American Grand Prix: track and statistics

Formula One races were held on many urban and stationary tracks in the United States, but Grand Prix racing, which previously had a strong European base, was more of a guest than a host in the United States. Only with the opening of the Circuit of The Americas in Austin did Formula 1 find its American home base.

In May 2010, a ten-year contract was signed to organize the American Grand Prix in Austin from 2012. “For the first time in the history of Formula 1, a world-class circuit will appear in the US, specially built for the Grand Prix” , Bernie Ecclestone said at the time.

The development of the project was again entrusted to the design bureau of Hermann Tilke, and the promoter of the stage was former racer Tavo Hellmund – it was his idea and he took up its implementation with pleasure. Construction was halted several times due to legal and financial problems, Hellmund was eventually suspended, but the circuit and associated facilities were completed on time – in September 2012 the circuit was licensed.

Characteristics of the trajectory

Circuit of America. 56 laps of 5513 meters = 309.732 km. 20 turns. Counterclockwise movement. The longest straight stretch is between turns 11 and 12 and is over a kilometer long. The car drives here for almost 20 seconds at a time with the accelerator pedal fully depressed.

The aerodynamics have been adjusted to a medium, closer to high level of downforce. 10 braking zones, in four the deceleration is very intense. Brake wear is medium, closer to high. The time required for a pit stop is 21-22 seconds.

The track has an interesting configuration: a fast first sector with a good combination of fast corners, towards the end of the lap the corners are slower and there is also a traditional back straight. The circuit is very varied, completing a lap requires good driving technique. Some sections resemble the best fragments of historical routes – this was Tilke’s calculation. The direction of movement is counterclockwise.

When tuning the cars, the teams focus on the high-speed sector, but it is important to achieve rear stability in slow corners. The downforce is medium, closer to high, but it is important not to lose speed in the first sector and the straight.

The circuit is demanding on engine power and recovery system efficiency, and the large number of ascents and descents makes oil pressure control critical. Fuel consumption is high, but not the highest.

Pat Symonds, technical director of Formula 1: “One of the few circuits that runs counter-clockwise presents unusual challenges for the teams. The configuration involves a large number of left turns, so drivers will have to adapt to unusual strain on the neck muscles, and teams will have to adapt to cars entering the pit lane from the opposite side.

The circuit has several classic corners that you also encounter on other circuits. In particular a section reminiscent of the Maggots-Becketts-Chapel link in Silverstone. The eighth corner of the Istanbul circuit is recreated here with several peaks, which we really miss, the Arena section of Hockenheim, there are corners inspired by the “esques” of Senna in Interlagos and the Sebring-Auspuff Kurve combination of Spielberg . In general, there are many interesting turns, but because of this the average speed here is quite low.

The lap features a significant elevation change, with the straight uphill to Turn 1, which presents particular challenges as the summit is at the top of a hill. Entering a corner is somewhat blind; the braking point there is difficult to estimate.

There is a good chance to regain the position in the braking zone at the end of the straight. The track is much wider than average, the drivers have many opportunities to attack their opponents in different stages, and since the safety zones are wide, you lose almost nothing if you make a mistake.”

Weekend schedule

You can follow the progress of all Formula 1 sessions on our live broadcast page.

Tire kits issued to teams for the weekend

In 2022, Austin changed the asphalt again and laid a new foundation to strengthen the areas around turns two and ten, but the American circuit still remains the bumpiest.

Austin has high tire wear, so medium and hard tires are usually used in the race, and soft tires only in qualifying.

This year, Pirelli will again launch the three ‘medium’ compounds: C2, C3 and C4, with the designations Hard, Medium and Soft.

Performance of current riders in the US

Max Verstappen: “I always look forward to coming back to Austin. COTA is fun to drive, with long straights, slow, tight corners and flowing, high-speed sections – everything you want on any race track. The most interesting part is probably the first turn because the top is blind to it due to the uphill.”