Who can challenge Verstappen in Austin? 'Hamilton loves America'

Mika Hakkinen has fond memories of the American Grand Prix. The Finn won the penultimate Grand Prix of his career in the United States (in 2001), although he did so at the legendary Indianapolis circuit. The United States Grand Prix is now at the Circuit of the Americas, where Lewis Hamilton has an excellent track record. The Briton has already won there five times. For next weekend, Hakkinen expects Hamilton to take a leading role.

Is there any race these days that Max Verstappen does not start as favourite? As in every preview Hakkinen writes for Unibet, the Finn considers the now three-time world champion to be the man to beat at COTA too. "Max Verstappen will be going for his 50th F1 career victory this weekend and, as we saw last year, he enjoys the COTA circuit and has a car which should enable him to deliver the win," said the two-time champion. Whether Verstappen will be joined on the podium - victorious or not - by teammate Sergio Perez, Hakkinen seems doubtful.

He does not name Perez as a contender for the podium. Rather, he is watching the exciting battle between Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren. One name itself gets some extra attention: Lewis Hamilton. "Lewis loves America, he has won the US Grand Prix six times, five of them here at COTA, and he will be massively motivated to give the team a strong result on Saturday and Sunday," he said. "Mercedes is bringing another floor upgrade to this race, part of its development process for 2024, and I expect Lewis and George to be right up there all weekend."

Hakkinen also watched as Carlos Sainz was unable to even take part in the Grand Prix in Qatar due to problems with his Ferrari. A year ago in Austin, the Spaniard started from pole but George Russell touched him at the very first corner. According to the Finn, Verstappen's former teammate is eager for revenge because of both incidents. "He will be aiming for a repeat in qualifying – and the race if Max hits trouble," believed Hakkinen, who also expects McLaren to be strong at COTA thanks in particular to Lando Norris.