full throttle fun

Eminem, third place battle, and 4 more moments from Texas' F1 weekend

2024 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc, and Max Verstappen

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc won the U.S. Grand Prix on Sunday, October 20, with Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen rounding out the top three.

Photo by Daniel Cavazos

The Formula 1 United States Grand Prix grows bigger every year at Circuit of the Americas, and so does our love for the motorsport. Nothing compares to the exhilaration of watching the action up close in person, feeling the energy of the passionate crowds, or rushing to grab a photo of the top three winning drivers after the race ends. And you can't forget about all the fun events and parties leading up to the race.

We were there for it all, and we collected our top trackside highlights to help you catch up on the best parts of the weekend. Stay tuned for more of our favorite moments in a gallery coming soon.

Contentious P3 battle between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz had secured first and second place well before the last 10 laps of the race on Sunday, but it was a heated battle for third place between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen. Norris finally pushed ahead of Verstappen on lap 52, but both cars went off the track as Verstappen tried to defend his position. The contentious overtake resulted in a five-second penalty for Norris for "leaving the track and gaining an advantage" that dropped him down to P4 at the end of the race, allowing Verstappen to assume third place and add another 15 points to his championship lead.

Sprint race final-lap battle for P2
Day Two of the race weekend started with an action-packed 19-lap sprint race. Race winner and Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen added eight points to his championship lead over McLaren's Lando Norris, who landed in third place after a final lap battle between himself and Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. The Ferraris had been battling each other frequently throughout the race, and it came to a head in the last lap, when Norris locked up the brakes going around turn one, which allowed Sainz to overtake and claim P2.

Jane Leo rocks the Fan Field Stage
Austin-based husband-and-wife duo Jane Leo — Jane Ellen Bryant and Daniel Leopold — brought a lively performance of indie synth rock to the Fan Field Stage on Friday. Bryant perfectly kept her cool by donning a sheer black top with black tights, and Leopold matched her style with high-waisted black pants, a black tank top, and oversized sunglasses. (Big tough Freddie Mercury vibes.) They caught the eyes and ears of race fans who were waiting in line for the Lego Experience activation nearby.

Austin-based band Jane Leo at Circuit of the Americas Jane Leo looked and sounded so cool on Friday.Photo by Daniel Cavazos

Eminem's first concert in five years
It's not every day you get to witness a crowd of tens of thousands of Eminem fans sing happy birthday to the legend himself. And the self-proclaimed Rap God didn’t disappoint when he emerged from a coffin onto the Germania Insurance Super Stage on Saturday night (while brandishing a chainsaw, no less). Eminem rapped through many of his classic hits, such as “The Real Slim Shady” and “Love the Way You Lie,” while debuting new material ("Lucifer," "Temporary," and more) from his recent album The Death of Slim Shady: Coup de Grace. He also had a few friends join him, including longtime collaborators Skylar Grey and Denaun.

Eminem performing at the Germania Insurance Super Stage at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on October 19, 2024. Happy birthday, Eminem.Photo by Daniel Cavazos

Franco Colapinto’s impressive fanbase in Austin
The U.S. Grand Prix was Williams Racing driver Franco Colapinto’s fourth-ever F1 race, but he’s already making a great impression amongst his American fanbase. We saw many Argentine flags flying in support for the rookie driver during the weekend, and overheard loud cheers when he sped by the crowds during the sprint race. Colapinto is the first Argentinian driver to compete in F1 since Gastón Mazzacane, and we're looking forward to following his journey through the rest of the season.

Celebrity sightings galore
British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay was seen in Georgetown earlier in the week, so it felt like a no-brainer that he would make time to stop by the paddock and say hello to his friends this weekend. However, we were delighted to meet two-time World Champion and Olympic medalist fencer Miles Chamley-Watson. He was — by far — one of the most fashionable stars in the paddock on Saturday, stunning in a matching watercolor short sleeve button down and shorts, a fuzzy hat, and an adorable puppy as his accessory. Ramsay and Chamley-Watson weren't the only two stars we saw. More are coming in the photo gallery.

Fencer Miles Chamley-Watson at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Miles Chamley-Watson was all smiles on Saturday.Photo by Daniel Cavazos

We are definitely looking forward to a week of recovery after such a jam-packed (and hot) race weekend. Keep cool, stay hydrated, and we'll see you next year, Formula 1.

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Movie Review

Rachel McAdams goes feral in Sam Raimi's gory new comedy Send Help

Photo by Brook Rushton

Rachel McAdams in Send Help.

Director Sam Raimi has gone through different phases as a filmmaker, including leading the first Spider-Man trilogy and joining the MCU with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But he first gained notice with the gory and funny Evil Dead movies, a sensibility he’s returning to with his latest film, Send Help.

Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) is a meek and eccentric middle manager at a financial firm that’s just named Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien) as its new nepo CEO. Bradley’s dad had promised Linda a promotion to vice president, but she gets passed over in favor of one of Bradley’s frat buddies, sending her into a mild rage. Still, she gets invited along on a planned business trip to Thailand, during which she hopes to prove her worth.

Unfortunately for most of the passengers on the private plane, it crashes into the ocean, leaving only Linda and Bradley alive on a deserted island. Linda, who has privately developed survival skills, adapts quickly to the forbidding environment, while Bradley tries to revert to bossing her around. But Linda quickly understands the power dynamic has shifted, and she uses this knowledge to try to keep Bradley in line, turning their stranding into a battle of wills.

Directed by Raimi and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, the film is the classic “so bad it’s good” kind of experience. McAdams, inarguably an attractive and charming person, is given stringy hair, an antisocial personality, and quirks like eating tuna fish at her desk to make her as off-putting as possible. Bradley, along with almost everyone else at her office, is stereotyped just as hard in order to set up the twist of fate.

When the action shifts to the island, things get even more over the top. The audience has already been primed for Linda to demonstrate her survival expertise, but the film does way more than just show her making fire. Whether it’s flawlessly building a shelter or hunting a wild boar, everything Linda does is portrayed in a slightly off-kilter manner. Then they turn everything up to 11, indulging in gore that is so unnecessary that you can’t help but laugh.

The filmmakers prove they’re in on the joke the rest of the way, including a variety of preposterous but hilarious scenarios that would cause massive eyerolls if they were actually trying to take the film seriously. While they do a great job of showing Linda’s ability to handle herself in the wild, they also show that she is somehow the only person in the world who could get a glow up after a plane crash and weeks living in nature.

McAdams, an Oscar-nominated actor for Spotlight, is way too high class for a movie like this, which makes her presence here all the more interesting. She is all-in on whatever Raimi wants her to do, and she’s at her most fun when she goes the animalistic route. O’Brien, who was great in the recent Twinless, doesn’t get as much of an opportunity to show his range, but he still proves to be an interesting foil for her.

Were it released in any other month, Send Help might be looked at as bottom of the barrel material. But with the movie year just getting started, it’s easier to forgive its outrageous plot twists and just have fun, especially since Raimi and his team put the rest of the film together so well.

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Send Help opens in theaters on January 30.

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