by John N October 20, 2022, 9:20 pm inUncategorized

Form Guide Ahead Of the 2022 United States Grand Prix

Shaquille O'Neal delivered the trophy in some style last year

Formula 1 returns to the Lone Star State for the 2022 United States Grand Prix at the spectacular Circuit of The Americas.

Vying for pole

https://twitter.com/F1/status/1579517364311203854?s=20&t=jgsoViugdZWXR6pUzgKoGQ

Max Verstappen took the pole position in the 2021 US Grand Prix to end a run of Mercedes qualifying wins that stretched from 2014-19. The Dutchman also took pole position in a very close-cut contest last time out at Suzuka, where he eventually won to seal the championship – and it looks like Red Bull could enjoy the run of COTA again.

Although the track was re-surfaced in 2020, COTA is still a bumpy circuit that may prove challenging regarding front tyre wear. Red Bull will expect to enjoy a slight pace advantage over Ferrari, but when it comes to qualifying, it is close between the two teams; in Japan, Verstappen took the pole over Charles Leclerc by just 0.010s.

Engine penalties see some teams lose track positions with notable big names starting at the back of the grid, with teams mulling changes at Circuit Of The Americas, but that’s yet to be confirmed. Sergio Perez is on the verge of receiving further component-related penalties, while McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, the Aston Martins and Williams’ drivers are yet to take their fourth engines of the season.

Ferrari still has the speed to take pole position, as Charles Leclerc set the pace on Saturday in Italy and Singapore. Still, it’s unclear whether the Scuderia or Red Bull will prefer the searing hot conditions set to welcome Austin drivers.

Pole positions in the last five races at COTA:

2021 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2019 – Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
2018 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2017 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2016 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

Another victory party for Redbull

Red Bull is on the verge of taking the 2022 constructors’ championship here at COTA; by the chequered flag, they need to be at least 147 points ahead of Ferrari to snooker the Scuderia secure their first constructors’ title since 2013. If Ferrari outscores Red Bull by at least 19 points, the championship fight will continue to Mexico.

Verstappen might be considered the favourite in Texas as he aims to score his second consecutive victory, with his team looking for their eighth-straight win – a feat last achieved by Mercedes from 2018-19.

However, Ferrari is no stranger to success at this track, with Kimi Raikkonen taking his final Grand Prix win at COTA back in 2018. They could repeat that feat, but keeping on top of front tyre wear and skating over the various bumps will be vital to keeping pace around Texas.

As history shows, starting pole position is not a guarantee for winning the grand Prix.; five out of nine US Grand Prix wins have come from P1 on the grid. Though the other four have come from second on the grid.

Strategy under green flag conditions will also be crucial at COTA, given an average of three DNFs per Grand Prix. There have been just three Safety Cars, and four Virtual Safety Cars in nine Grands Prix at Austin – the F1 Safety Car last deployed here in 2015.

Wins in the last five races:

2021 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
2019 – Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
2018 – Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
2017 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2016 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

Shaquille O'Neal was the star of the show last time out at COTA 😆#USGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/2RLmmHxrMK

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 16, 2022

Podium outsiders

With Red Bull and Ferrari expected to be the front-runners this weekend, Mercedes have an outside chance of landing a podium at COTA. Though smoother than in previous years, the bumpy surface might prove costly to their hopes.

The Silver Arrows enjoyed a run of podiums from Azerbaijan to Hungary as they seemed to claw back performance to the pace-setters, with George Russell scoring P2 then P3 in the Netherlands and Italy – but they had less successful trips to Singapore and Japan with a best of P5 for Lewis Hamilton at Suzuka. Numerous factors contributed to tough races for the Silver Arrows in Asia, but a podium isn’t out of the question if they can conjure up the pace they enjoyed around the summer break.

As for the midfielders, with Alpine and McLaren still battling for fourth in the standings, they might find it tough to land a podium in Texas, where the only non-Red Bull/Mercedes/Ferrari drivers to finish in the top three are Romain Grosjean, who finished second for Lotus here in 2013, and Lewis Hamilton, who won for McLaren in 2012.

Only twice have three teams taken to the podium at COTA: in 2012 and 2018, when Raikkonen led Verstappen and Hamilton.

Podiums in the last five races:

Mercedes – 7
Red Bull – 5
Ferrari – 3

https://twitter.com/F1/status/1583052658889441280?s=20&t=jgsoViugdZWXR6pUzgKoGQ

Points potential

Mercedes may be podium outsiders, but they’re still the only team to have scored in every Grand Prix weekend of 2022. They’ll be expected to land in the top 10, if not the top five, this weekend.

All eyes will be on Alpine and McLaren this weekend, the former team just 13 points ahead of the latter in the hunt for fourth in the championship.

Alpine bounced back from two non-scoring weekends with 18 points from Suzuka, where McLaren took just one. Regarding Austin, McLaren scored points with both drivers in 2019 and 2021, while Alpine endured a double retirement here last time out – but both teams are starting fresh at COTA in this new era of F1.

Aston Martin is building momentum, scoring 20 points (more than Mercedes and Alpine) in their last two races, while AlphaTauri and Williams have scored three times in the last five Grands Prix. As for Alfa Romeo, they’ve scored just one point in that span, while Haas hasn’t scored at all since Austria.

Points scored in the last five races: