20 October 2026 17:00 (UTC)
"We're bringing a modest selection of upgrades for this event"
A Texan test awaits as we head to Austin, looking to kick off a transatlantic swing on a high note.
As American influence continues to grow in Formula 1, the Circuit of the Americas remains the spiritual home of motorsport in the States. Since taking over as host of the United States Grand Prix in 2012, a race won by Lewis Hamilton for McLaren, COTA has made the event its own.
Its technical, high-downforce circuit quickly became a fan favourite, while the Texan-style festival atmosphere, offering an eclectic mix of live music, rich cultural heritage, and delicious barbecuing, makes the venue as enjoyable away from the track as it is on it.
Last year, the circuit even hosted a special one-off Formula 1 test for Brad Pitt, adding to its unique place in F1 folklore. The Hollywood star piloted our 2023 MCL60 following his star role as Sonny Hayes in F1: The Movie.
“The Circuit of The Americas is physically demanding for driver and car. The series of high-speed corners with tempting kerbs generate high loads, which can unsettle the driver and cause damage.
“We’re bringing a modest selection of upgrades for this event, aimed at improving some braking reliability and performance issues. We also have some small floor changes to test. We have all seen how difficult it is to predict the relative performance of the top teams over the last five or six races. Obviously, there are many factors in play here: cars being upgraded, cars suiting and/or drivers liking certain circuits, among other factors. The last few races have not been great for us, but I think we’re getting stronger again and Austin is probably a better circuit for our car.
“Practice will be important for correlating what we've seen in our development tools with the track. We are still learning how best to extract performance from this car. We have the full range of corner types here, so getting the best balance for the whole lap will be our main focus.
“As we start looking ahead to next year, there are many things the team have learned from this first season of the new era. The regulation changes for 2027 are quite modest, so most of the parts and philosophies on this car are relevant to the direction for next year. Even where the hardware itself doesn't carry across, the learning and correlation do. Every time we can compare simulation, tunnel and track results, we improve the tools and understanding we're using to develop 2027.”
Unlike the hybrid and street circuits of Miami and Las Vegas, Austin’s Circuit of the Americas, which also hosts NASCAR and MotoGP races, is a purpose-built track. It’s a highly technical circuit that draws inspiration from Silverstone, Suzuka, and Hockenheim, combining elements from each track with its own unique sections.
The most striking of these is, arguably, the enormous 41-metre climb into the Turn 1 hairpin - a blind apex that’s windy and bumpy, where hitting your braking point is critical to maintaining speed.
Other corners offer a different challenge. In Turns 3 to 9, the aim is to maintain rhythm and massage the throttle. While taking on Turns 16-18 requires a little Texan swagger to jink through the tight curbs.
The high lateral load on the tyres, as well as the searing Texan heat, make tyre management vital to a team’s performance.
The two main overtaking zones are at the already-referenced Turn 1, and then at Turn 12, following a 1.2 km straight. Drivers can be prone to locking up here, but successful moves pay off handsomely. It was at Turn 12 that Hamilton made the crucial move on Vettel for his race victory in 2012.
The Azerbaijan, Bahrain, and Singapore triple-header was tough for the team, with just 33 points between Lando and Oscar, but Andrea believes we can bounce back after a welcome reset.
“After a difficult triple-header, we take the lessons learned from both our performance and execution and put them into action,” Team Principal Andrea Stella tells us. “In Formula 1, success is never guaranteed – so our response is to keep building, keep developing, and keep pushing forward together as one team.”
During the break between races, both drivers joined us back at the factory to reflect on the triple header and look ahead to the final stretch of the season, spending time going through the data and on the simulator.
The team are hopeful that COTA will better suit the MCL40's characteristics, and are intent on using this weekend’s US race as a springboard for the final six rounds of 2026. In the Constructors’ Championship, we are third with 339 points, 105 off second. In the Drivers’ Championship, Lando is sixth with 201 points, 14 off fifth, and Oscar is seventh with 138.
23 - 25 OCT
In early autumn, the Finger Lakes in Upstate New York are a beautiful place to visit. Harvest is in full swing at the vineyards surrounding the water, and the brave may still fancy a dip when the sun is out. Still, the noise of summer has died down, and it’s a calmer, more tranquil corner of the world. Except at Watkins Glen when there’s a race meeting, and especially in early October 1976 when 100,000 paying spectators descended on the tiny town to witness the penultimate round of the Drivers’ Championship, with the battle between McLaren’s James Hunt and Niki Lauda likely to go to the wire.
“The race weekend could not be more tense for the team, with the pressure very high on all the team to take a second Drivers' Championship in three years,” says Technical Consultant Neil Oatley.
James had won seven days earlier, keeping his Championship hopes alive with victory in Canada, and he maintained his challenge with Pole position at Watkins Glen. Surprisingly, snow fell on the circuit during Saturday night, but Sunday was sunny with blue skies and scattered cloud. James lost the lead at the start to Jody Scheckter, and the pair pulled away from the chasing pack. In a highly attritional race, Scheckter and James stayed healthy. Scheckter initially pulled out a lead, but James reeled him in mid-race and seemed to have the quicker car as they threaded their way through back-markers.
The lead switched back and forth. James regained it on Lap 37, but Scheckter was back in front on 41. James decisively took to the front on Lap 46 of the 59, and was able to gradually edge away, eventually taking the victory by eight seconds. Lauda endured one of his more difficult races, finishing third, a minute down on his Championship rival – but his eyes were on the bigger prize and the four points he scored ensured a three-point advantage for the Ferrari driver heading to the final round.
“The whole season was most dramatic with the very well-known denouement in the race following the USA, in a very wet Japan,” says Neil.
That race, the inaugural World Championship Japanese Grand Prix, is one of the touchstones from F1’s age of legends. Held in torrential rain on the high-speed, banked Fuji Speedway Circuit, it provided a suitably dramatic locale for one of the great Championship deciders… but without James’ tenacity at Watkins Glen, the Hollywood ending would have required a rather different script.
This week, the team celebrate 50 years since James Hunt’s iconic Drivers’ Championship victory, with the anniversary falling on 24 October.
Each race week, we’ll be putting the same question to Lando and Oscar to find out just how similar (or different) they really are. The question could be anything: from their favourite corner on the F1 calendar, to their ultimate pre-race anthem, or even the one food they absolutely refuse to eat on race week.
This week, we asked them for their favourite restaurant and the best thing on its menu.
Lando: Ohh, that's tough. I like a lot of restaurants, but I have to shout out my good friend, Harry, in Nayla. There’s now a Nayla in London and one in Amsterdam. My favourite thing on the menu, I don’t know what it’s called, is a starter. It’s these bready, crispy things in a kind of butter. It’s unmatched. You can’t stop eating it and just want to have more and more, so then you’re full before you’ve even had your main course. I also have to name the mushroom pasta, which is unbelievable.
Oscar: My favourite is probably Zuma in London. They do a lot of good things on the menu, so its impossible to name one that stands out, but the sushi is always good. I also love the chocolate cake. Their desserts are amazing.
