STRATEGY GUIDE: What are the tactical options for the United States GP?

You really do have to wonder who writes Kimi Antonelli’s scripts. The Mercedes driver has the hand of history on his shoulder, poised to become the youngest F1 World Champion, and with potential to seal the deal here in Austin.

It’ll require a victory and everything else going his way, but he gave himself the best possible chance of that by popping-up in Q3 with a scintillating pole position lap, after the timesheets in Q1 and Q2 had been topped by World Champions Lando Norris and Max Verstappen respectively.

And while it’s the Dutchman who looks like being the most serious competition for the victory, the top four teams, while individually strong in different sectors, are separated by a spread of only 0.12s on long-run pace. COTA offers decent overtaking opportunities, and plenty of scope for strategy to play its part. So let’s dive in…