Austin’s U.S. Grand Prix remains home of F1 in America

With glitzy new races in Miami and Las Vegas, it would be easy to forget or overlook just how important Austin’s Circuit of the Americas (COTA) has been for Formula One’s push to be relevant in the United States.

Last year’s carnival-like event at COTA was confirmation of the extent F1 has cracked America in recent years, with drivers and team bosses all commenting how big it felt compared to previous visits to the States. COTA looks set to raise the bar higher this year, with a record 440,000 fans expected in the days leading up to and including Sunday’s U.S. Grand Prix (live on ABC, 3PM ET).

“This year’s the best yet,” circuit boss Bobby Epstein told ESPN. “We sold out almost immediately.”

Much has been written about the surge of interest F1 is enjoying right now, helped massively by Netflix’s Drive to Survive series. It’s showing no sign of easing off — Miami’s debut race in May generated huge fanfare and the Saturday night Las Vegas street race slated for Nov. 18 next year already looks set to be one of the highlights of the 2023 season.

F1 holding three races in America seemed unthinkable only a handful of years ago. COTA, built specifically for F1, arrived in 2012 after several years without a race in the States and when interest in the sport was low, following the infamous and controversial tenure racing at Indianapolis between 2000 and 2007. It has become a mainstay on the calendar since and recently had its contract extended to 2026.

While the return to the Austin venue this year doesn’t match the hype and excitement generated recently by Miami and Vegas — perhaps in part because Max Verstappen wrapped up the title two weeks ago — those two events are still enjoying the novelty factor.

Epstein thinks COTA played a key role in making sure there was an established race in America when the boom period started.

“We’re really proud of what we’ve accomplished and how the fans have recognised the efforts here. The sport was in Indy for a bit, but realistically that’s for the Indy 500 and IndyCar, that’s their home stadium.

“We built this place for Formula One. We gave it its first home in the States, certainly the first in this century or in the last 30, 40 years. I hope it led to a lot of the success that’s happened.

“I don’t think it would have been here… I don’t think anyone else would have built a purpose built facility for F1. There was talk of maybe there wasn’t anyone else crazy enough to do it!”