The event marked the twelfth running of a Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas and the 45th United States Grand Prix as a championship round. Going into the weekend, Max Verstappen led the Drivers' Championship with 331 points, 52 ahead of Lando Norris and 86 ahead of Charles Leclerc. McLaren led the Constructors' Championship with 516 points, ahead of Red Bull Racing on 475 and Ferrari on 441.
Two driver changes shaped the entry list compared to the season opener: Franco Colapinto had replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams from the Italian Grand Prix, and Liam Lawson had replaced the dropped Daniel Ricciardo at RB from Singapore.
Three teams ran special liveries over the weekend. The McLaren MCL38 appeared in a chrome livery referencing sponsor Google Chrome, the same design previously used at the 2023 British Grand Prix. Haas ran an American flag-inspired livery with stars, stripes, and an eagle on the VF-24. Alpine switched to an orange livery to promote the Xbox video game Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
Eight of the ten teams brought upgrade packages. Mercedes made substantial changes to the W15 covering the front wing, front suspension, floor, and bodywork. McLaren's MCL38 received aerodynamic modifications including a revised front wing, suspension, brake ducts, and beam wing. Aston Martin updated the AMR24's front wing, floor, engine cover, and rear diffuser. Alpine adjusted the A524's floor, rear wing, and bodywork. Haas modified the VF-24's floor and sidepods. Kick Sauber introduced a new front wing and suspension changes on the C44, while RB brought a new floor for the VCARB 01. Ferrari and Williams brought no upgrades.
Sprint qualifying took place on October 18, with Verstappen taking the sprint pole position on a time of 1:32.833. In the sprint itself, held on October 19 over 19 laps, Verstappen won ahead of Sainz and Norris. Oscar Piastri received a five-second penalty for forcing Pierre Gasly off track but his final position was unaffected.
Main race qualifying followed the sprint on October 19. Norris secured pole position. George Russell qualified sixth but was required to start from the pit lane after his car was modified under parc fermé conditions. Liam Lawson was sent to the back of the grid for exceeding his power unit element quota. Zhou Guanyu received a five-place grid penalty for a fourth energy store.
The race ran for 56 laps beginning at 14:00 local time. Leclerc moved immediately into the lead from the start while pole-sitter Norris was blocked in the early stages by the battle with Verstappen. Sainz followed Leclerc home for a Ferrari 1–2, their first at a United States Grand Prix since 2006 and Ferrari's first victory in the United States since Kimi Räikkönen in 2018.
Norris finished third on track but was relegated to fourth following a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage while overtaking Verstappen. Verstappen therefore took the official third position. Gasly also received a five-second penalty for a track limits infringement, though his final position was unaffected. Yuki Tsunoda received a five-second penalty for forcing Alexander Albon off the road; Albon had already been required to start the sprint from the pit lane after his car was modified under parc fermé conditions.
Liam Lawson recovered from nineteenth on the grid to finish ninth, a strong debut result on his return to a race seat. Lewis Hamilton spun off at Turn 19, bringing out the safety car. Teammate Russell, penalised during the race for forcing Valtteri Bottas off track, recovered to sixth after having crashed out in qualifying. Esteban Ocon set his first career fastest lap but was classified eighteenth, so did not score the bonus point.
Verstappen extended his Drivers' Championship lead over Norris to 57 points, with Norris on 297. Leclerc remained third, 22 points further back. McLaren retained the Constructors' lead but their advantage over Red Bull narrowed to 40 points, with Ferrari closing to within eight points of Red Bull in third following their first 1–2 since the Australian Grand Prix earlier in the year. As of the 2026 Miami Grand Prix, Leclerc's victory at Austin remained his most recent race win.