Rory Mitchell

Football has VAR, Rugby has TMO, and Formula 1 has ROC. Born from the inquest into the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi season finale, the FIA's Race Operations Centre (ROC) plays a key role in supporting and advising Race Control. #F1 sector.world/2026/10/fia-...

The US GP was fairly unspectacular for Antonelli, but beating a charging Verstappen and Leclerc showed the skills that make him a worthy champion in 2026. #F1 #USGP f1debrief.substack.com/p/kimi-anton...

Verstappen's radio was still muffled during the race. When asked about it in the presser, he responded: "It's been a few races now. Maybe we just start communicating in sign language. It's probably cheaper as well. It's a disaster. Really frustrating to be honest." #F1 #USGP

First time I've seen Russell consigned to just not being as quick as Antonelli this weekend. Perhaps it's resignation that his chances of winning the 2026 title are all but finished. But anything other than P2 in the championship is getting into Perez/Red Bull 2022 territory. #F1 #USGP

Audible boos from the crowd for US politician Ted Cruz, replaced almost immediately with cheers for Antonelli as soon as he's handed the P1 trophy. #F1 #USGP

Leclerc turns to Antonelli in the cool-down room: "So probably Mexico then... (you'll take the title) In Brazil you won't show up!" #F1 #USGP

Drivers' Championship after the #USGP. Russell very close to losing P2, Hamilton a point away and Verstappen six points off: 1. Antonelli - 365 points 2. Russell - 242 points 3. Hamilton - 241 points 4. Verstappen - 236 points 5. Leclerc - 233 points 6. Norris - 211 points #F1

Russell given a black-and-white flag for track limits after the chequered flag. Antonelli, meanwhile, only had one strike. Bono: "Kimi only one track limits for a bust with Sainz, so getting there on that." Antonelli: "Ah, I try to be careful in the race." Bono: "Good lad." #F1 #USGP

VSC has ended with 3.5 laps to run. #F1 #USGP

Neither Leclerc nor Verstappen pitted under VSC. Could've been an opportunity lost there.... #F1 #USGP

Leclerc takes P2 from Verstappen. Appears that soft>soft strategy hasn't worked out, Ferrari using all three dry compounds and potentially conjuring a P2 for Leclerc and a P4 for Hamilton. #F1 #USGP

Norris engineer over team radio: "Lando, with the flat spot, we think we should pit this lap..." Norris: "I don't have a flat spot. Just do whatever you want." #F1 #USGP

The gulf in performance between Antonelli and Russell is quite incredible in this race. Antonelli is comfortably leading, while Russell has been stuck in no-man's-land, hanging on to his title hopes. #F1 #USGP

Leclerc pits again for a new set of hard tyres. He was four seconds off Antonell in P2. Now Antonelli is out with a 15s lead to Norris with 17 laps to run. Hamilton P6, Russell still P8. #F1 #USGP

Antonelli back into the lead of the race. Russell is in P8 but about to overtake Piastri for P7, then Hamilton is P3. No championship as it stands. #F1 #USGP

Slow front right during Verstappen's pit stop. He's pitted and emerged in P5 on a new set of medium tyres behind Norris. #F1 #USGP

Antonelli pits and emerges on the hard tyre in P4 and 8.7s behind Verstappen, who now leads and must pit again. He's currently lapping in the low 1:40s. #F1 #USGP

Hadjar's engineer over team radio: "Let Max past into T12" Hadjar: "Yeah, but I don't want to lose race time. I can't let by, sorry..." Engineer: "Do it. That is what you have to do." Verstappen: "Yeah thank you guys, really good strategy there, stuck in dirty air. Fuck sake." #F1 #USGP

Russell pits and emerges in P10 with his time penalty. #F1 #USGP

Bearman has a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision with Gasly. #F1 #USGP

Verstappen the first of the leaders to pit for a new set of soft tyres. So he'll be pitting again in the next 15-20 or so laps. #F1 #USGP

Five-second time penalty for Russell for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. #F1 #USGP

Russell is under investigation for leaving the track and gaining an advantage at T13 on the opening lap. #F1 #USGP

Stroll running behind Colapinto: "There is bodywork flying off this guys car..." Colapinto team radio: "Everything looks okay (aero) numbers-wise, mate." #F1 #USGP

I think that VSC came too late, the debris was at T9 and Antonelli ran over it... #F1 #USGP

It seems the track has broken up a bit at the apex of T12 since yesterday. #F1 #USGP

Antonelli, Russell, Piastri, and Norris are starting on medium tyres; everyone else in the top 10 is on soft tyres. #F1 #USGP

All of the possible race strategies for the #USGP. Looks like a two-stop is possible, Verstappen and Hadjar have two sets of new soft tyres available. Hamilton and Norris also both have two new sets of medium tyres. #F1

Pit lane start for Stroll as Aston Martin changed his car setup under Parc Ferme. Also takes on a new PU. #F1 #USGP

Verstappen on the potential for Antonelli to win the title this weekend: "Kimi fully deserves all the success he's having. He's very consistent, putting the performances in when it when it matters. Once it's finally official that he is world champion, it's definitely the deserved winner." #F1 #USGP

Antonelli: "We got pole, so we'll try to win tomorrow. But Max has been very quick, so it won't be easy. But very happy with qualifying today. Q3 was very tough with the wind. Very gusty and unpredictable." #F1 #USGP

Verstappen: "Q3 was not good. On both sets, I didn't have a good balance. On the final lap, you could see it wasn't happening with the tailwind. You try to push a bit more, but you hit the bumps, then the car is like a kangaroo. Not very happy with P2, not what I expected." #F1 #USGP

Ferrari must be baffled at that. They were the fastest in every practice session, yet their cars are P4 and P5 in qualifying. Disaster. #F1 #USGP

Norris was P6 but had his time deleted for track limits at T19, so he will start down in P8. #F1 #USGP