DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award: Best Pit Stop by Racing Bulls
In Austin the fastest pit stop was carried out by Racing Bulls mechanics, servicing Liam Lawson's car in 2.18 seconds – not a record result, but the best at the recent Grand Prix.
Over the course of the race teams carried out 21 pit stops. The longest was Pierre Gasly's pit stop on lap 27.

Team
Driver
Time
Lap
Points

1. Racing Bulls
L. Lawson
2.18
30
25

2. Mercedes
D. Russell
2.20
33
18

3. Ferrari
C. Leclerc
2.34
22
15

4. McLaren
O. Piastri
2.36
30
12

5. Racing Bulls
A. Hajar
2.39
28
10

6. Sauber
N. Hulkengberg
2.44
33
8

7. Williams
A. Albon
2.45
07
6

8. Alpine
F. Colapinto
2.48
32
4

9. Ferrari
L. Hamilton
2.58
31
2

10. Red Bull
M. Verstappen
2.58
33
1

11. Aston Martin
F. Alonso
2.

Tsunoda's comeback prompts Marko to reconsider the decision for 2026.
"Let's examine how far we can make a decision at this point."

Yuki Tsunoda's impressive weekend in Austin might have come just in time to secure his position in Formula 1, as Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko now seems to be postponing a decision regarding who will partner Max Verstappen in 2026. Marko had earlier stated that a decision would be made following next weekend's Mexican GP. However, after Tsunoda's strong performance in Austin and a lackluster showing from Isack Hadjar, Marko appeared less certain.

"That’s not our priority right now," Marko told Sky Deutschland when asked about the decision timeline. "Generally, that’s the plan. Let’s see how far we can decide then."

Marko was seen smiling and conversing with Tsunoda as Red Bull celebrated Verstappen’s latest victory and renewed title challenge.

Red Bull still has car updates 'in reserve.'
"The atmosphere within the team is currently very positive."

Max Verstappen has reignited the battle for the Formula 1 world championship, cutting Oscar Piastri’s lead down to just 40 points after a commanding performance at the United States GP, which left Red Bull filled with confidence and McLaren noticeably unsettled. Since Zandvoort, Verstappen has regained 64 points, claiming four victories and showcasing a form that De Telegraaf described as evidence that "the 2025 Formula 1 season will reach an incredibly spectacular climax."

"If someone had told me after Zandvoort that I'd be back in the fight now, I would have called you crazy," Verstappen said with a smile. "We’ve just figured out a good setup for the car. We recognized where we needed to improve its performance. Each weekend, we aim to achieve that—and it has been much clearer in the last few races.

Statistics of Past Grands Prix: Races and Drivers
Drivers' performance statistics in past Grands Prix are sorted by the average finishing position in races in which the driver was classified. If a driver did not start or retired, that race does not affect his average position.

Driver
Team
finishing position
leading
total distance

avg
best
laps
km
laps
time
km
%

O. Piastri
McLaren
2.6
1
394
2075.4
1086
27:27:38
5471.0
95.5%

M. Verstappen
Red Bull
3.4
1
337
1805.1
1067
27:40:21
5474.4
93.8%

L. Norris
McLaren
3.9
1
241
1109.9
1125
28:41:03
5725.6
98.9%

D. Russell
Mercedes
4.5
1
103
483.0
1135
29:06:55
5770.4
99.8%

C. Leclerc
Ferrari
5.2
2
48
223.9
1061
27:05:35
5386.7
93.3%

L. Hamilton
Ferrari
6.5
4
2
9.

Vasser: Our plan was about 50 percent successful.
Ferrari hadn't scored that many points for a long time as it did after the United States Grand Prix, and it wasn't only because Charles Leclerc climbed onto the podium in Austin and Lewis Hamilton finished right behind his teammate. The weekend at the Texas circuit, Circuit of the Americas, included a sprint, and in Saturday's sprint the Scuderia drivers finished 4th and 5th — only then had Lewis beaten Charles.

But at the start of the weekend the Italian team had difficulties, and nothing promised a spectacular follow-up; however, by Sunday Ferrari had dealt with them, and for a large part of the race Leclerc ran in second place, successfully fending off numerous attacks from Lando Norris. The McLaren driver was able to overtake him only five laps from the finish.

United States Grand Prix: Curious statistics
A few curious statistical findings following the United States Grand Prix…
Qualifying
By winning qualifying in Austin, Max Verstappen secured the 47th pole position of his career and his seventh of the season. He sits fifth on the all-time list, with Sebastian Vettel fourth on 57 poles. Lewis Hamilton leads the list with 104 career poles.
In the ranking by number of poles for a single team, Verstappen moved up to third, overtaking Ayrton Senna, who took 46 poles for McLaren. Next in the ranking are Michael Schumacher with 58 poles for Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton with 78 poles for Mercedes.
The pole in Austin was the 50th for Red Bull with Honda engines, although they are now branded differently.
Lando Norris set the second-fastest time, starting from the front row for the 25th time in his career.
Charles Leclerc’s third place was his best result since his pole in Hungary.

Team principal James Vowles commented on Williams' mixed results from the American weekend.

Leo Turrini on the results of the United States Grand Prix: Better than nothing
When Ferrari delights its fans, Leo Turrini, whose comments we periodically cite, does not stint on praise. The veteran of Italian motorsport journalism is generally distinguished by the fact that he always tries to spot some positive moments – of course, if they exist.

After the United States Grand Prix he rated the main protagonists on a 10-point scale, and even one character well known to us, who usually remains off-camera, made it into his personal ranking.

In Austin we saw a rather respectable performance from Ferrari, if not more. Charles Leclerc was excellent, Lewis Hamilton also looked dignified.

When you are tormented by thirst, even a light rain is already good.

Besides, as they say in America, "we've got a new sheriff in town.

The President of the autonomous community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, commented on the progress of preparations for the city stage...

Edison Motors has introduced a duo of diesel-electric pickup trucks, and a kit is forthcoming.
Edison Motors and Deboss Garage via YouTube

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The team at Edison Motors is doing something noteworthy. They’ve constructed several diesel-electric, series-hybrid semi trucks, and now they’ve added a couple of pickups to their lineup. These vehicles—a second-generation Ram and a 79-Series Toyota Land Cruiser—act as proof of concept for the Canadian company’s future swap kits. The concept is that, with Edison’s technology, any pickup manufactured in the last sixty years can be upgraded to utilize a diesel-electric powertrain.

Chace Barber, Edison’s president and co-founder, is quite resourceful.

2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz Review: The Ideal Truck for Those Who Dislike Pickups
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The current new car market has its share of drawbacks, but one silver lining is that buyers today can choose from a variety of truck sizes according to their preferences. There's no longer a one-size-fits-all approach; now we have full-sized and mid-sized trucks, as well as car-based pickups, compact trucks, and even customizable electric pickups on the horizon.

The 2025 Hyundai Santa Cruz occupies a unique position in this range. Traditional truck enthusiasts may criticize its unibody construction and 4.3-foot bed, while others may be attracted to its distinctive styling and unexpectedly adept handling on the road.

This individual is producing homemade 'gasoline' from recycled plastic and solar energy.
Julian Brown/Instagram

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It's an intriguing idea: converting plastic waste into gasoline solely using solar power. That’s precisely what serial entrepreneur Julian Brown (@naturejab_ on Instagram) claims to be achieving, employing DIY equipment possibly right in his backyard. He refers to it as “plastoline.” Simple yet elegant. But is it legitimate?

This video lacks specific details, yet it seems that Brown is merging two established processes: extracting ethanol from a petrochemical source (in this case, consumer plastics) and distilling that ethanol into octane (the substances that determine gasoline's rating) for fuel use.

Leclerc: I don't think we can achieve more.
Charles Leclerc finished third in Austin and is happy the weekend ended that way…

Question: Charles, great strategy, a brilliant race. Considering where you were on Friday, are you happy with that result?
Charles Leclerc: Very happy. In first practice there was a gearbox problem which forced the session to end early. I was immediately a step behind and tried to make up for lost time in the sprint qualifying and the sprint. Then in qualifying we fine‑tuned the setup and picked up pace. Considering the whole situation, the result is good.

The second half is not going smoothly. Completely unfounded rumours and speculation are swirling around the team. And it's really nice to show that we can stay focused on our work and earn podiums.

Question: The decisive factor in your success was starting on the Softs and those fifty‑plus laps during which you stayed ahead of Lando.

At the United States Grand Prix teams successfully employed different tactics; for example, Charles Leclerc was one of the few who risked starting on Soft tyres, and that decision allowed him to make up places at the start, and in the end he finished third.
Most of those who started in the first fifteen positions, including Max Verstappen, who won the race, chose the Medium compound, while three drivers who began the race from the second ten gambled on Hard tyres.
Mario Isola, Pirelli Motorsport Director: "At the start of today's race teams decided not to limit themselves in their choice of strategy options, so they mainly used the Medium compound, which then provided the greatest flexibility.
Leclerc was the only driver from the top ten who preferred to start on Soft tyres, and that decision paid off because the Soft compound provided a grip advantage.
A virtual safety car period was introduced in the early stage of the race, which then allowed everyone who was running on Soft and Medium to extend their first stint by a few laps. The Medium compound worked particularly consistently – probably more consistently than expected.
Also positive were the track temperature being lower than on Saturday and the improved condition of the surface. All of this together allowed teams to extend the first stint as much as possible.
As a result, the ‘Medium–Hard’ plan that was originally envisaged inevitably became a less obvious strategy by the middle phase of the race. After a series of pit stops around lap 30 it became clear that almost all the cars would run the final stint on Soft tyres.
Because rear tyre wear had not reached a critical level, the drivers had no need to look after their tyres and were able to maintain a high pace. This was also aided by the setups chosen by the teams.
We congratulate Max Verstappen on the victory, as he remains one of the title contenders, and also Charles Leclerc, whose special approach to strategy selection allowed him to get onto the podium."

Statistics of past Grands Prix: Qualifying
Drivers' qualifying performance statistics, sorted by average position in the final classification and excluding subsequent penalties.

Driver
Team
Average
Best
Worst
Session 1
Session 2
Session 3
Score

O. Piastri
McLaren
2.74
1
9
19
19
19
10 - 9

M. Verstappen
Red Bull
3
1
8
19
19
19
19 - 0

L. Norris
McLaren
3.37
1
10
19
19
19
9 - 10

D. Russell
Mercedes
4.37
1
14
19
19
18
17 - 2

C. Leclerc
Ferrari
5.37
1
11
19
19
18
14 - 5

L. Hamilton
Ferrari
7.74
4
16
19
18
14
5 - 14

K. Antonelli
Mercedes
8.53
3
18
19
17
13
2 - 17

A. Hadjar
Racing Bulls
10.3
4
20
19
17
11
13 - 6

F. Alonso
Aston Martin
10.7
5
19
19
17
10
19 - 0

C.

Mekis: History is being made before our eyes!
Major upgrades to the car, including a new floor, that Red Bull Racing brought to the Italian Grand Prix in September allowed the team to turn things around. Of the four races since then Max Verstappen has won three and now has a real chance of a fifth championship title, although as recently as Zandvoort he was 104 points behind Oscar Piastri.
Team principal Laurent Mekies effusively praises his leader and modestly credits the engineers who managed to make the RB21 the best car at the end of the season.
Laurent Mekies: "Watching Max's victories, we see history being made before our eyes. He amazes us every time he goes out on track. He amazes us by how much he motivates us between sessions, by how sensitive he is to things that sometimes go unnoticed by us.
We still avoid making predictions. At least in the engineering department.

Lando Norris is pleased with second place in Austin...

Red Bull tried to hinder McLaren before the start.
After the United States Grand Prix, later that night, it emerged that Red Bull Racing had been fined €50,000 for breaching the FIA International Sporting Code.
It turned out that a member of the team had gone onto the grid after the formation lap had begun, but the question is: why did he do it? According to The Race, this person was trying to remove a marker from the trackside barrier that McLaren had left for Lando Norris.
The British team had marked the exact spot where Norris should stop his car on the grid — the marker was placed so that Lando could see it from the cockpit. In this way McLaren wanted to make it easier for their driver to position the car so he could get as far forward as possible within the permissible limits.
Norris started in Austin from second position, which is on the inside of the track next to exit No. 1 leading to the pit lane.

The winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Antonio Fuoco, will take part in the first free practice session in Mexico behind the wheel of a Ferrari.
You wouldn't call Fuoco a young driver — the Italian is 29 years old, but he formally meets FIA criteria. He has already taken part in Ferrari tests several times; the first took place in 2015 in Spielberg, and later he worked on tyre tests in Abu Dhabi.
Fuoco will sit in Lewis Hamilton's car for the first practice, and in the second the seven-time champion will return to the cockpit.

George Russell on which tyres Formula 1 needs
Commenting on the outcome of the race in Austin, George Russell said with regret that overtaking in Formula 1 has become very difficult, as has making up positions through strategy — almost all races are run with a single pit stop, but he did not blame Pirelli for this.

George Russell: "Pirelli have it tough either way. If the tyres wear a lot, people say the drivers can't attack and are saving the tyres, and the spectators don't like that. And when the tyres don't wear, we say the race is boring. It seems they don't win either way.

If we're being realistic, we need tyres that allow attacking but then wear out after about 15 laps, so you'd have to make two or three pit stops in a race.

Ideally the Soft tyres should last 12 laps, the Medium 15, and the Hard 20, and then fall off sharply. But that's easier said than done. As I said, Pirelli have it really tough.

Jonathan Whitley: Zak Brown sent me his apologies
Zak Brown apologized to the Sauber team and to Nico Hülkenberg, admitting he was wrong to blame the German driver for the pile-up at the first corner after the start of the sprint in Austin, when both McLaren cars retired within the first seconds of Saturday’s race. At the time, during the sprint, the executive director of McLaren Racing told Sky Sports that the incident was “the result of maneuvers by some drivers who acted like amateurs, taking both our guys off the track.” But then, after watching footage of the episode, Brown admitted his initial reaction was mistaken: “I think I changed my mind. I can’t blame Nico.” He also later personally apologized to Jonathan Wheatley, Sauber’s team principal, and to the team’s driver.