US Grand Prix Tag

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Renault and Toro Rosso have agreed that Carlos Sainz Jr. will move to the French team after the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend. This had been the original aim of the deal between Red Bull and Renault when it was agreed that Toro Rosso would loan Sainz to the French outfit. However, negotiations between Renault and Jolyon Palmer broke down and the British driver remained alongside Nico Hukenberg. The negotiations later resumed and Palmer has announced that tomorrow will be his last race with the team,Read More

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 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

Max Verstappen set the fastest time of a disjointed final practice session at the Circuit of the Americas that saw a number of drivers fail to get in clean qualifying simulations. Verstappen bolted on the supersoft Pirelli tyres with 16 minutes left in the session, at a point when there were just six other cars on track, and the Dutchman used the space well, powering to a lap of 1:36.766. That was good enough to take him 0.266s clear of team-mate Daniel Ricciardo who had first sample the supersofts justRead 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 With the benefit of Ferrari power for 2016, Red Bull’s ambitious junior squad thinks that it can take aim at the podium with its talented young drivers this season. Last season rookie sensations Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz moved the team up a notch in the pecking order and despite some rookie mistakes and bad luck, had some excellent drives, including two 4th place finishes for Verstappen, at Hungary and Austin. Last year’s STR10 marked 10 years since Red Bull bought out lovable F1 backmarkers MinardiRead 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