As the Circuit of The Americas prepares to host the US Grand Prix for a 12th time, a trio of Formula One teams have made their way to the Lone Star State with fresh liveries.

The 19th race in the 2024 F1 calendar and the second of three to be hosted by the US this season — following a trip to Miami in May — Austin will mark another opportunity for Haas F1 Team to impress their home fans some 1,200 miles away from the team’s base in North Carolina.

This time around, Haas has announced that Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen’s VF-24s will take to the 5.5-kilometer circuit sporting a unique take on their usual black, white, and red livery.

With stars and stripes across the front wing, hints of blue can also be seen throughout the design. Most notably, the fresh paintwork includes an eagle and star design on both side pods alongside the team’s logo.

The team revealed their bold new look on X, tweeting, “Made in America…Turning up to Texas with symbols of home.”

Aside from Haas, McLaren‘s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastriwill also take to the Texas tarmac donning striking new liveries.

McLaren United States GP livery

Photo by: McLaren

The Woking-based team is adding a mirror-esque finish to the MCL38, with chrome adorning much of the side pods and airbox cover in celebration of their ongoing partnership with Google. Chrome will also be present on both Norris and Piastri’s race suits in Austin.

This will mark the second time this livery has been run by McLaren after it made its debut at the 2023 British Grand Prix.

According to the team, the decision to bring back the chrome livery is a continuation of their “Chrome Shines Again” campaign, which they say acts as a nod to “the iconic chrome from McLaren race cars of seasons past.”

However, the star of the show in Austin will arguably be Alpine. The Enstone team has partnered with sponsors Xbox on a thoroughly unique design for the upcoming grand prix, celebrating the impending release of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle — which is slated for release in December.

Alpine F1 Team United States GP livery

Photo by: Alpine

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The A524’s bare carbon fiber heavy shell will be covered in torn sections of an aged map, reminiscent of those seen within the iconic movie franchise. The game’s logo also features just in front of the side pods, with the driver’s numbers written in the same unique font on the nose.

Alpine’s “sunset orange” scheme including a world map will also be used on Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon’s one-off racing suits, as per F1.

“Working with the Xbox team to bring alive the incredible Indiana Jones and the Great Circle livery for the United States Grand Prix has been fantastic,” Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes said. 

“The new look will be right at home in the Austin setting this weekend.”

Thierry Neuville doesn’t need any advice and knows “what he needs to do” to take a maiden World Rally Championship title this weekend, according to Hyundai boss Cyril Abiteboul. 

Neuville heads into this weekend’s penultimate round of the season in Central Europe knowing he will claim rallying’s ultimate prize if he extends his 29-point lead beyond 30 points.

Hyundai team-mate Ott Tanak is his nearest rival, while Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans are still mathematically in the mix, albeit 41 and 46 points behind respectively, with 60 left on the table.  

Neuville has led the championship since winning the Monte Carlo opener in January. The Belgian has been locked in title fights before only to come up short, finishing as the runner-up on five occasions (2013, 2016-2019).

Heading into what could be a career-defining weekend, Abiteboul is confident his driver will handle the occasion correctly.

“He knows exactly what he needs to do,” Abiteboul told Motorsport.com. “It doesn’t mean that we have not discussed [the situation].

“I think there things that I have simply kept on repeating because there is a bit of pressure from everyone from the system, from the media, to say ‘you can win this rally’. 

“’You can win this rally’ should not turn into ‘you must win this rally’ because again, there are 13 rounds, not 12. If you try to do a job that you’ve been assigned for 13 weeks and you are trying to make it in 12 weeks, that’s where you can underperform. 

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Vincent Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport

“Let’s not try to win at any cost or to outscore everyone at any cost. Let’s do what we’ve been doing so far and it’s a long game. We’ve been playing the long game actually [for] quite a while and we should not stop at the last moment. 

“I think his career has been full of amazing moments like that, but also of moments where mistakes were made also on the wrong time, so I think I want to protect him from himself, and removing unnecessary pressure is exactly what we need to do. 

“He needs to do his rally and manage his advantage. He’s got the advantage, he’s got the cards in hand, he should not give the cards to someone else.”

Despite being the closest he’s ever been to a WRC title, Neuville says he doesn’t plan to alter his approach on the Central European Rally asphalt stages he conquered last year.  

“I’m feeling okay so far. I’m looking forward as it is a tarmac rally ahead, which I enjoy, and it is going to be challenging but a nice weekend,” Neuville told Motorsport.com. 

“At the moment It feels quite calm to be honest, and maybe the pressure will come throughout the weekend. I don’t know, but at the moment I am just trying to stay focused.

“We don’t need to win the championship necessarily this weekend, but of course we want to and we hope. But we have had a good strategy so far this year, and there’s no reason to change that.”

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Bob Pockrass

FOX NASCAR Insider

Drivers who have advanced to NASCAR’s Round of 8 have already survived two elimination playoff rounds. They have one more to go in their question to be one of the four drivers eligible for the title at the Nov. 10 season finale at Phoenix Raceway.

We asked all the playoff drivers prior to the start of the playoffs to answer the question: “Why will I make the Championship 4?” 

Here are those answers from the eight drivers who still have a shot at getting there. Are they right with their analysis so far … and will they be right over the next three races? Take a read:

Christopher Bell: I’ve done it the last two years. Why not? (Pockrass: What did you do the last two years that you felt like got you there?) We performed whenever it mattered the most … except at Phoenix. The playoffs, it seems like the 20 group is able to turn it on and go to another level whenever the playoffs start. 

Ryan Blaney: The first two rounds are the biggest question mark rounds with Atlanta, the Glen and even Bristol being in the first round. But the Round of 8, for us, if we can get there, is really strong. We turned it on last year in the Round of 8 and those tracks were great for us. If we can get to the Round of 8 and have the same speed as we had last year, I definitely think we can get back to Phoenix. But we’ll see. Hopefully, it all plays out for us and we can do our job.

William Byron: We’re going to make the Championship 4 because we’re experienced, have speed and have a really talented team.

Chase Elliott: I think our team is just extremely well-rounded and we have a lot of depth, too, I feel also with a lot of experience. I think those are all extremely important things as it pertains to making it through the rounds. 

Denny Hamlin: It will mean I got through the carnage. I think that really, especially this season with the schedule, I think it will be a more unpredictable final four than ever.

Kyle Larson: Our team will make the Championship 4 because we’re fast, we’ve been there a few different times already so we have the experience of knowing what it takes, and I think our team does a good job of overcoming adversity when it’s in front of us.

Joey Logano: For numerous reasons. We’ve been in this position before. I know we’re not having the most playoff points going into the playoffs themselves, but I think we know how to execute each round and get to the next one, get to the next one. And the bottom line, when you get to the Round of 8, for us, I think we’re going to have to win. Pointing in is probably not in the cards, depending on who else wins in that round, but most likely winning in that round is going to be our ticket in.

Tyler Reddick: Speed and consistency.

Radioactive: Charlotte — ‘He ****** pushed me, man!’ | NASCAR on FOX

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.

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World Rally Championship teams have expressed their thoughts regarding the possibility of a last-minute change to remove hybrid power from Rally1 cars for next season.

It appears there is a strong chance the FIA could decide to abandon hybrid power from the WRC’s top-flight class in a move that has been triggered by a mid-season change to the hybrid unit user guide from control supplier Compact Dynamics.

This is the latest in a long-running saga over the 2025 WRC regulations.The FIA’s working group, formed to “evaluate and recommend the future direction of rallying, proposed to remove hybrid power as part of raft of changes for 2025 in February this year.

However, WRC teams pushed back against the changes, resulting in the current Rally1 regulations staying put for 2025 and 2026 in what was seen as a U-turn from the FIA.

As previously reported, Compact Dynamics’ new safety guidelines stipulate that if the 130kW hybrid unit suffers three shock errors over 15G or one over 25G, it has to be stripped apart and sent back to the supplier for a full repair that can take months to complete.

Teams believe the change brought in at the Acropolis Rally Greece in September will significantly raise hybrid unit repair costs, with one team arguing it would no longer be financially viable.

An FIA e-vote has since been held where teams have expressed their thoughts as to whether hybrid power should continue next year. A decision is yet to be made. 

M-Sport-Ford team principal Richard Millener says the “extreme costs” now involved to run the hybrid units has made it no longer feasible for the Ford squad next year.    

“I think I would still like it [hybrid] in terms of what it is about, and what we are trying to push in terms of a championship with hybrid technology is still important,” Millener told Motorsport.com. 

“But sadly, with the rules that we have regarding the safety of the units and how they have to be repaired after a shock, with extreme costs to repair them, and that’s not feasible for us. 

Kalle Rovanperä, Jonne Halttunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“It is not a request to remove it for what it is, it is a request to remove it because we can’t actually repair and run them at an economic price for M-Sport. We are talking a few extra million euro to do it and that is not something we can deal with. 

“It is not good, that image [of constant rule changes] from the outside and I have said before we need to have a strong leadership and a strong image of where we are going and we are struggling with that and we need to improve it.

“People will skew the reason and I’m sure people will blame the teams and some people will blame the FIA, but the supplier is not able to give us the product in the way we need it to work for us.”

Toyota is hopeful a sensible solution can be found but has questioned if hybrid power is still required moving forward.

“It’s not an ideal situation for sure,” Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala told Motorsport.com. “We don’t want expenses to go higher and we want to keep things simple, and if it is getting too complicated the the question is do we really need them [hybrid units]? 

“I think performance-wise the cars are pretty good even without it. But it shouldn’t get too difficult for the teams and if there is a risk that teams cannot be in the World Rally Championship because they are running out of units, then it shouldn’t be that way. 

“It is difficult as running these units and if they have an impact they need to be fixed and that takes time, so we need to find a sensible solution. At the end of the day if it is too difficult then it is easier to go without.”  

Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Hyundai has been vocal in its support of hybrid power previously this year but even its team principal Cyril Abitebeoul admitted that if would accept a change if it helped ensure the future of its competitors in the WRC.

“My thoughts are that electrification is the direction that the world is taking. We know that it’s an ongoing trend and therefore we are still supportive of electrifying motorsport electrifying WRC,” Abiteboul told Motorsport.com. 

“We will never actively or proactively request to remove the hybrid from WRC. Having said that, we also need to be pragmatic and recognise the fact that the WRC community is a small community and as any small community, we need to look after one another.

“So if there is any steps that must be taken in order to guarantee participants and competitors at the events we will accept to take those steps. We don’t want to be selfish. I don’t think that anyone can afford to be selfish in the current situation of WRC.

“One thing we must have is a decision very quickly. We are in the process of ordering parts, not the hybrid themselves, because that’s been done already since a while.

“If hybrid was to be removed, I think that’s something we will want to know as quickly as possible to avoid the [un]necessary cost.”

Pedro Acosta has voiced the commonly-held paddock belief that Ducati would prefer factory rider Francesco Bagnaia to win this year’s MotoGP world championship over Aprilia-bound Pramac man Jorge Martin.

Acosta made the remark as he reflected on a stunt engineered by MotoGP promoters, in which KTM’s 20-year-old rookie asked a question at the pre-weekend press conference featuring the two title protagonists.

His question (via video) tackled the possibility of favouritism for either rider on the part of the Italian factory.

Acosta’s invitation to contribute the press conference question; “Will the manufacturer influence this championship battle?” –  his exact wording – was the result of his remark a few weeks earlier that press conferences between Pramac’s Martin and factory rider Bagnaia lacked “spice”.

To his credit, Acosta did earn two significantly different responses from the friendly rivals, who go into the Australia weekend split by just 10 points with Martin in front.

Adamant there would be no preferential treatment, Bagnaia said: “If Ducati wanted to help me in some way, then I could have had something better than [our current package] at Misano already.

“We tried a new chassis, but it’s not ready for everybody so we’re not using it. It’s more correct like this.

“I think Gigi [Dall’Igna] was always clear on that, ever since I started riding for Ducati and even more in the last two seasons, the factory teams have the same package.

“If I have something new, everybody has something new. I don’t believe we’ll change anything until Valencia.”

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Martin, on the other hand, dodged taking a clear position on the question.

“For sure I hope not!” he said. “But I’ll focus on what I can control: riding at 100% and trying to be fast.

“I understand why people ask this question. If they ask it, it’s because they’re thinking about it! But I cannot control that so I won’t focus on that. I will focus on riding.”

Acosta was underwhelmed with the results of his brief flirtation with journalism.

“I found the answers a bit bland,” he told the working media. “But it’s normal, they have contracts that tie their hands a bit, especially Pecco.”

After a little equivocation, Acosta was happy to give his thoughts on the matter.

“I don’t have an opinion on the subject, I’m [just voicing] popular opinion. [But] I think it would hurt [Ducati] a lot if Martin took the title to another factory.”

Asked in his own press conference whether he thought Martin or Bagnaia was the favourite for the title, Acosta replied that his money would be on Martin.