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SportsTranscript
00:00 Welcome in to Sports Illustrated's coverage of Formula One's United States Grand Prix
00:03 presented by Michelob Ultra.
00:05 I'm Claudette Montana, joined alongside Alex Harrington here in Austin, Texas, and we're
00:09 going to break down some of the top storylines heading into this race.
00:12 Let's start off by talking about this Texas heat.
00:14 It is hot out here.
00:15 Temperatures could get into the 90s this weekend.
00:18 How is this playing into teams' race strategy?
00:20 Oh, it's a beautiful weekend.
00:21 I mean, Cota's always been a track which is hard on the tires.
00:26 There's actually a lot of movement in the ground around here.
00:29 There's loads and loads of bumps on the track.
00:31 And actually, these change each year.
00:33 So teams will be running a much softer suspension so the car's more pliable.
00:37 It's going to be likely a two-stop race, and drivers are really going to have to manage
00:42 their tire wear.
00:43 So Verstappen's going to be great here.
00:45 Mercedes, they often are very good with their tires.
00:48 So I mean, it's all to play for, but it's going to be difficult.
00:50 Well, speaking of Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton looking to bounce back after colliding with
00:54 his teammate George Russell in Qatar.
00:57 How can Mercedes, but more specifically Lewis Hamilton, bounce back and rebound here in
01:01 Austin?
01:02 Yeah, I mean, they had a bad weekend.
01:03 But I don't actually think it was down to the car.
01:05 The car is really good.
01:07 Toto Wolff said after the race that they were expecting podiums.
01:10 It was just a bit of bad luck, bad timing.
01:13 This weekend, they've got an upgrade coming.
01:15 They've got an upgraded floor, which apparently could take away a tenth on their lap times.
01:20 So really, they've just got to be teammates.
01:21 They've just got to be teammates, utilize that upgrade, and cross their fingers.
01:26 All right, well, McLaren has picked up a total of 104 points in their last three races.
01:31 How big of a threat are they to teams like Aston Martin in the fight for fourth?
01:35 They are a big threat.
01:37 This is a sprint weekend, so there's plenty of points to be picked up.
01:40 They're going to be going in with a lot of confidence as well.
01:42 Arguably, they have the second fastest car in the grid.
01:45 The one question will be Oscar Piastri.
01:47 So he's new.
01:48 He's a rookie.
01:49 He's never driven here.
01:50 And with it being a sprint weekend, there's only one practice session.
01:53 So there's not a lot of time for him to get a grip of the race.
01:56 But really, McLaren is so fast, and he is such a talented driver, that I think they
02:01 could take Aston Martin this weekend.
02:03 Well, we've got to talk about everybody's fan favorite, Daniel Ricciardo, who's set
02:06 to make his return here in Austin after missing the last five races with an injury.
02:11 What challenges does he face?
02:12 I love Danny Rick.
02:13 He had a struggle with his broken wrist.
02:15 It was much harder, the recovery for him, than he expected it to be.
02:19 And again, he's going into an Alfa Tauri, which has been upgraded since he last drove
02:23 it.
02:24 And he hasn't really driven it at all this year anyway.
02:25 So he's going to find it very difficult this weekend to get into the racing spirit.
02:31 But look, if anyone can do it, it's going to be the honey badger himself.
02:34 I'm sure he can pull through.
02:35 He's going to be great.
02:36 All right.
02:37 Well, race weekend just getting started here in Austin, Texas.
02:39 And Alex, thanks so much.
02:40 Thank you.
02:40 (upbeat music)
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