Mercedes Expect Fierce Eight-Car Battle at United States GP

Pulse Sports Team 23:37 - 23 October 2026

Mercedes Deputy Team Principal Bradley Lord believes the fight at the front of the grid will be fiercely contested at the United States Grand Prix, with up to eight cars potentially battling for top honours.

Lord reflected on the Silver Arrows' performance during Friday practice at the Circuit of the Americas, detailing the setup adjustments made throughout the day. He also highlighted the razor-thin margins at the top of the timesheets, particularly on long-run pace, pointing toward a very tight contest.

"Neither driver was particularly happy after Free Practice 1. Both reported major struggles under braking and on corner entry. "We made some setup tweaks between the two sessions. Right from their first runs, both drivers reported that the car was rotating much better on entry, allowing them to carry speed through the turns without aggressively getting on the power, which had been overheating the rear tyres. "So we made good progress. Hopefully we can unlock further improvements overnight, but the car's handling is already significantly more predictable," Lord said. "Looking at the comparative long-run pace traces, the differences between Leclerc, Verstappen, and Kimi are so tiny that you have to look very closely to see them. Norris also displayed very strong pace. That's why I think we are heading into an extremely close fight across all eight cars. It is a similar picture over single-lap pace, with gaps within a tenth or even five hundredths of a second. We are in for an incredibly tight and thrilling battle," the Mercedes deputy boss added.