United States GP: All Upgrades We Can Expect to See In Austin.

Max Verstappen and Red Bull have sewn up the drivers and constructors’ championships with several races to spare and for many teams, the focus now turns to 2024.

We take a look at the teams who have made their upgrades public ahead of the United States Grand Prix Sprint at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

Alfa Romeo – No upgrades

Alpine – No upgrades

AlphaTauri – No upgrades. * A new development for the Italian-based team is the return of Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian broke bones in his hand at the Dutch GP. Red Bull junior driver Liam Lawson deputised for the former McLaren driver and performed well in one of the slowest cars on the grid. However, despite the New Zealander scoring points in his fourth race, he missed out on a permanent seat to Ricciardo at AlphaTauri next season.

Aston Martin – Aston Martin Technical Director Dan Fallows confirmed the team will introduce a few upgrades this weekend. However, with the Sprint format and teams limited to one practice session, the jury is out on whether the unnamed upgrades will have a significant impact. Fallows said: “It will be a big challenge to gain that understanding as early as possible.

“We’re looking forward to seeing how these upgrades perform and, hopefully, it’s a track where we should be reasonably competitive if we can get everything right.”

Ferrari – Haas – The American team will introduce the biggest upgrade of the season as they look ahead to 2024. All of the modifications are aerodynamic and bring the VF-23 in line with a Red Bull-type concept. According to PlanetF1 Haas has changed the sidepod inlets to a ‘letterbox’ shape. The floor has also been modified. The team will be hoping for a good performance in front of owner Gene Haas this weekend.

McLaren – No upgrades

Mercedes – The Brackley-based team announced the W14 will be fitted with a new floor for this weekend’s race. Team boss Toto Wolff said it would be the last major update for the 2023 season.

Red Bull – No upgrades

Williams – No upgrades

Looking Ahead To The Sprint Race And GP

Verstappen heads to Austin as the favourite for the Sprint and GP with the Dutch driver taking victory in 2022.

Lewis Hamilton has an outstanding record at COTA and the track layout could suit the Mercedes and Ferrari more than the in-form McLaren. We’re in for an interesting weekend.

Have a listen to our US GP betting preview podcast below and see our predictions:

Predictions

Sprint winner – Verstappen
Sprint podium – Verstappen, Hamilton, Sainz
Winner – Verstappen
Podium – Verstappen, Russell, Sainz
Fastest lap: Hamilton
First to retire: Tsunoda
Most Team Points: Mercedes
Both Cars Qualify for Q3 Shootout: Mercedes
Practice 1/2/3 Winning Car: Verstappen/ Red Bull
Safety Car: Yes
Top 6: Gasly, Russell, Hamilton
Top 10: Albon, Tsunoda, Magnussen, Hulkenberg
Winning margin: Over 5 seconds
Number of classified finishers: 18

Sean Parker

Sean Parker is a motorsport journalist and sports content creator at The South African. He has worked for the country's premier motoring publications, and is a Formula 1 contributor to Bet.co.za, the Bet Central podcast, and Vision View Sports radio.