Official F1 Journal Track Guide- Circuit of the Americas(COTA)

Its U.S Grand Prix time and just when you thought it couldn't get better its a Sprint weekend!!!
With 6 races to go and 3 of them being Sprint weekends the championship battle is coming to a head. With COTA being the 1st of the 3 Sprint weekends its essential that the 3 drivers still in the fight to catch Max Verstappen, take full advantage of the 34pts available.  A solid weekend for Lando Norris could close the gap to Verstappen in the most meaning full way so far this year, but if its Leclerc or Piastri who can make the biggest gain at COTA they would move themselves firmly into the the title fight! It really is all to play for this weekend. 

Track Stats

Laps-
  Sprint Race- 19 laps
     Grand Prix- 56 laps
Race Distance-
    Sprint Race- 104.747km
      Grand Prix- 308.405km
Circuit Length- 5.513km 
Corners-  20   11 Left  9 Right 
DRS Zones- 
    Activation 1- Middle of straight between 
                          Turns 10 & 11
     Deployment 2- Straight between Turns                                      11 & 12 
          Activation 2- Entry to Turn 19 
            Deployment 2- Exit Turn 20                                               (start/finish straight)
Downforce Level- Medium-High
Tyre Degradation- Medium-High
Time @ Full Throttle- 59% of lap
Time Lost in Pitlane- 23.5-24.2 is fast
Pole Side- Right 
Tyre Compounds- 
       Hard         Medium       Soft 
        C2               C3             C4  
Minimum Starting Tyre Pressures- 
                Front            Rear 
               23.5psi         22.0psi  
Maximum Starting Tyre Camber-
               Front             Rear
              -3.00°            1.75°

Full Weekend Schedule 

Track Stats 

Times Held- 11
First Time Held- 2012 
Laps Raced-616
Finishing Percentage- 82%
Pole Record- 1'32.029 BOT '19
Lap Record- 1'36.169 LEC '19
Winners- 5
Pole Sitters- 7 
Podium Finishers- 14
​Times Won From Pole- 5
Times Won from Front Row- 10
Lowest Starting Position to Win- 6th VER '23
Smallest Pole Margin- 0.012 BOT '19
Smallest Win Margin- 0.675 HAM '12
Largest Pole Margin- 0.376 ROS '14
Largest Win Margin- 10.730 VER '23
Most Cars to Finish- 22 (2012)
Least Cars to Finish- 12 (2015)
Virtual Safety Car- 4
Safety Cars- 4
Red Flags- 0
​Rain Effected Races- 1 (2015)

Driver & Team Stats 

​Most Driver Poles- 3 HAM 
Most Team Poles- 6 Mercedes 
Most Driver Wins- 5 HAM
Most Team Wins- 5 Mercedes 
Most Driver Podiums- 9 HAM
Most Team Podiums- 12 Mercedes
Most Fastest Laps(Driver)- 5 VET 
Most Fastest Laps(Team)- 5 Mercedes
Most Consecutive Wins Driver- 4 HAM 
Most Consecutive Wins Team- 4  Mercedes  
Most 1-2 Finishes- 4 Mercedes 

Previous Results 

2021

​Qualifying-
              1 VER 1'32.910
               2 HAM 1'33.119
                3 PER 1'33.134
Race-
​         1 VER(2 stop)
           2 HAM (2 stop)
            3 PER (2 stop)
Fastest Lap- 1'38.485 HAM lap 41 

2022

​Qualifying-
              1 SAI 1'34.356
               2 LEC 1'34.421
                3 VER 1'34.448
Race-
​         1 VER (2 stop)
           2 HAM (1 stop)
            3 LEC (2 stop)
Fastest Lap-1'38.788 RUS lap 56

2023

Sprint Qualifying-                                          Sprint Race-
                       1 VER 1'34.538                                         1 VER 
                        2 LEC 1'34.593                                          2 HAM
                         3 HAM 1'34.607                                         3 LEC                                      
Qualifying-                                                       
              1 LEC 1'34.723                                                 
               2 NOR 1'34.853                                               
                3 HAM 1'34.862                                              
    Grand Prix-   
                     1 VER (2 stop)                                                                                    
                       DQ HAM (2 stop) 
                          2 NOR (2 stop)
                           3 SAI (2 stop)
Fastest Lap- 1'38.139 TSU lap 56

Random Facts 

• Lewis Hamilton has claimed almost half the wins at COTA with 5/11 wins here.
• Of the 226 cars who have started the US Grand Prix 186 cars have crossed the finish line giving the track a finishing percentage of 82%
• This weekend will be the 1st US Grand Prix held at COTA without Daniel Ricciardo on the grid.
• The track has been resurfaced ahead of this years race, with the 1st Phase being completed in advance of the Moto GP race earlier this year and the 2nd completed in time for this weekends US Grand Prix. 
  
• COTA has one of the largest elevation change of any track with a 40 meter difference between its highest and lowest points. 
  
• Mclaren took the 1st win here with Lewis Hamilton before his move to Mercedes.
  
• Rain has only ever effected 1 race, in 2015. A race that incidentally also shares the title of least cars to finish a race here with just 12 crossing the finish line.    

Lets hope its another brilliant race! 
Enjoy guys 

Joanna Blackmore 
​Writer @f1journal.co.uk