The new Circuit of the Americas, located near Austin, Texas will be the home of the Grand Prix of the United States this weekend. Let's take a closer look at this 5.472km road course.
The circuit, built by Hermann Tilke' company, is one of five anti-clockwise tracks on the 2012 calendar. It has 20 turns (12 left-handers, 8 right) and an elevation change of 41 metres.
The highest point on the lap is Turn One, which has a steep uphill approach mimicking the famous Turn 1 approach of the old Österreichring. The remainder of the lap is a mix of undulating sweeps, high-g corners and long straights. Downforce levels are expected to be similar to Silverstone's, with a top speed of 315km/h.
The final layer of asphalt was laid at the end of September, so the surface is expected to be very green and slippery early in the race weekend. As rubber from Pirelli's medium and hard compound tires will be left on the racing line, grip level will improve. McLaren engineers' predictions put an average laptime around the 1m38 bracket.
Data from Lotus F1 Team:
TURN 1
There is a sizeable elevation change here where the circuit rises steeply and drops away.
TURNS 2 - 3
Two very high speed corners which look to be flat out.
TURN 11
A potential overtaking opportunity following what looks like being a third gear corner at Turn 9, followed immediately by Turn 10 which will be taken flat before heavy braking into this hairpin.
TURN 12
Brakes need to be set-up so they are not too cool at the end of the long straight in preparation for heavy braking into this corner
TURNS 13 - 15
This is a combination of fairly low speed second gear corners. The way it is driven will depend on the kerbs.
TURNS 16 - 18
Front wing levels are tailored to counter understeer in this continuous double apex sequence.
The circuit, built by Hermann Tilke' company, is one of five anti-clockwise tracks on the 2012 calendar. It has 20 turns (12 left-handers, 8 right) and an elevation change of 41 metres.
The highest point on the lap is Turn One, which has a steep uphill approach mimicking the famous Turn 1 approach of the old Österreichring. The remainder of the lap is a mix of undulating sweeps, high-g corners and long straights. Downforce levels are expected to be similar to Silverstone's, with a top speed of 315km/h.
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| (Image: FIA) |
The final layer of asphalt was laid at the end of September, so the surface is expected to be very green and slippery early in the race weekend. As rubber from Pirelli's medium and hard compound tires will be left on the racing line, grip level will improve. McLaren engineers' predictions put an average laptime around the 1m38 bracket.
Data from Lotus F1 Team:
TURN 1
There is a sizeable elevation change here where the circuit rises steeply and drops away.
TURNS 2 - 3
Two very high speed corners which look to be flat out.
TURN 11
A potential overtaking opportunity following what looks like being a third gear corner at Turn 9, followed immediately by Turn 10 which will be taken flat before heavy braking into this hairpin.
TURN 12
Brakes need to be set-up so they are not too cool at the end of the long straight in preparation for heavy braking into this corner
TURNS 13 - 15
This is a combination of fairly low speed second gear corners. The way it is driven will depend on the kerbs.
TURNS 16 - 18
Front wing levels are tailored to counter understeer in this continuous double apex sequence.
 |
| (Image: Circuit of the Americas) |