Phoenix Street Circuit

The Phoenix Street Circuit was a street track in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. It ran close to the Phoenix Civic Plaza and the America West Arena and was driven anticlockwise. Formula One staged the United States Grand Prix here from 1989 to 1991.

The city had only four months to get ready. Roads were fenced off and resurfaced, and grandstands and pit garages were built. The original lap measured 3.800 km. Phoenix took over the slot that Detroit had been scheduled to use on 4 June 1989. At the first race, the desert heat took a heavy toll on teams and drivers, and only 6 of the 26 cars reached the finish. Alain Prost won for McLaren ahead of Riccardo Patrese and Phoenix native Eddie Cheever. Prost's team mate Ayrton Senna had taken pole position but retired with an electronic failure.

To escape the worst of the heat, the race was moved to March in 1990 and became the season opener. Senna won on 11 March, with Jean Alesi second. In 1991 the race took place on 10 March, and Senna won again. The track had been shortened to 3.721 km and had 15 corners. Reliability once again played a part, and just nine cars were still running at the end. Senna won two of the three races, Prost one.

There was no race after 1991, as Formula One management dropped Phoenix from the calendar. The next Grand Prix in the United States was not held until 2000, at Indianapolis. A mural of Senna commissioned in 2019 on Central Avenue, about one kilometre south of the former circuit, honours his two wins there.