Formula 1 United States GP Notebook: COTA Organizers Fined for Track Invasion

The promoter of the Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix has been handed a hefty fine due to the premature nature of the usual post-race track invasion by fans.

Alongside the main grandstand, around 200 fans climbed onto the track while cars were still completing their cool down lap after the checkered flag. It was noted that while the general safety plan to allow spectators on track was largely well implemented, this was a breach that could have had severe consequences.

The promoter must now issue a remediation plan by the end of the year, and has been fined €500,000 (approx. $540,000), of which €350,000 (approx. $378,000) is suspended so long as there is no repeat in 2025 or 2026.

The stewards also recommended that the €150,000 (approx. $162,000) unsuspended fine should be spent on projects within the FIA’s motorsport safety department.

American Crawford Lands Abu Dhabi Test

American driver Jak Crawford will participate in this year’s end-of-season young driver test in Abu Dhabi.

The 19-year-old Formula 2 driver is fifth in the F2 championship and is part of Aston Martin’s young driver program. He took to the roads of hometown Houston ahead of the U.S. Grand Prix as part of a demonstration run involving Aston Martin’s title partner, Aramco.

Crawford tested Aston Martin’s 2022-spec AMR22 in Austria earlier in the year, and his outing in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday December 10 will be in the team’s 2024 AMR24.

“I’m excited about the opportunity of driving the AMR24 for the first time in Abu Dhabi,” said Crawford. “I’ve spent lots of hours on the simulator back at the AMR Technology Campus, and I will be continuing this ahead of the test to make sure I am well prepared.

"Yas Marina is a circuit I know well, so hopefully this will help me get up to speed quickly. I would like to say a big thanks to everyone at Aston Martin Aramco for the chance to drive this year’s car in the test.”

Per F1 regulations each team must field a young driver—who classifies as someone with two or fewer Grands Prix—during the one-day test.

Haas F1 Team Boss Hurt at Indoor Climbing Wall

Haas boss Ayao Komatsu appeared in the COTA paddock sporting a limp and an accompanying crutch, the result of an injury sustained while at an indoor climbing wall.

“I was doing some moves, jumping on some things,” he said. “And as soon as I took off I heard it go—calf muscle torn. It’s not great. That was Friday before going to Japan [for the Toyota announcement], so before four consecutive trips, perfect timing.”

There was nonetheless a positive outcome to the weekend for Haas, with points across both Sprint and the grand prix enabling it to jump RB for sixth in the championship.

Oliver Bearman Back for Ferrari

Ollie Bearman will be back behind the wheel of Ferrari’s SF-24 in Mexico this weekend as he will participate in FP1, fulfilling one of the two young driver sessions for the team.

Bearman was supposed to undertake the session for 2025 employers Haas, but his race outing in Baku means he has already carried out five of his six arranged FP1 sessions for Haas, leaving just Abu Dhabi to go.

Elsewhere. Felipe Drugovich will be back in Aston Martin’s AMR24 for the session, for his first outing of the year, while Robert Shwartzman will hop in the Sauber for his second FP1.

Alpine's Lost Crusade

Alpine had a tie-up with the Indiana Jones franchise amid the impending release of a video game, though the tweaked livery only succeeded in observers mistaking it for McLaren’s usual scheme.

It had looked set to be a strong outcome for Alpine in a middling season, with Pierre Gasly holding sixth place through the early stages after an excellent display in qualifying. But a relatively early pit stop, at which Gasly also suffered a delay, meant he was susceptible to those on fresher tires later on, while a time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage added to the woe.

Gasly finished 12th, while teammate Esteban Ocon spent most of the day at the back after being tipped into a spin at the first corner.

Albon Marks 100th Race

Alex Albon marked his 100th race in Formula 1 at the U.S. Grand Prix, and he sported a special helmet design, mirroring the scheme he used during his first go-kart race. Williams also had a special logo for Albon and had cupcakes printed with his logo in the hospitality unit.

“It’s odd because it’s happened so quickly—I feel like four years in F1 isn’t that much time, but I’ve already reached 100 races,” he said. “It’s a nice moment to reflect, see where I’ve come from, and the driver that I’ve become, and still in the future want to be someone better. It’s not so much more than that. I’m a year later than my immediate colleagues, Lando and George, but I can’t get all the attention.”

Albon believes that a year off the grid—in 2021, which he spent as Red Bull’s test and reserve driver—was crucial to his development.

“I was underprepared,” Albon said of his initial F1 entry in 2019. “I learned a lot—the year I did have away from F1 I felt like it was great to have time to reflect and pick out what went wrong, where I was weak, and the areas I needed to focus on, short-term as in mentally, also driving, also creating a structure, sorting out the inner circle around me.”

Albon nonetheless has some way to go to catch Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

The evergreen Spaniard will mark his 400th Grand Prix—the first driver in history to reach the milestone—at this weekend’s Mexico City race.