Circuit of the Americas Tag

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor As part of the World Motor Sport Council gathering this week, the FIA has confirmed the 2017 Formula 1 Calendar. It features some interesting changes from the provisional calendar, namely the loss of the German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring, which showcases the sad state of affairs F1 faces in Germany, despite the success of Mercedes and Nico Rosberg. On the happier side, the US Grand Prix is confirmed after some speculation, no doubt the awesome race in October and its attendance record helped seal thatRead More

By Josh Farmer, IndyCar Reporter Author’s note: This is part of a 10-part series discussing tracks around the world that I feel would be a good fit for the Verizon IndyCar Series. The opinions here are expressed solely of the author and not necessarily of the Motorsports Tribune. While the Circuit of the Americas has made a name for itself as the home of Formula 1’s United States Grand Prix, a Verizon IndyCar Series race could be a nice addition. The 3.427-mile road course just outside of Austin, Texas hasRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The intense speculation and fear for Circuit of the Americas and the United States Grand Prix’s future after 2015’s torrential floods killed attendance and morale are history because the US GP is well and truly back. Attendance figures for last weekend’s event came to a fantastic 269,889 people for the three day event. Whether it was due to Taylor Swift’s massive Saturday night concert, the perfect weather, Haas F1, or a combination of factors, the numbers topped even the attendance of the inaugural race in AustinRead More

Lewis Hamilton took the 50th win of his career and equaled Michael Schumacher’s record of five US Grand Prix victories with a controlled drive to the flag at the Circuit of the Americas. The Briton finished 4.5s ahead of Mercedes team-mate and title rival Nico Rosberg, while Daniel Ricciardo took third place for Red Bull Racing. At the start, Hamilton made a solid getaway to take the race lead. Rosberg went wide on the right to put pressure on his team-mate and that allowed the fast-starting Ricciardo to pull alongsideRead More

Lewis Hamilton beat Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg by two tenths of a second to land his first US Grand Prix pole at the Circuit of the Americas, with Daniel Ricciardo taking third place. The Red Bull Racing driver will be joined on row two by team-mate Max Verstappen, while Ferrari locked out row three with Kimi Raikkonen ahead of Sebastian Vettel. For the frontrunners Q1 was straightforward. Mercedes seized the initiative, with Hamilton quickly rising to P1 with a time of 1:36.296 and the four-time US Grand Prix was joinedRead More

Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheet in opening practice for the United States Grand Prix, running three tenths quicker than team-mate and title rival Nico Rosberg. Max Verstappen was third for Red Bull. Hamilton’s best time was set on the soft tyre after both he and Rosberg spent the early part of the session on the supersoft Pirelli compound, which is making its first appearance at the US Grand Prix this weekend. Verstappen, meanwhile, set his best time on the medium tyre, which in part accounted for his being almost twoRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Kimi Raikkonen discussed the layout of the Circuit of the Americas, home of the United States Grand Prix, and admitted the design allows for great racing. The 3.427-mile, 20-turn permanent road course has been hosting Formula 1 since 2012 and has become a favorite among teams and drivers with its steep uphill opening corner, a mix of fast-flowing corners, continuous elevation changes, long straightaways and a triple-apex right hander to go along with a few heavy braking zones. In four attempts at the Austin-based track, theRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor American Formula One fans rejoice! Recent troubles that have put the US Grand Prix’s fate at stake may have been averted by a recent settlement. According to the Austin American-Statesman, Circuit of the Americas has reached a settlement with the Travis County Central Appraisal District that has lowered the 2015 appraised value of the circuit by over $180,000,000. The move, pushed for by COTA bosses since 2014 will see the track save millions of dollars in property taxes. Enough to recoup the losses from state funding andRead More

By Adam Tate, Managing Editor The U.S. Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas will know its fate by the end of February, according to circuit chairman Bobby Epstein. This follows news from early November that the future of the race is at stake due to issues with funding from the State of Texas. The original deal between the track and the state had annual contributions from the government coming in at $25,000,000 per year through 2022. However new leadership in the State comptroller’s office and a new formula applied toRead More

A total of 34 drivers from 11 different nations will converge this weekend on the Circuit of The Americas, near Austin, Texas, for the annual Chris Griffis Memorial Mazda Road to Indy Test. The acclaimed Mazda Road to Indy offers opportunities for talented race car drivers to graduate all the way from karting through the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires to the Verizon Indy Car Series and the Indianapolis 500. Thirteen different teamsRead More