Now, here is something wild from the paddock: as Motorsport.com reports, McLaren's Oscar Piastri has likened the infamous bump on the approach to Turn 1 at the Circuit of the Americas to none other than "a motocross jump". That is quite the image for a Formula 1 machine braking at the limit, and it sets up a tense Sunday afternoon in Austin.
The Australian driver secured a seventh-place start for the United States Grand Prix, finishing 0.768 seconds behind polesitter and current championship leader Kimi Antonelli. Meanwhile, his team-mate Lando Norris slotted in right behind him in eighth place after seeing his final Q3 lap time deleted for a track limits infringement.
In qualifying it's not too bad because you brake after the bump. But in the race tomorrow, you're braking right on that bump. Especially if you're overtaking someone into Turn 1,
Circuit conditions have dominated the conversation all weekend long, with four-time champion Max Verstappen previously calling the bumps "unacceptable". Piastri acknowledged that the wider circuit surface is largely improved compared to previous years, but he specifically pointed the finger at the braking zones for Turns 1 and 19 as remaining problem areas.
"The majority of the track is probably better than what it has been in previous years," Piastri explained. "But the bump into Turn 1 is a bit like a motocross jump. And the one into Turn 19 is not that much better."
That surface defect becomes a real racing danger during wheel-to-wheel combat. "In qualifying it's not too bad because you brake after the bump. But in the race tomorrow, you're braking right on that bump. Especially if you're overtaking someone into Turn 1," Piastri added, noting that the drivers have already raised the topic with the FIA, who are aware and expected to fix the issue for next year.
Away from the tarmac, the 25-year-old was also quizzed on whether a new building featuring cable cars overlooking Turn 1 has altered his visual reference points around the track. Thankfully, the state-of-the-art clubhouse introduced for the 2026 race has not disrupted his lines. "There's just a bit more atmosphere. There's a bit more going on. Before, we looked at the sky and now you've got... You can see a few more people in the cable cars," Piastri said.
