This weekend, Circuit of the Americas ( COTA ) in Austin, Texas hosts Formula 1 after being absent from the schedule in 2020 as the series makes its sole United States appearance. COTA has become a driver’s favorite as its design borrows elements from the world’s best circuits and puts them together in the Austin countryside. COTA is also one of four circuits on the F1 calendar that are run counterclockwise.
The Red Bull teams enter the weekend with cautious optimism. After being sidelined with an injury Adrian Newey is said to be back and working full bore to help Red Bull optimize the setup of their car. A win will be tough at COTA but a podium is certainly in the cards. AlphaTauri should see one car in the points and other just outside those positions.
Elsewhere on the grid, COTA has been good to Mercedes and we must assume that it will continue to be especially given the recent turn of speed they have found. Next, we can expect the fight between McLaren and Ferrari to continue as the Prancing Horse continues to slowly make progress against the Papaya Orange cars. Alpine has been looking racy lately so we should look for at least one of their cars to be solidly in the points-paying positions. Not far off in the order the pair from Aston Martin will aim to move up the grid compared to recent results. At this point in the order we’ll see some team cars from the higher running teams. Next up we can expect to see a Williams car knocking on the door of points but just shy thereof. After that look for the duo from Alfa Romeo to be duking it out with the remaining Williams. Finally, Haas will round out the order as 2022 can’t come soon enough for the American-owned team.
US TV SCHEDULE
Practice 1 – Friday, Oct. 22 – 12.25PM – ESPN2
Practice 2 – Friday, Oct. 22 – 3.55PM – ESPN2
Practice 3 – Saturday, Oct. 23 – 1.55PM – ESPN2
Qualifying – Saturday, Oct. 23 – 4.55PM –
ESPNEWS
U.S. Grand Prix – Sunday, Oct. 24 – 1.30PM –
ABC
Post-race – Sunday, Oct. 24 – 5PM – ESPN3
Race (re-air) – Sunday, Oct. 24 – - 8.30PM
ESPN
CIRCUIT INFORMATION
Lap data
Lap length: 5.513km (3.426 miles)
Race laps: 56
Race distance: 308.728km (191.835 miles)
Pole position: Right-hand side of the track
Lap record*: 1’37.392 by Lewis Hamilton, 2018
Fastest lap: 1’32.237 by Lewis Hamilton, 2018
Maximum speed: 314kph (195.11 mph)
DRS
zone/s (race): Pit straight and longest straight
Distance from grid to turn one: 280m
Car performance
Full throttle: 49%
Longest flat-out section: 1090m
Downforce level: Medium
Gear changes per lap: 54
Fuel use per lap: 1.8kg
Time penalty per lap of fuel: 0.072s
Strategy
Quickest complete pit stop in 2013: 23.537s by Red Bull (see full list)
2021 tyres: Hard (C2), Medium (C3), Soft (C4) (2019:Hard (C2), Medium (C3), Soft (C4))
*Fastest lap set during a Grand Prix
Data sources:
FIA
, Williams, Mercedes
2019 RESULTS
Race Info.
Pole: Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 1:32.029
Race laps: 56
Fast race lap: Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 1:36.169
Podium
1. Valtteri Bottas – Mercedes
2. Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
3. Max Verstappen – Red Bull
CURRENT STANDINGS
Drivers
1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 262.5
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 256.5
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 177
4. Lando Norris, McLaren, 145
5. Sergio Perez, Red Bull, 135
6. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, 116.5
7. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 116
8. Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren, 95
9. Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri, 74
10. Fernando Alonso, Alpine, 58
11. Esteban Ocon, Alpine, 46
12. Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin, 35
13. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, 26
14. Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, 18
15. George Russell, Williams, 16
16. Nicholas Latifi, Williams, 7
17. Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo, 6
18. Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo, 1
19. Mick Schumacher, Haas, 0
20. Robert Kubica, Alfa Romeo, 0
21. Nikita Mazepin, Haas, 0
Constructors
1. Mercedes, 433.5
2. Red Bull, 397.5
3. McLaren, 240
4. Ferrari, 232.5
5. Alpine, 104
6. AlphaTauri, 92
7. Aston Martin, 61
8. Williams, 23
9. Alfa Romeo, 7
10. Haas, 0
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