US Grand Prix Preview: Top Storylines

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00:00 Welcome in to Sports Illustrated's coverage of Formula One's United States Grand Prix

00:03 presented by Michelob Ultra.

00:05 I'm Claudette Montana, joined alongside Alex Harrington here in Austin, Texas, and we're

00:09 going to break down some of the top storylines heading into this race.

00:12 Let's start off by talking about this Texas heat.

00:14 It is hot out here.

00:15 Temperatures could get into the 90s this weekend.

00:18 How is this playing into teams' race strategy?

00:20 Oh, it's a beautiful weekend.

00:21 I mean, Cota's always been a track which is hard on the tires.

00:26 There's actually a lot of movement in the ground around here.

00:29 There's loads and loads of bumps on the track.

00:31 And actually, these change each year.

00:33 So teams will be running a much softer suspension so the car's more pliable.

00:37 It's going to be likely a two-stop race, and drivers are really going to have to manage

00:42 their tire wear.

00:43 So Verstappen's going to be great here.

00:45 Mercedes, they often are very good with their tires.

00:48 So I mean, it's all to play for, but it's going to be difficult.

00:50 Well, speaking of Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton looking to bounce back after colliding with

00:54 his teammate George Russell in Qatar.

00:57 How can Mercedes, but more specifically Lewis Hamilton, bounce back and rebound here in

01:01 Austin?

01:02 Yeah, I mean, they had a bad weekend.

01:03 But I don't actually think it was down to the car.

01:05 The car is really good.

01:07 Toto Wolff said after the race that they were expecting podiums.

01:10 It was just a bit of bad luck, bad timing.

01:13 This weekend, they've got an upgrade coming.

01:15 They've got an upgraded floor, which apparently could take away a tenth on their lap times.

01:20 So really, they've just got to be teammates.

01:21 They've just got to be teammates, utilize that upgrade, and cross their fingers.

01:26 All right, well, McLaren has picked up a total of 104 points in their last three races.

01:31 How big of a threat are they to teams like Aston Martin in the fight for fourth?

01:35 They are a big threat.

01:37 This is a sprint weekend, so there's plenty of points to be picked up.

01:40 They're going to be going in with a lot of confidence as well.

01:42 Arguably, they have the second fastest car in the grid.

01:45 The one question will be Oscar Piastri.

01:47 So he's new.

01:48 He's a rookie.

01:49 He's never driven here.

01:50 And with it being a sprint weekend, there's only one practice session.

01:53 So there's not a lot of time for him to get a grip of the race.

01:56 But really, McLaren is so fast, and he is such a talented driver, that I think they

02:01 could take Aston Martin this weekend.

02:03 Well, we've got to talk about everybody's fan favorite, Daniel Ricciardo, who's set

02:06 to make his return here in Austin after missing the last five races with an injury.

02:11 What challenges does he face?

02:12 I love Danny Rick.

02:13 He had a struggle with his broken wrist.

02:15 It was much harder, the recovery for him, than he expected it to be.

02:19 And again, he's going into an Alfa Tauri, which has been upgraded since he last drove

02:23 it.

02:24 And he hasn't really driven it at all this year anyway.

02:25 So he's going to find it very difficult this weekend to get into the racing spirit.

02:31 But look, if anyone can do it, it's going to be the honey badger himself.

02:34 I'm sure he can pull through.

02:35 He's going to be great.

02:36 All right.

02:37 Well, race weekend just getting started here in Austin, Texas.

02:39 And Alex, thanks so much.

02:40 Thank you.

02:40 (upbeat music)

02:43 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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