In Pictures: United States 2025
It was time once again to unfurl the Stars and Stripes as Formula 1 returned to Austin, Texas, for another thrilling weekend at the Circuit of the Americas. On the calendar since 2012, the event featured a trio of compounds that introduced an extra step between the Hard and the Medium-Soft pair. The experiment proved intriguing, offering teams a wider range of strategic options around one of the most complete tracks in Formula 1.
THE TRACK
The United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas ran over 56 laps in an anticlockwise direction. The 5.513-kilometer circuit featured 20 corners and paid homage to some of Formula 1’s most legendary venues, with sequences inspired by Silverstone’s Maggots-Becketts, Suzuka, Hockenheim, and Istanbul Park’s famous Turn 8. Among its most distinctive features was the 41-meter elevation change, most noticeable in the steep climb immediately after the start line. The circuit’s mix of high-speed straights and technical sectors demanded a finely balanced setup that could deliver both top-end speed and cornering stability.
FRIDAY
Friday’s single free practice session took place in sweltering conditions, with track temperatures climbing to 39°C (102°F). McLaren’s Lando Norris ended the afternoon on top after a late run on the soft compound. Lewis Hamilton had led much of the session on the hard tire, used by most teams during the opening stages, before switching to the softs in the final minutes to take advantage of the improving track surface.
Ferrari opted for a different approach, running the medium compound at the end to prepare for Sprint Qualifying, where the mediums were mandated for SQ1 and SQ2, a strategy mirrored by Racing Bulls and Mercedes. The standout of the session was Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg, who secured an impressive second place thanks to a strong final run on the softs.
Max Verstappen, the winner of the last sprint in Belgium and the previous two sprint races in Austin, claimed pole for the Sprint once again. The Red Bull driver narrowly edged out championship leaders McLaren for his fourth consecutive Sprint Qualifying pole. The Dutchman beat Norris, quickest in both SQ1 and SQ2, by less than a tenth of a second, with Oscar Piastri taking third. Hülkenberg continued his excellent form from FP1 by grabbing fourth for Sauber.
Despite ambient temperatures exceeding 30°C (86°F) and limited soft-tire running in practice, Verstappen’s Sprint pole lap of 1:32.143 was nearly seven-tenths quicker than his equivalent time from last year — a testament to both Red Bull’s pace and the track’s evolving grip.
SATURDAY
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen underlined his mastery of the Sprint format by claiming his 13th victory since its introduction in 2021, more than half of all sprints ever held. The result brought him to within 55 points of the championship lead.
The 19-lap race was characterized by two Safety Car periods. The first came immediately after the start at Turn 1, when a multi-car collision eliminated both McLarens along with Fernando Alonso. A second Safety Car was deployed three laps from the end following a crash between Lance Stroll and Esteban Ocon, and it remained out until the finish.
Later in the afternoon, qualifying got underway at 4:00 p.m. local time under scorching conditions, with track temperatures reaching 48°C (118°F). Strong, gusting winds made the task of keeping control through COTA’s high-speed direction changes even more demanding.
Verstappen was fastest in all three sessions, each time on the soft compound. He needed only one run in Q3 to secure pole with a time of 1:32.510, as he missed the cutoff to start a second flying lap at the end of the session. McLaren’s Lando Norris, by contrast, improved on his second attempt to line up P2, while Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc took third.
Qualifying was briefly interrupted at the very start of Q1 after Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar went off before anyone could set a time. The biggest challenge of the hour, however, was the extreme heat, which made tire management and grip consistency difficult. Track limits were another factor, with several laps deleted as drivers pushed the boundaries and waited until the final moments to take advantage of an evolving surface.
SUNDAY
On Sunday, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen made history by becoming the first driver to win seven Grands Prix in the United States, claiming his fourth victory at the Circuit of the Americas — just one day after taking the Sprint win. As a result, he closed to within 40 points of the championship lead, with five Grands Prix and two Sprint races remaining this season.
Like most of the field, Verstappen opted for a medium–soft tire strategy that demanded precise management on the bumpy asphalt, which peaked at 47°C (117°F). Gusting winds added another layer of difficulty throughout the race. An early Virtual Safety Car helped ease tire wear slightly, slowing the pace at a critical point when the cars were still heavy with fuel.
The main strategic outlier was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, the only driver in the top 15 to start on the soft compound. He used the added grip to great effect, challenging for the lead from third on the grid. Leclerc was also the first of the frontrunners to pit, switching from softs to mediums on lap 23. He made good use of the yellow-walled tires to hold second place before being overtaken in the closing stages by McLaren’s Lando Norris, who was on the faster soft compound for his second stint.
Verstappen’s advantage was such that he was able to complete his sole stop, moving from mediums to softs on lap 33, slightly later than his rivals, yet still rejoin comfortably in the lead.
In a momentous week for American motorsport, it was announced before the start that the Circuit of the Americas would remain on the Formula 1 calendar until at least 2034.
The 2025 United States Grand Prix marked Verstappen’s 68th career victory in Formula 1.
NEXT STOP: The land of Tacos and Mariachis, MEXICO 🇲🇽
Excerpts and media courtesy of Pirelli S.p.A. and official Formula 1 Team Press Offices. All images are credited to their respective copyright holders and used for editorial purposes only.
