While Red Bull has been struggling over the past few months with their car’s balance, McLaren has been on an upward trend and is currently enjoying a 41-point lead over the Milton Keynes-based team in the Constructors’ Championship.

As the championship battle intensifies with just six races left in the 2024 season, both teams have brought upgrade packages to Austin. 

Red Bull has introduced a new floor design, which includes a “revised edge wing camber over the rearward third” and an updated engine cover. 

Meanwhile, McLaren has unveiled a revised front wing and front suspension package, along with several modifications to its rear brake duct components and rear wing.

The Woking team has been very cautious about introducing upgrades on the MCL38, and this strategy has paid off in 2024, helping them avoid the unexpected issues faced by their rivals. 

According to the team, this careful approach is one of the key reasons for their success.

However, after the US GP sprint qualifying, McLaren driver Oscar Piastri felt that the big performance advantage they had in recent races had faded a bit.

“The car feels okay, but it is maybe not quite as strong as it has been in the last few races, but I don't think that is because we are weak,” he told the official F1 channel.

“I think the others maybe seem a little bit stronger, so let's see.

“We are still well and truly in the fight, so it is certainly not a case of we're miles behind, but it is maybe a little bit more difficult for us than in a few of the other weekends.

“It is going to be tough [to score points] from where we are, but we will try and will see what we can do.”

When Piastri’s teammate Lando Norris was asked after the sprint qualifying how he reflected on the session, he answered: “Not very good – I’m P4.

“Not a great day, I’ve been struggling the whole day honestly with the balance and the set-up.

“In a way [I’m] happy with P4 because I feel like it could have been a lot worse, but my lap was shocking.

“So yeah, not a terrible day – it could have been worse, could have been better, but I’ll take it.”

“I hope to go forward, that’s my plan, but on pace I think we are where we deserve to be today, so my plan is to go forward but I have no idea how much we can.”