Circuit of the Americas

The Circuit of the Americas is a racing circuit in Austin, Texas. It was the first track in the United States built specifically for Formula One. The layout was conceived by the promoter Tavo Hellmund and Kevin Schwantz, the 1993 motorcycle world champion, with help from the architect and circuit designer Hermann Tilke. Construction began on 31 December 2010. The venue opened on 21 October 2012, when Mario Andretti drove the ceremonial first laps in a Lotus 79.

The lap is roughly 5.5 km long, has 20 corners and runs anti-clockwise, with an elevation change of about 41 metres. From the start line the cars climb a gradient of more than 11 per cent to the first corner, Big Red, which is also the highest point of the track. Later comes a fast series of sweepers modelled on the Maggotts-Becketts-Chapel complex at Silverstone. At the hairpin at Turn 11 begins a 1.00 km straight back towards the pit area. In the final sector come a sequence inspired by the stadium section at Hockenheim and a copy of Turn 8 at Istanbul. Several corners are deliberately wide so that drivers can choose different lines. With more left-handers than right-handers, the layout puts extra strain on drivers' necks.

The first world championship race was held in 2012, won by Lewis Hamilton for McLaren after four years without a Formula One Grand Prix in the United States. The United States Grand Prix has been held here every year since, apart from 2020, when it was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The circuit is also part of the 2026 Formula One calendar.