, slower corners where a poor exit hurts, and a long back straight leading into the heavy braking at Turn 12. There are places to attack here. Somebody getting ahead at the start does not automatically mean we have to watch the same order until last.
Those fast corners also ask a lot of the car and tyres. You need something that changes direction properly, but you still need grip coming out of the slower sections. That is why I’m interested in how the teams look during practice. A quick qualifying lap is one thing; keeping that pace when the tyres have had enough is where Sunday gets interesting.
My feeling is that Kimi could win this one. I also expect Sir Max and George to be in the top three, although I am leaving their order open for now. Max has just won in Malaysia and Singapore, and he won in Austin last year. Even backing Kimi tentatively feels slightly dangerous when Max is arriving in that sort of mood. I would happily accept being wrong if Sir Max is the reason.
George is the one I really want to have a clean weekend. Give him a car that keeps running and a chance to fight from the front. I know the points gap is enormous, but I would still like to see what he can do without the race becoming another exercise in damage limitation. There is only so much sympathy I can offer before I start wanting to speak to somebody in charge.
As I explained in my championship blog, Kimi has 340 points and George has 238. That is a 102-point gap, with 150 still available. To finish the job in Austin, Kimi must win, George must finish ninth or lower and Lewis Hamilton must finish fifth or lower.
So there is one comforting detail in my own prediction: if George joins Kimi on the podium, the championship continues. Kimi winning the race alone does not end it. He can take the trophy on Sunday without taking the big one, and I would be perfectly happy with that arrangement.
If George wins instead, he moves to 263 points. With Kimi second, the gap becomes 95; with Kimi failing to score, it drops to 77. Still a mountain, but at least George would be climbing it rather than being asked to admire the view from the bottom.
I’m watching Ferrari, too. Charles was second in Singapore, and Lewis knows how to win in Austin. Either could upset my podium prediction, especially if Ferrari turns its speed into a straightforward afternoon. Lewis fighting at the front would make me happy. Lewis spending another race trying to understand his tyre situation would make me considerably less pleasant company.
Lando and Oscar could also interfere, and I would like McLaren to spend this weekend racing everyone else rather than each other. Austin has enough room for a good fight. Please use some of it.
There is no Sprint this weekend, so the teams get three practice sessions before qualifying. I’m ready for Kimi chasing victory, Max refusing to make it easy and George reminding everyone he is still here.
Still cheering for Max, still worrying about George, still asking Kimi to wait.
aKi Malik
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