Five rapid insights from the US GP

Mercedes' upgrades finally pay off

Mercedes has had to exercise patience, but it now seems to have harnessed the potential of the upgrade package it rolled out at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia… at least for one side of the garage.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

The Brackley team arrived in Sepang with a comprehensive package that made the W17 fundamentally quicker, though it restricted its drivers to a tighter setup window. Unhappy with the car's handling, Russell reverted to the previous specification in Singapore, allowing Mercedes a direct comparison between the two setups.

Both Antonelli and Russell utilized the upgrades in Austin, in addition to a front wing Mercedes had already tested in Singapore with this weekend's performance in mind.

With Antonelli at the controls, the W17 was transformed. The Italian achieved his first pole position in eight grands prix on Saturday and was poised for victory from the moment the lights extinguished on Sunday.

- Federico Faturos

Russell needs to start worrying about 2027

While George Russell remains mathematically in the running for this year's title, it holds little significance – Kimi Antonelli will secure the championship next Sunday unless Russell wins the race. Thus, it may be time for George to concentrate on preparing for 2027.

Prior to this season, he had enjoyed an almost flawless career, clinching all the key junior titles before proving his mettle against a formidable teammate – Lewis Hamilton in the same team. It seemed the only factor holding him back was the car. But just as he finally acquired it, an unstoppable force in the shape of a young, curly-haired Italian disrupted everything.

Russell must act now – and get ready for next year as thoroughly as possible. Whether it’s his driving or other factors preventing him from matching Antonelli's pace, he needs to utilize the remaining races of 2026 to uncover as many solutions as possible, or even try different strategies.

Weekends like Austin highlight the significant performance gap between the Mercedes teammates. Russell can outperform Kimi on a good day, but with lows this severe, he won't be able to consistently challenge him moving forward.

A career spent as a support driver is surely not what Russell envisioned – but that reality seems increasingly plausible after weekends like this.

- Oleg Karpov

Lawson strikes the right chords both on stage and on track

Lawson held his own on stage in Austin on Thursday night, despite acknowledging that performing in the Live Music Capital of the World brought "ten times more pressure" than competing in a Formula 1 grand prix.

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls

Having managed that well, he delivered another confident performance behind the wheel — something that has become increasingly common in 2026.

The Racing Bulls driver started strong with the sixth-fastest time on Friday, then played the team role on Saturday, remaining in the garage during Q3 to help teammate Arvid Lindblad gain an additional grid position on top of his five-place penalty.

On Sunday, Lawson adeptly led the midfield. Ninth was the best achievable outcome with all eight cars from the leading four teams crossing the finish line, but his 13th points finish of the season aided Racing Bulls in distancing themselves from Alpine, whose hopes of claiming fifth in the constructors' championship are dwindling.

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to believe this guy still doesn’t have a contract for next year.

- Federico Faturos

Williams is running out of justifications

Williams spent 2025 asserting that its focus was entirely on 2026, yet still managed to achieve two podiums. However, in 2026, the team has repeatedly fallen short of expectations. The rationale was that it was concentrating all its efforts on a significant upgrade package scheduled for Baku. Williams scored points in Azerbaijan – a feat it has only accomplished once in its last 12 races – but the upgrade ultimately proved less effective than anticipated.

Austin may have marked a new low, with Williams finishing ahead of only Cadillac and even lagging behind Lance Stroll's Aston Martin. The team was always a prime candidate for an exit in Q1 during qualifying, as was ultimately the case, while in the race it found itself isolated, well off the midfield contention.

Carlos Sainz, Williams

The remainder of the season – whether five races, four, or however many are left – promises to be a long one for Williams, which is once again vowing that 2027 will be better.

- Jose Carlos de Celis