Speed and jeopardy in Austin, Texas.
The Formula 1 Sprint is back this weekend at the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
Sprints, raced a day before the main event, stir mixed feelings among petrol heads, but for punters they offer variety and extra opportunity.
With Sprints set to feature in three of the final six GPs of the season, and plenty of driver championship points on offer, teams will be concentrating extra hard on technicals for speed and qualifying.
A lot of teams are already focused on 2026 due to big changes coming in technical and engine regulations, so upgrades and experimentation might disrupt the season’s final stretch. Two major brands preparing to enter the scene next year – Cadillac and Ford – add to the competitive edginess.
The Sprint adds further jeopardy due to a reduction of practice time, with just one hour in FP1 on Friday before the Sprint qualifying session later in the day.
All of which adds up to the possibility of upset results in Austin, where record crowds totalling nearly 500,000 are expected over the weekend. The usual suspects are automatic favourites, so value gaps do exist.
Significantly, four of the five most recent pole position sitters have not been the McLaren drivers, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
Max Verstappen (2), George Russell and Charles Leclerc have qualified quicker than the two driver’s championship leaders – and pole position is obviously a big advantage in a Sprint.
Norris and Verstappen share top of the odds for Austin: 2.85 for Sprint qualifying, 3.25 for the Sprint win and 3.00 for the Grand Prix victory.
Then come Piastri (3.25, 3.40 and 3.50), Leclerc (17.00, 10.00 and 13.00), Russell (17.00, 10.00 and 13.00), Lewis Hamilton (23.00, 17.10 and 21.10) and Kimi Antonelli (67.00, 26.10 and 67.00).
Risk fiends might go for Antonelli – or Isack Hadjar or Carlos Sainz – but a more calculated bet could be Russell fresh off his triumph in Singapore.
All Betway odds correct at time of writing and subject to change.
