Red Bull's double world champion Max Verstappen can equal a Formula One record in this weekend's U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, and officially end Mercedes' unprecedented run of eight constructors' titles in a row.
Max Verstappen in Texas Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Verstappen, last year's winner at the Circuit of the Americas, needs one more victory to join German greats Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel as the only drivers to have racked up 13 wins in a single season.
At the same time Red Bull can clinch their first constructors' championship since 2013.
That would be the team's first title double since 2013 when Vettel saw out the V8 era with his fourth and final crown before the switch to the V6 turbo hybrids that powered the rise of Mercedes.
"That is the next target and I'm going to give it everything I have, of course, to make sure that we're going to win that one as well," said Verstappen after retaining his driver's crown in Japan.
The reality is that the 25-year-old may not have to do much at all to clinch the team title, with Red Bull 165 points clear of second placed Ferrari and only 147 remaining to be won after the race in Austin -- more than usual due to a remaining sprint race in Brazil.
If Ferrari fail to score 19 points more than Red Bull in Texas, the contest is over.
The Italian team have managed that only once this season, when Red Bull suffered a blank in the opening Bahrain Grand Prix and Ferrari finished one-two with fastest lap.
Red Bull have won the last seven races, and 14 of 18, with five one-two finishes constituting the team's most successful season yet -- even if one overshadowed by a budget cap breach that remains a major talking point..
The team are only 31 points short of equalling their biggest single season total of 650, achieved when they did the title double in 2011.
Valtteri Bottas at the US Grand Prix Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Mercedes, winless in 2022, will be hoping for a strong showing at a track that has been good to seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton and where they will have a final upgrade package for the season.
"If we can make a step, hopefully, we can get into the fight with the Ferraris and the Red Bulls," said trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin.
While the focus will be on Red Bull wrapping up the constructors' title, unless they have a nightmare weekend, there are plenty of other storylines to keep fans entertained.
American F2 driver Logan Sargeant will take part in first Friday practice with Williams in what could be an audition for a 2023 drive, with the team having Canadian Nicholas Latifi's seat to fill.
Spaniard Alex Palou, the 2021 IndyCar champion, will be on track for McLaren in the same session.
Mexican fans will be relishing the battle for second place in the drivers' championship, with Red Bull's Sergio Perez only a point ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
The Circuit of the Americas is celebrating its 10th anniversary as U.S. Grand Prix host and organisers expect a record 440,000-strong three-day crowd as the sport continues to surge in popularity in America.
Statistics for U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, round 19 of the 22-race season:
Lap distance: 5.513km. Total distance: 308.405 km (56 laps)
2021 race winner: Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Red Bull
2021 pole position: Verstappen, one minute 32.910 seconds
Race lap record: Charles Leclerc (Monaco) Ferrari, 1:36.169 (2019)
USA
Austin's Circuit of the Americas is hosting the U.S. Grand Prix for the 10th time, after being absent in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Sebastian Vettel and Verstappen are the only current drivers to have won there. Hamilton is the most successful driver in U.S. GP history with six victories (five in Austin).
All the races in Austin have been won from the front row of the grid, with Hamilton starting three times on pole position.
There are no U.S. race drivers in F1 at present.
The 20-turn circuit runs counter-clockwise and is naturally undulating, as well as one of the bumpier tracks due to subsidence. It is quite high downforce and weather can be unpredictable.
TITLE
Verstappen secured his second drivers' title at the Japanese Grand Prix on Oct 9.
His Red Bull team can now take their first constructors' title since 2013 and end a record eight-year run of Mercedes success.
Red Bull lead Ferrari by 165 points in the constructors' standings with 191 remaining to be won. There will be a maximum of 147 points available after Austin.
That means Ferrari must score 19 points more than Red Bull to keep the championship alive. A victory and fastest lap for Red Bull would seal the title.
RACE WINS
Red Bull have won 14 of 18 races, with five one-twos, and Ferrari the rest.
Verstappen has won 12 and in Austin can equal the record for most victories in a season shared by Michael Schumacher and Vettel.
Leclerc has won three times, Perez twice and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz once.
Verstappen is chasing the 33rd win of his career, one more than Spain's double world champion Fernando Alonso.
Hamilton has a record 103 wins and 188 podiums from 306 starts. The seven-times world champion last won a race in Saudi Arabia in December and is now on the longest streak of his career without a win.
Ferrari have won 242 races since 1950. McLaren have 183 wins, Mercedes 124, Williams 115 and Red Bull 89.
POLE POSITION
Leclerc has had nine poles this year, Verstappen five, Sainz two, Perez and Russell one each. Hamilton has a record 103, most recently in Saudi Arabia last year.
FASTEST LAP
Eight drivers have taken fastest laps this season.
5 - Verstappen (Imola, Miami, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands)
3 - Leclerc (Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Australia)
- Perez (Spain, Azerbaijan and Italy)
2 - Sainz (Canada, France)
- Hamilton (Britain, Hungary)
1 - Norris (Monaco), Russell (Singapore), Zhou (Japan)
POINTS
All drivers have now scored points after Williams' Nicholas Latifi finished ninth in Japan.
-Reuters
