F1 Today | Steiner exclusive, and Red Bull make changes for US GP
F1 News
The anticipation for the first race since the month-long autumn break is building up, witb teams saying changes have been made to their cars for the United States Grand Prix, includuing Red Bull and Mercedes. New liveries will also be seen on the grid for the race weekend at the Circuit of The Americas, and there is also more from GPblog's exclusive interview with former Haas team boss Guenther Steiner.
Red Bull make "changes" to the RB20
Looking to close the 41-point gap to McLaren in the constructors' championship, Red Bull have made some changes to their RB20 as they prepare for the United States Grand Prix. The downward spiral of the Austrian team has been huge this year, and balance is a major issue that they need to improve on coming to COTA this weekend.
Both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez have said in their preview of this weekend that 'changes have been made' to their cars for the sprint weekend, hoping to take advantage of the extra points on offer.
But it is not just Red Bull that are changing their car for this weekend, as Mercedes look to be bringing upgrades to Austin, Texas to try and add to their three wins this season. "We bring our final update package of the season to Texas and our aim is to close the gap to the front," said team boss Toto Wolff.
More from the exclusive Steiner interview
GPblog spoke exclusively with former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner, and the Italian has spoken about the tough year that Red Bull and Christian Horner have had in 2024. After dominating in 2023, 2024 has been a major disaster. But Steiner quickly dismisses the idea of getting rid of Horner: "I would not suggest that Christian has done a bad job... I think let's see if they can recover."
The former F1 team boss also had his say on the comments made by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem on drivers swearing, with Lewis Hamilton unhappy at 'a racist element' in his words. But Steiner does not believe that the FIA president is "a racist." Be sure to read his full opinion on Ben Sulayem's comments here!
Special liveries for the United States Grand Prix
The Grands Prix that happen in the United States are always a special occasion, with many stars and celebrities flocking to the grid for the weekend. It is also an opportunity for teams to do something special, with many different liveries coming at these weekends. This will be the case in Austin, with McLaren, Haas and Alpine donning a new livery for the sprint weekend.
McLaren bring back their "fan-favourite" chrome livery, a design first brought to the grid at the 2023 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. For Alpine, they have a special Indiana Jones design that will be used this weekend, changing their usual blue for orange.
And of course, Haas had to have a special livery at their home Grand Prix. Along with it being one of their three home races on the 2024 calendar, it will be the first race since announcing its new partnership with Toyota. As a result, they have gone with an American-coloured livery, and the Toyota Gazoo Racing badge can be seen on the front wing.
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