Championship Standings and Eliminations – United States GP

WDC: Despite outscoring Piastri in both the sprint and main race, Leclerc was not able to score enough to remain in contention. Russell is at risk of being eliminated next race in Mexico, if Piastri outscores him by 22 points. This would require Piastri to win and Russell to finish 9th or below.

I've added a new calculation: the best and worst possible finishing position. Interestingly, despite being 5th and 6th in the standings, the best Leclerc could finish is 2nd, while Hamilton could only manage 4th. Piastri is guaranteed to finish 4th or better, thus ensuring that he will at least tie his best finishing position (4th, in 2024). With 141 points remaining, there is considerable potential for movement towards the back of the grid, with 15 drivers being able to finish anywhere in the final 15 positions.

WCC: There was no change in the WCC this week, but the battle for 2nd is getting tighter, with Red Bull scoring more points than Ferrari, who scored more points than Mercedes. There is considerable potential for movement between these team next week in Mexico:

• Mercedes will retain 2nd provided they don't lose more than 7 points to Ferrari and 9 points to Red Bull
• Ferrari will retake 2nd if they outscore Mercedes by 8 points and don't lose more than 2 points to Red Bull
• Red Bull will take 2nd if they outscore Mercedes by 10 points and Ferrari by 3

There are two clear groups of teams forming: Mercedes to Red Bull, with possible finishing positions between 2nd and 5th; and Racing Bulls and below, with possible finishing positions between 5th and 10th. Williams is alone in the middle, with the possibility of finishing anywhere between 2nd and 10th.