Now that the Driver’s Championship has been officially won by Max Verstappen there’s only Sergio Perez things to decide. Can he seal second in the Championship or will he be sacked? Talking of second best, here is our 2023 US F1 Grand Prix Preview with all the trimmings.
The Gurgler’s 2023 US F1 Grand Prix Preview brings some thoughts on the race itself, a few bold predictions here and there, a more than a few barely interesting stats.
Essentially a quick summary of what a casual F1 fan needs in the shortest possible time for your convenience.
Interestingly the track itself looks like a microscope, which is relevant we guess as it is a great test of car and driver alike.
They attempted to cram as many great sections from other classic circuits as possible, and mostly it works. Although, still not sure why anyone would want to replicate the stadium section from Hockenheim, but anyway.
Added fun is the steep climb to the first corner that is a sharp turn to the left and usually catches out an amateur or two. Last season George Russell was that amateur, knocking out pole sitter Carlos Sainz.
The tight last section occasionally sees some late drama, so let’s hope someone is close enough to Max Verstappen to make it interesting into those final corners in the dying laps.
2023 US F1 Grand Prix Preview – Race Rating
The Gurgler does like to use some obscure drivers in our Race previews and report, so who better to use than Teo Fabi to determine a race rating system.
So before each race we give a rating out of ten for four key category that are loosely based on each letter of Teo Fabi’s surname. Don’t know who Teo Fabi is, you should.
FAST? 8/10 – It’s plenty fast with replicas of Maggotts and Becketts from Silverstone and the popular multi-turn bend from Turkey, and a few nice long straights allow the cars to stretch their legs. And maybe DRS to open its wings.
ACTION? 6/10 – Maybe it’s the time slot of very early in the morning for this side of the world, but we really can’t remember an overload of action. But the history shows the DNF rate is 3.8 retirements on average, so that means some potential for a surprise DNF.
BIG HISTORY? – 4/10 The US Grand Prix itself has a wide and varied history across multiple tracks and multiple seasons. Austin is in it’s 11th season, so a decent back history, with the occasional Championship being won there.
INCLEMENT WEATHER? – 2/10 Three percent chance of rain on Sunday is as good as it gets, and that will probably evaporate quickly with the heat. An extra point given for the temperatures around the low 30 degrees which might sort out a few cars or drivers.
RACE RATING 50% – A good track, with great sections, and hopefully DRS to make a race of it.
Want to know if your favourite driver for this weekend is a master of the track or the track is a master of them? Here then are some barely interesting facts and stats.
- Lewis Hamilton has qualified no lower than 5th in Austin with 7/10 starts from the front row. His worst finish is 4th, with the other nine races ending up on the podium, with five wins.
- Pierre Gasly hasn’t sored a point at Austin in four starts.
- Nico Hulkenberg has failed to finish half of his eight GPs at Austin.
- Sauber just pip Haas for the lowest average qualifying position at Austin (14.1)
- The 10 race wins at Austin have been shared by first and second on the grid 5-5. The three second places, one third and one DNF also mirrors.
- Fourth and 14th on the grid are the most likely to fail to finish with four DNFs.
- The worst grid slot to point scoring driver ratio for the top ten on the grid is 8th place with just three point scoring results.
- Just six of the 38 US Grands Prix (across all tracks) were won by drivers who hadn’t won a World Championship. But all of those winners – Michele Alboreto (2), John Watson (2) Rubens Barrichello (1) and Valtteri Bottas (1) have all finished second in the Championship. So not a race for a big upset then.
- Although 4/10 races at Austin were won by a driver who didn’t win that year’s Championship.
DRIVER GRID POSITION vs RACE RESULT – CURRENT DRIVERS
TEAM GRID POSITION vs RACE RESULT
HISTORIC DRIVER RESULTS
99 = a DNF. Grid position 20 is overstated as that was also used for cars starting in pitlane.
HISTORIC TEAM RESULTS
99 = a DNF. Grid position 20 is overstated as that was also used for cars starting in pitlane.
RACE RESULTS FROM GRID POSITION
DID NOT FINISH – DNF
We’ve gone about DNFs through this article, so here is the list of DNFs.
- Max Verstappen wins. Sergio Perez retires.
- Lewis Hamilton second.
- George Russell to set a pointless fastest lap on the last lap.
- Lance Stroll first retirement.
- Nico Hulkenberg nor Kevin Magnussen will finish the race.
- Daniel Ricciardo will score a point.
- McLaren will touch at the first corner and lose positions, allowing Charles Leclerc to hold them up.
- One Alpine will lose a front wing on the first lap.
- Valtteri Bottas to finish 6th.
ALL RACE RESULTS – US F1 GRAND PRIX
RESULTS FROM AUSTIN
RESULTS FROM ALL F1 RACES IN USA AT OTHER TRACKS
