Norris\u2019 selfish act exposed shift at McLaren … and Piastri could finally be the big winner<\/a><\/p>\nHe repaid the faith with a strong 1991 campaign, finishing a competitive second despite retiring from the first three races of the season, in part due to a new temperamental gearbox design.<\/p>\n
But in 1992, with the car\u2019s gearbox problems solved, Mansell got on a roll. If his car saw the chequered flag, he was either first or second over the line. He took all but two pole positions.<\/p>\n
The championship, in his 13th campaign, quickly became a formality, and he sealed the deal with second place at the Hungarian Grand Prix with five rounds remaining.<\/p>\n
It was the earliest anyone had ever won their maiden championship.<\/p>\n
That remains the case \u2014 perhaps until this weekend.<\/p>\n
When Andrea Kimi Antonelli dons his overalls and helmet for Sunday\u2019s United States Grand Prix, he\u2019ll be attempting to match Mansell\u2019s remarkable record.<\/p>\n
![\"Nigel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/321d5dbbbba4644d4974812078048148.jpeg\")
Nigel Mansell, who retired at the end of 1990, winning the San Marino Grand Prix in 1992.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
HOW ANTONELLI CAN WIN IT<\/p>\n
Austin is round 18 of 23 of the 2026 season; five races, including Qatar and Abu Dhabi, will remain after this weekend.<\/p>\n
Antonelli has his first championship chance.<\/p>\n
His lead over teammate George Russell is 102 points. Lewis Hamilton (111 points), Max Verstappen (119 points), Charles Leclerc (125 points) and Lando Norris (139 points) are all also in contention.<\/p>\n
His lead over all of them must be at least 125 points at the end of the race to seal the deal.<\/p>\n
The path to clinching the crown this weekend is narrow but far from impossible.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also straightforward.<\/p>\n
Antonelli must win the grand prix. Russell must finish no higher than ninth, and Hamilton can finish no higher than fifth.<\/p>\n
That arrangement would see him tied with Russell but ahead on countback \u2014 he\u2019d have an unreachable nine victories to his teammate\u2019s three with five rounds remaining.<\/p>\n
Any other result would see the championship continue to Mexico, where he\u2019d need a lead of only 100 points to complete the job.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be a dream,\u201d Antonelli said. \u201cIt\u2019s something I\u2019ve dreamt of since I was little.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst of all, to find myself in such a position is incredible. But at the same time, I need to keep going, keep pushing, and it\u2019s not over yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt definitely is crazy if you think about it, but that\u2019s why I won\u2019t think about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a meeting with Bono [race engineer Pete Bonnington] this morning, and we just said, \u2018Just have fun.\u2019 It\u2019s always the same mindset I\u2019ve had all year: one race at a time. Just try to do the best I can every race weekend, and then we\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut of course if I do things well, then the result will come.\u201d<\/p>\n
We are on the precipice of history.<\/p>\n
Kimi Antonelli has his first championship chance.Source: AFP<\/p>\n
VERSTAPPEN IN FORM \u2014 BUT WORRIED ABOUT SPINE DAMAGE<\/p>\n
The driver most likely to spoil Antonelli\u2019s early coronation is Max Verstappen, who\u2019s best placed to deny him the crucial victory he needs to seal the deal.<\/p>\n
Red Bull Racing has surged since its Azerbaijan upgrade, with Verstappen on a two-race victory streak that was 0.2s away from becoming three in Baku. Mercedes believes it\u2019s now the outright fastest package.<\/p>\n
But to win the race, he\u2019ll need to make it to the flag unscathed \u2014 something he said was unlikely given the dire state of the Circuit of the Americas.<\/p>\n
The track is notoriously bumpy, which organisers say is because it was built on the shifting soils of a former marshland.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a long-running irritation not just of Formula 1 drivers but of MotoGP riders too.<\/p>\n
Verstappen, a four-time winner at the venue, has now stepped up his criticism, describing the bumps as \u201cunacceptable\u201d and declaring the circuit a health hazard.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can use the excuse that the soil is the problem, but then you should have known that, and you need to make sure that you reinforce it more,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year, for example, you pull around 5\u20136g in a corner, but I had some impacts, vertical load, which was over 9g on my spine, which I can tell you is really not fun.<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially the older you get, you think about that more and more.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said he was particularly concerned about this year because of the 2026 regulations, which will result in the cars running lower through the corners than last season.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou bottom out way harder,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can tell you from the checks that I\u2019ve done from my spine, the bottom end doesn\u2019t look that great.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that\u2019s part of racing. I know that can be part of sport, but it\u2019s also further damage from the cars that we had the last few years.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd now if we continue with finding this acceptable to drive on, then you are going to suffer with that much more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Verstappen isn\u2019t the sort of driver to be put off his game easily, so it\u2019s unlikely this will weaken his resolve to win.<\/p>\n
But the bumps are, if nothing else, a set-up problem.<\/p>\n
The bumpiness of the road played a role in Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc being disqualified from the 2023 race \u2014 then for Mercedes and Ferrari \u2014 because the teams had set their ride height too low.<\/p>\n
With three practice sessions, the odds of a repeat are low, but raising the ride height is always a performance compromise, and some will be tempted to run lower than others \u2014 at the risk of car damage or, according to Verstappen, driver damage.<\/p>\n
Others may find their cars out of the set-up window as a result.<\/p>\n
It will be interesting to see whether that has an effect on the competitive order.<\/p>\n
Max Verstappen is worried about an \u2018unacceptable\u2019 hazard.Source: AFP<\/p>\n
PIASTRI \u2018HAPPY\u2019 WITH POST-SINGAPORE DISCUSSIONS<\/p>\n
McLaren arrived in Austin wanting to have drawn a line under the crash between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris that became a major talking point at the Singapore Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
Team boss Andrea Stella said in Singapore that talks about the breakdown in the team-first philosophy would continue leading into this weekend\u2019s grand prix, with meetings taking place to ensure the drivers are on the same page for the rest of the campaign.<\/p>\n
Though the team was careful not to apportion blame to either driver in the immediate aftermath, it was clear from Norris\u2019s eventual apologies that the world champion had been deemed predominantly at fault behind closed doors.<\/p>\n
Speaking ahead of the weekend, Piastri said he was satisfied with the way the talks had continued at the factory.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been happy with how things have been dealt with,\u201d he said. \u201cI think the team, Zak [Brown, CEO] and Andrea have handled things the way they should have been, so that\u2019s been fine.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was dealt with appropriately and we\u2019re ready to go racing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Norris was similarly brief answering questions about the matter and appeared unwilling to revisit the situation.<\/p>\n
\u201c[We were able to learn] a lot, but we\u2019re in Austin now, so I\u2019m looking forward to this weekend, putting the past behind me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
When pressed, he added: \u201cI got plenty of telling-off and plenty of words have been said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still allowed to race, but of course we can\u2019t have what happened last weekend and what happened even say here last year. We can\u2019t have that happening.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re allowed to race, but obviously we can\u2019t have a coming together. We have to avoid that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Norris\u2019s reference to last year was the crash Piastri triggered at the first turn of the sprint that cleaned up the Briton as collateral damage.<\/p>\n
This was at the height of the \u2018papaya rules\u2019 era. Norris had been retrospectively punished for hitting Piastri on the first lap in Singapore, the consequence of which was that the Australian was to be given priority order in qualifying for the rest of the season. That punishment was immediately rescinded after the Austin crash.<\/p>\n
Unlike last year, there\u2019s no drivers title on the line, but second place in the constructors championship is still up for grabs \u2014 though the lost points in Singapore mean Red Bull Racing is within seven points of demoting McLaren to fourth.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a challenging year for us, definitely,\u201d Piastri said. \u201cI think in the middle of the season we felt like we\u2019d gained some momentum and potentially we were back to being able to fight for wins and regular podiums, but that\u2019s often the way in Formula 1 \u2014 you think you\u2019re there again and you\u2019ve got a few teams around you to pull you down a few pegs.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully we can find a bit more performance in the rest of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Circuit of the Americas will suit the McLaren better than Singapore, with more corner variety, though the long back straight and the tight finale sector will be difficult.<\/p>\n
The team will also benefit from some upgrades \u2014 though whether it puts it back in podium contention remains a question.<\/p>\n
McLaren’s Australian driver Oscar Piastri speaks during a press conference ahead of the United States Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on October 22, 2026. The United States Grand Prix will take place on Sunday, October 25. (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT \/ AFP)Source: AFP<\/p>\n
SAINZ REVEALS TENSION OVER MIDDLE EAST CALL<\/p>\n
Austin is the fourth race of a run of nine grands prix in just 11 weekends, and it\u2019s the last two of them, in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, causing the paddock consternation.<\/p>\n
Formula 1\u2019s resolve to return to the Middle East has hardened in the last month, and this week FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said hosting both races would be \u201cfine\u201d despite also preparing to announce the Dakar Rally will move from Saudi Arabia to Europe and Africa in January owing to conflict in the region, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n
Most drivers have played questions about the races with a straight bat, but Carlos Sainz, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers Association, strayed from the line when asked about the sport\u2019s commitment to returning to the Middle East.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think [the FIA] seem very convinced that it\u2019s going to go ahead,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think on my personal side, and not speaking as the GPDA, it\u2019s very difficult to be convinced right now because there are still things happening in the Middle East, and also there is obviously an election that is going to happen in the US and things that are going to happen on the political side of the world that could affect the next month, month and a half, very suddenly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s relatively premature to be so convinced, but as it stands, we would go to Qatar and Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the FIA and Formula 1 decide that it\u2019s still a safe and good scenario, I think we as drivers have to go with whatever they say. It\u2019s not like we have as much political information, as much inside information as they have, for sure. So, we need to follow their lead and trust in their decision-making.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut only as it stands, I think the world can change a lot in the next month, one month and a half, and we need to stay diligent and reactive to whatever happens, and not just go because we want to go right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
His Williams team later released a statement on his behalf.<\/p>\n
\u201cFollowing some reporting of my comments in the press conference earlier today about ending the season in the Middle East, I want to be clear that I know the FIA and Formula 1 will put safety first and completely trust them to make the right decision. We look forward to racing in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.\u201d<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s clear there\u2019s far more friction behind the scenes about F1\u2019s decision to race.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The year is 1992, and Nigel Mansell, who retired at the end of 1990, has just won the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":937707,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[64,63,817,813,816,85],"class_list":["post-937706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/937706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=937706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/937706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/937707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=937706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=937706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=937706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}