r/formula1 • • 11h ago

Day after Debrief 2026 United States Grand Prix - Day After Debrief

35 Upvotes

​Welcome to the Day after Debrief discussion thread! Now that the dust has settled at COTA, it's time to calmly discuss the events of the last race weekend. Hopefully, this will foster more detailed and thoughtful discussion than the immediate post race thread now that people have had some time to digest and analyse the results.

Low effort comments, such as memes, jokes, and complaints about broadcasters will be deleted. We also discourage superficial comments that contain no analysis or reasoning in this thread (e.g., 'Great race from X!', 'Another terrible weekend for Y!').

Thanks!


r/formula1 • • 1h ago

Throwback Since we're talking historics..

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• Upvotes

Buddy of mine works for Ferrari(not F1 team). Every so often, he gets taken away from his day job to oversee side projects like this.


r/formula1 • • 2h ago

Video Austin classic cars from a different perspective

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21 Upvotes

Got the timing just right on this, the sound was wonderful.


r/formula1 • • 4h ago

Throwback Follow up historic F1 cars at COTA post

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69 Upvotes

This car and driver were far enough away from the pack providing the opportunity to hear this one of a kind note. Bringing a proper microphone next year


r/formula1 • • 5h ago

Social Media [Kimi Antonelli] P1 in Austin!!!

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615 Upvotes

r/formula1 • • 5h ago

Statistics After this GP, Pirelli has tied Goodyear for most F1 wins for a tyre supplier at 368 wins

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54 Upvotes

r/formula1 • • 6h ago

Discussion Who do you think is gonna take down Russel?

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14 Upvotes

Yeah Antonelli has already won the championship, but i'm more interested in who will be P2 this season


r/formula1 • • 6h ago

Video [F1] Jump aboard the Lestappencopter

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1.1k Upvotes

r/formula1 • • 7h ago

News [Motorsport Italia] Hadjar remained on the pit stop map for half the race: he had no power below 40% throttle

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2.0k Upvotes

After an excellent first stint, in which he had toyed with the idea of trying to get into the top 5 and maybe even something more with the one-stopper strategy, Hadjar remained in the wrong pit stop mapping after the tyre change, which limited the throttle response, which did not provide power until the pedal went above 40%

Max Verstappen's podium finish in Austin, combined with Isaac Hadjar's sixth-place finish, allowed Red Bull to catch up with and overtake McLaren in the Constructors' Championship, a goal that seemed almost unattainable heading into the summer break. However, the RB22's growth in recent months, combined with the difficulties encountered by the Woking team, quickly shifted the balance of power on the track.

Yet, Red Bull leaves Austin with some regrets, not only because the podium is starting to feel tight, but also because there might have been a chance to score a few more points with Hadjar. Despite a poor start due to the RB22's chronic problems, the Frenchman had an excellent first half of the race, but a mapping issue at the pit stop compromised his throttle management in the second half.

A real shame, because observing Hadjar's performance in the early stages, it's clear that, once he found some space in the clear air on the soft tyres, his pace wasn't that far from that of Andrea Kimi Antonelli. In fact, for a few laps, the two were essentially on par.

Both opted for a one-stop strategy, and considering that Mercedes' simulations proved to be about eight seconds faster than a two-stopper, the Frenchman didn't seem too far off from fighting for a fourth- to fifth-place finish. "In clean air, during the first stint, I was on Kimi's time and I thought it was a one-stop race," Hadjar said.

However, everything he had built in the first part of the race, effectively managing the soft tyre against the mediums used by his rivals, went up in smoke when he switched to the hard tyre, the compound that proved to be the most competitive over the distance. After the pit stop, Hadjar remained on the wrong mapping, a mistake that he claims cost him up to a second per lap for the entire second stint.

When entering the pit lane, drivers select a specific map for the pit stop, which is necessary to keep the engine revving and the clutch pressed during the tire change. In the case of Red Bull, this is "Strat 12." Once the pit stop is complete, the driver must return to the normal race map before leaving the pit lane and rejoining the track.

The problem is that, in those moments, Hadjar didn't select the correct race mapping after the pit stop. While he was driving down the pit lane, he was busy discussing the hard tire choice with the team on the radio and found himself on track with the wrong mode still selected. Once you exit the pit lane, you can no longer change that mapping, with the risk of having to complete the stint in the wrong conditions, exactly what happened to the Frenchman.

This mode limits the engine's response to low throttle inputs. In practice, every time Hadjar returned to the accelerator, it was as if he were dealing with significant turbo lag: the car wouldn't react properly until the pedal was about 40% open, with no power restored. This condition forced him to be much more aggressive in his throttle application throughout the second half of the race.

The consequences were multiple. First, the car became more difficult to drive when exiting corners, because the ability to modulate power during traction was lost, increasing the risk of tire spin and thus degradation. Furthermore, in some circumstances, if the tires spin on exit, they use more energy than necessary and can lead to battery failure sooner, so careful throttle management is essential.

“I stuck with the pit stop mapping, which cost us a second per lap. That was the problem. No matter what tire I had, it wouldn't have made any difference. I had driveability issues. I could have even put on rain tires and it wouldn't have made any difference,” said Hadjar. A real shame, because a small mistake had far more serious consequences than anyone could have imagined.


r/formula1 • • 7h ago

Technical What material is the grey colored part made of?

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41 Upvotes

Credits for the image: xaviimages instagram


r/formula1 • • 7h ago

Video Radio Rewind | 2026 United States Grand Prix

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13 Upvotes

r/formula1 • • 9h ago

Photo Pierre Gasly left Silverstone with 42 points. He left COTA with 42 points.

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1.2k Upvotes

r/formula1 • • 9h ago

News Herta still in with a shot of Cadillac race seat as Bottas' pace comes into question

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396 Upvotes

r/formula1 • • 9h ago

Discussion Great Time at F1 Weekend Summary w/ Costs

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8 Upvotes

Gave my review of my weekend at CotA as a semi local and with how much I spent for each aspect of the weekend.


r/formula1 • • 10h ago

Discussion Help identifying a car part found in COTA

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2.1k Upvotes

I found this car piece during the track invasion yesterday in Austin. It was on the inside line at turn 1 (I think going into the corner but it was so chaotic I’m not sure). It was on the tarmac not the grass. Anyone happen to know whose car it might have come from? Thanks!

*I will handle it with gloves from now on but I don’t have any splinters for now - thank you!*

also is it normal to find something like this on the track?


r/formula1 • • 10h ago

Statistics Charles Leclerc’s podium in Austin makes him second to only Michael Schumacher for Ferrari podiums in Formula 1 history

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923 Upvotes

r/formula1 • • 10h ago

Throwback 40 years ago today, Alain Prost Became World champion for the second time, in a season as mighty as the tale of the rabbit and the turtle

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312 Upvotes

I know he isn't on the favorite list of most of F1 fans, but just some love posting of one of the biggest campaigns the sport has gifted is

Do You have any memory of it? Did You watched to race or only the highlights? I wasn't yet born, but on the way, maybe that's why i am biased towards this


r/formula1 • • 10h ago

Discussion What are some basic must-knows for someone new to the sport?

8 Upvotes

Hello all

Since playstation added F125 to the PS plus monthly games, I've found myself enjoying the world of formula 1.

As a complete novice, what are some absolute must-knows you could give me. Whether it be rules of the sport, terminology, or things I can shout at the TV to make myself look more knowledgeable than I am?

Thanks.

P.s. is a paid subscription really the only way to watch live? I fancied watching last night but NowTV want an extra £30 a month to add sky sports to my subscription. I don't really fancy paying that tbh


r/formula1 • • 10h ago

News Alisha Palmowski: Racing ‘nerd’ with Barry Manilow lyrics on her helmet dreams of Formula 1

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50 Upvotes

r/formula1 • • 10h ago

Discussion COTA drivers vs announcers

16 Upvotes

I’m not trying to upset anyone here. I’m newish to F1 so I am not familiar with the nuances of every track. There seems to be real credibility to driver complaints about the track surface and quality but the announcers and media laid on the praise pretty thick. It’s obvious that F1 would never want to speak ill of its own product. Are there other tracks that the media hypes that are also terrible for the drivers? What tracks are as good as the hype?


r/formula1 • • 10h ago

Video Sound up for the historic cars at COTA

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130 Upvotes

r/formula1 • • 11h ago

Statistics Fastest laps of drivers in United States Grand Prix

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64 Upvotes

r/formula1 • • 11h ago

News Edd Straw's 2026 United States Grand Prix F1 driver rankings

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0 Upvotes

r/formula1 • • 11h ago

Video USGP crowd rush at COTA (insta: @24turbo911)

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152 Upvotes

r/formula1 • • 12h ago

Statistics George Russell has scored 6 points over the last 3 weekends. This is the worst 3 race run for any driver who led the championship in the given season since 2013.

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3.5k Upvotes

Of course, not completely on him considering his engine DNF in Malaysia, and back-of-the-grid penalty in Singapore.

2010 and 2012 (which had 6 drivers lead the championship at various points) had multiple worse runs, including Jenson Button scoring 7 points across 6 races at some point in 2012 and Massa scoring nothing in 3 races in a row in 2010.