Cloud has won all three of his IMS starts on American tracks. Freed has won in Vegas too, but his aim for COTA is rather more modest: finish with solid points. Sharing a home round has not produced a shared definition of a good weekend.
Seven American drivers entered the Texas round across D0, D1, D2 and D3. Between them are a championship leader still chasing his first win, former COTA winners trying to restart difficult seasons, and an Aston Martin pairing with a US one-two to revisit. The front of D0 offers a rematch, while the D3 team-mates and the former winners further back have their own measures of progress.
Cloud and Raptorr have a one-two to revisit
COTA gave Cloud his first IMS win for McLaren in Season 6. He returned to win the Season 7 D0 opener for Mercedes, then completed his three-race US sweep in Vegas. The next attempt comes in Aston Martin colours, after winning his only start of Season 8 in Singapore.
Asked for the biggest challenge to extending that American run, Cloud offered three words: “Winning the race”. There is only so much complication a defending champion is prepared to entertain.
Raptorr finished just 1.132 seconds behind him in that Vegas one-two. Both have since moved from Mercedes to Aston, and Cloud’s seven-point deficit to D0 leader piastrigoat leaves an immediate target after missing Spain. Raptorr entered Texas only one point behind his team-mate, with 30 from two appearances.
Their approaches sound compatible enough. Asked how they would tackle a home race together, Cloud said:
Same as usual avoiding incidents and pushing for max points but doing so reasonably
— CloudRaptorr has already taken pole at COTA, in Season 6. His answer about where he could make the difference this time put the opening moments ahead of any home-track romance:
Probably just qualifying at the front of the grid really and not getting takin out at the start💀
— RaptorrAs for how his contest with Cloud might develop, Raptorr’s answer was equally direct: “By just getting the strategy right.” Vegas supplies a result they can try to repeat; it also supplies a very small gap for Raptorr to reverse.
Freed would take a quieter sort of progress
Freed’s pole and third in Spain gave Aston a podium and left him fourth in D3 on 20 points. He has won from pole in Vegas, but COTA has yet to produce anything better than fifth. He is not treating the home label as a promise of pace.
Im looking to survive. Cota is my home track yet we tend to not get along quite well. So if I can just finish with solid points I’ll take that
— OGxFREEDHe expects to find his opportunities in the race rather than assume Spain’s qualifying result will carry over:
Race craft and Strat , ik it’s a basic answer but in all honesty Cota is one of those tracks where it’s either you get it or you don’t. So for me I sadly happen to fall on the ladder side so I have to rely more on strategy and race craft this race.
— OGxFREEDA podium and a retirement from the opening two rounds leave room for exactly that kind of improvement. Another pole would be welcome; a reliable return would give his season something it has not yet had twice in succession.
Williams’ Americans have each other to chase
Ximqf entered Texas leading D3 on 47 points, two ahead of Jacko, without an IMS victory. COTA would be his first IMS appearance at a US circuit. Cloud and OnlineGuy both found their first wins here; ximqf has a championship lead to defend while pursuing the same breakthrough.
Trident’s challenge runs alongside it. His fourth in Spain supplied 15 points, helping put Williams just two behind Cadillac in the D3 constructors’ standings. Last season he finished fifth at COTA and fourth in Vegas; the home rounds have already given him useful contributions to build on.
As an American I’m very proud to race at COTA and in Vegas. I like that both tracks bring a different set of challenges. Will be interesting to see the different setups and battery management people bring.
— Trident65Having the championship leader in the other Williams has not changed how he views the pairing:
I’ve always had teammates that were faster so it’s nothing new. I enjoy it because I’m always held to a higher standard. I expect us to push each other forward.
— Trident65That gives Williams two ambitions which can serve the same team result. Ximqf is chasing a first win; Trident wants the faster car on the other side of the garage to raise his own standard.
Old wins leave room for a fresh start
OnlineGuy’s maiden IMS victory came from pole at COTA last season, and he followed it with another pole and second in Vegas. His first two rounds with Audi brought only one D2 point. Returning to the scene of that breakthrough offers a very different starting point from the championship fight at Williams.
For Ferrari’s Bulldogger, a winner in Miami and Texas, the problem begins with how the current car feels. Speaking ahead of the round, he described the adjustment he wanted to make:
I’m looking to get back into my rhythm again for S8. These regulations don’t exactly suit my driving style, so I’m looking to get the car into a good window to allow me to extract the most amount of pace that I’m capable of.
— BULLDOGGER47His idea of a happy Texas weekend was specific:
A happy weekend for COTA this weekend looks like a clean and incident free round with potentially a top 5 run If I can keep my pace consistent
— BULLDOGGER47
/GettyImages-1739561537.webp)
