The starting grid for the United States Grand Prix may feel a little empty on Sunday.
F1 journalist Chris Medland confirmed before the race that two teams — Aston Martin and Haas — will start from the pitlane in Austin. Medland reported that Haas is seeking to get a better setup after gathering data from Saturday’s sprint race and that Aston Martin looks to test a new upgrade spec, with driver Lance Stroll staying on the upgraded car and Fernando Alonso reverting back to older spec for the race.
On an ordinary race weekend, it’s unlikely these two teams would have taken drastic measures to test out their cars. Sprint race weekends, however, give teams an extra day of racing to monitor data like tire wear and race pace, so it’s likely that both these teams were unsatisfied with their race data and are using this grand prix as a means to collect it better regardless of where they finish.
Add both Aston Martin drivers to this too!
Team confirms Alonso will revert to Qatar spec of car and Stroll will stick with upgraded version (but change set-up) to compare the two over a race distance #F1 #USGP https://t.co/nliUnKLZZd
— Chris Medland (@ChrisMedlandF1) October 22, 2023
Due to this change, AlphaTauri’s Daniel Ricciardo moves up to 14th place, Williams’ Alex Albon slots up to 15th and his teammate Logan Sargeant will be at the tail end of the grid in 16th. Magnussen and Hulkenberg will be first in the pit lane, while Alonso and Stroll will follow right behind them.
The United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas will take place at 3 p.m. EST.
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