US GP talking points: How will Hamilton, Norris move on from woes?

Formula 1 returns to Austin's Circuit of The Americas for the United States Grand Prix with a historic championship crowning potentially in the offing, along with several other hot topics on the agenda.

All eyes on Antonelli as history beckons

The event in Texas kicks off the second of three triple-headers to end the season, with races in Mexico and Brazil immediately following this one.

There is every chance that Antonelli will become F1's youngest ever world champion on one of the next three Sundays, but it would require something quite dramatic for that to be in Austin.

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Antonelli would need to win the United States Grand Prix and for his Mercedes team-mate George Russell to finish ninth or lower, with Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also finishing fifth or lower.

However the weekend plays out, it will be fascinating to see how Antonelli handles the pressure of the title being attainable for the first time.

Ultimately, there has been little evidence to suggest the 20-year-old will back far away from the aggressive approach that has served him so well this season, and why should he?

Will Mercedes' upgrades work better?

A key factor in determining when Antonelli seals the title could be the performance of his Mercedes car, and more specifically the upgrades that have been brought to it in recent weeks.

The Silver Arrows had projected plenty of confidence over the major package they added to the W17 at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, but it appeared to have a negative impact as they delivered arguably their least performative weekend of the season.

That led to the team taking the quite extreme step of running a full test of the upgrades the following weekend in Singapore as Antonelli drove with the new parts on his car and Russell drove with the pre-Sepang specification.

The extreme heat and nature of the surface in Malaysia made it tricky for all the teams to analyse their performance, while Singapore's Marina Bay Street Circuit is also something of an outlier on the calendar.

A return to a more traditional circuit in Austin therefore makes it a crucial weekend for Mercedes, whose plans for the development of their 2027 car will be significantly impacted if this package simply doesn't work.

Can Verstappen make it a hat-trick?

There is no longer any doubt that Max Verstappen and Red Bull are well and truly back.

The four-time world champion had to wait until the 16th round of the season for his first Grand Prix victory of 2026, but it was then just seven days before his second came along.

There's no doubt that the upgrades Red Bull have gradually added to the car are working, with Verstappen having been in a league of his own over the past two weekends.

Antonelli might be on the brink of glory, but there is already a growing sense in the paddock that Verstappen could end this year and start next season as the driver to beat.

Antonelli himself admitted that it would be "very scary" if Verstappen was challenging him for the title in this form.

Verstappen is just eight points behind third-placed Lewis Hamilton and 17 points behind second-placed Russell in the drivers' standings, with both at major risk of being overhauled by the Dutchman in the coming weeks.

While the positions below first in the Drivers' Championship count for little, Verstappen appears as though he may be in the process of laying down a major psychological marker for next year.

How will Hamilton handle strategy error?

In contrast to the late-season momentum that Verstappen is building, his old rival Hamilton's campaign is fizzling out.

The latest downturn came in Singapore when the seven-time world champion made an inexplicable decision to ignore Ferrari's call for him to come into the pits during a Virtual Safety Car period.

While stopping would have almost certainly condemned him to finishing behind team-mate Charles Leclerc, getting rid of his already worn tyres would have likely sealed a podium finish, or at worst, fourth place.

Instead, he took the chequered flag in sixth, before not showing up for his post-race interviews amid concern over his physical condition following the gruelling race.

The saga has led to speculation over a possible breakdown of trust between Hamilton and the Ferrari pit wall, with the 41-year-old having been unhappy with their choices on several other occasions this season.

Given the fact he didn't speak after the race in Singapore, there will be extra attention on his press briefings on Thursday in Austin.

While that might be intriguing, the more pressing issue is that Ferrari need to sort their act out for 2027 with the threat of Verstappen looming.

Repercussions for Norris?

If Red Bull need a warning against taking anything for granted after Verstappen's successive wins, it's glaring at them in the form of the papaya McLarens.

Either side of the summer break, it was Lando Norris who claimed his first two victories of the season in successive races in Hungary and the Netherlands.

He should have had a third in Madrid soon after, with his hugely impressive pace at each of those events leading many to believe McLaren were going to be the team to beat for the remainder of the season.

Instead, the last triple-header saw them drop painfully backwards. Norris didn't qualify higher than fifth at the three events and his best result was fourth in Singapore.

The Brit was also guilty of creating negative headlines for the team by attempting a late overtake in the Singapore Sprint on his team-mate Oscar Piastri that resulted in the pair crashing and cost them both points.

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella and chief executive Zak Brown made it clear they were extremely unhappy with the collision, but opted against publicly criticising Norris.

Now that the team have had more time to review the incident, it will be interesting to see if Norris feels the need to make further apologies, or whether there are firmer words from the top.

Sky Sports F1's United States schedule

Thursday October 22
6.25pm: F1 Academy Practice
8pm: Drivers' Press Conference
10.30pm: F1 Academy Qualifying
11.10pm: Paddock Uncut

Friday October 23
6pm: United States Grand Prix Practice One (session starts at 6.30pm)*
8pm: The F1 Show
9.45pm: United States Grand Prix Practice Two (session starts at 10pm)*
11.50pm: F1 Academy Race 1*

Saturday October 24
6.15pm: United States Grand Prix Practice Three (session starts at 6.30pm)
8.30pm: United States Grand Prix Qualifying build-up*
10pm: UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING*
12am: F1 Academy Race 2*
12.45am: Ted's Qualifying Notebook*

Sunday October 25
5pm: F1 Academy Race 3
6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: United States GP build-up*
8pm: THE UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX*
10pm: Chequered Flag: United States GP reaction
11pm: Ted's Notebook

*also on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1 heads to The Americas for another triple header with the United States Grand Prix in Austin up first this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - no contract, cancel anytime