2022 F1 U.S. Grand Prix Preview

The 19th round of the 2022 Formula One World Championship will be held this weekend at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

The battle for the 2022 drivers' championship title has already been decided, with Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen crowned champion at the Japanese Grand Prix two weeks ago.

However, the battle for second place is still on, with Red Bull's Sergio Perez in second and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc just one point behind in third. The battle for the constructors' championship is also alive and well, but Red Bull is almost certain to take the title in Austin.

Despite being one of the newer circuits on the F1 calendar (the first race was held in 2012), COTA has already made a name for itself as a circuit where F1 cars can perform at their best.

In particular, the 3.4-mile track has a mix of 20 corners, some of which are reminiscent of past and present F1 circuits. It also has more high-speed corners than Spa-Francorchamps and more low-speed corners than the Hungaroring, making it a major challenge for teams and drivers alike. However, the uphill hairpin at Turn 1 stands out as COTA's signature corner.

The track surface is one of the bumpiest due to land subsidence. Although it is either scraped or resurfaced in the winter to counteract this, it remains a challenge as the location and degree of bumps change throughout the year. The weather forecast for Austin this weekend suggests sunny but cool conditions for both Saturday's qualifying and Sunday's race.

Pirelli has set C2 on white hard, C3 on yellow medium, and C4 on red soft. Last year the teams followed a two-stop strategy, but this year could be different as a completely new tire will be introduced.

In the drivers' championship this weekend, Verstappen holds a commanding lead with 366 points, followed by Perez in second with 253 points and Leclerc in third with 252 points. In the constructors' championship, Red Bull has 619 points to Ferrari's 454 and Mercedes-Benz AMG's 387. Last year it was Red Bull's Verstappen who won in Austin.