F1 Paddock Notebook - United States GP Friday

- On a day of not so many headlines in Austin, Sebastian Vettel stole the show when said to Sky he could smell marijuana from his car during the practice sessions. The German was curious about the legal situation in the red state where, in fact, the authorities are having problems after choosing to legalize minimal THC cannabis recently. As it looks and smells very similar to marijuana, which remains illegal, the police are finding hard to enforce the law. And that might explain the smell “in turns 1 and 11” that he reported.

- The drivers seemed to have a lot to say in the briefing, easily one of the longest of the season at 1 hour, 20 minutes. Even race director Michael Masi wasn’t in the room anymore when it finished. One could only assume the talking points: maybe they were told off because of the negative reaction some had with the new rules? Maybe the 2020 prototype tyres, tested this Friday by most of the field, were in the centre of the discussion?

- The fact is that many drivers complained about the prototype tyres, claiming there was no grip. On Pirelli’s side, Mario Isola explained that the cars' setup was not adjusted to the new construction and compound, therefore it’s normal that the level of grip is not the same. “For us it’s good that they feel the difference, otherwise it would make no sense to change," said Isola.

- Another issue this Friday was how bumpy the track was, and the organisers recognized the soil is moving slightly, causing more bumps. So we should be seeing higher cars for the rest of the weekend.

- Moving forwards, Isola hinted that the target letter for 2021’s tyres is facing a dilemma: F1 and the drivers want a tyre with a wider working range and less overheating, but also want more than one stop in the race. As it’s very hard to have both at the same time, Pirelli seen to be trying to convince them to keep the one-stop races and bet on having better racing.

- Otmar Szafnauer revealed an ambitious target F1 will be aiming for until 2030: to become carbon neutral. And that means neutralizing even the fans’ travel! On Racing Point’s side, Otmar said sustainability is a key element of the new headquarters that are being built in the UK.