Max Verstappen holds major advantage as Pirelli lay out tyre strategies for US GP

After a dramatic Qualifying on Saturday, Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli starts the US GP on Pole, knowing that if he converts it into victory, while teammate George Russell finishes P9 or lower, and Lewis Hamilton finishes fifth or lower, he will become the youngest-ever F1 world champion.

0.179s behind Antonelli came Red Bull's Verstappen, with his teammate Isack Hadjar rounding out the top three. Chasing his third straight Pole Position on Saturday, Verstappen missed out after his final lap time in Q3 was deleted, while Hadjar lamented "a disaster" of a weekend despite a strong performance.

The Frenchman's fortunes could well turn around, however, with former Renault driver Jolyon Palmer noting during Qualifying that Red Bull have plenty of new soft tyres available in comparison to their rivals at the front.

Ahead of Q3, Palmer noted on F1 TV: "There are a couple that have got three [new] sets of tyres. The Red Bulls have got four sets of new tyres! So, they can throw them on at will tomorrow if there’s a safety car.”

Pirelli have now confirmed the tyre sets available for the Grand Prix, with Verstappen and Hadjar indeed the only frontrunners with two fresh sets of soft tyres at their disposal. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc is the only top four driver with one new set of softs, while his teammate Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris have an extra set of new mediums on the rest of the grid. Only Haas' Esteban Ocon has three new soft tyres available but the Frenchman starts P15.

But what do Pirelli think will be the best strategy in Austin? Motorsport Director Dario Marrafuschi reflected on Saturday's practice and qualifying action.

"The Free Practice session today provided indications consistent with those that emerged yesterday," Marrafuschi said. "The C4 confirmed a performance advantage over the C3 in terms of both grip and lap time, a factor that ensures clear differentiation between the available options. In race pace running, however, the two softer compounds proved to be very closely matched, increasing the number of strategic scenarios available to the teams."

Focusing more closely on strategy, a one-stop option is said to be the most effective solution, with a soft-medium race offering the most grip throughout the 56-lap race. The hard tyre, however, is still very much seen as a valid option for the second stint, particularly in the event of a disruption such as a Safety Car.

"The simulations indicate that a one-stop strategy remains the most effective solution in terms of overall race time," Marrafuschi added. "The Soft-Medium combination could be chosen by more than one team in order to maximise the grip advantage offered by the red-banded tyre.

Marrafuschi pondered over whether a soft-medium-soft strategy could feature should tyre degradation play a more significant role in Austin than anticipated, but highlighted the importance of track position and potential of traffic at COTA.