Although the F1 Drivers title was confirmed after Japan, the teams were still out to score the most points in the remaining 4 races. So the mood on the starting grid at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) was just as tense, especially for the Red Bull and Ferrari drivers who were separated by just a point. And for Mercedes-AMG, there was nothing to lose in pushing hard now…
As the lights went out to start the US Grand Prix, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz got off cleanly from his pole position but Red Bull’s Max Verstappen next to him had just as strong a take-off and was the first to reach Turn 1. Just behind, the two Mercedes-AMG cars were also closing in on the corner and George Russell locked up, coming in contact with Sainz who went into a spin.
The incident cost Russell a 5-second penalty but for Sainz, it was worse… although the damage to his car didn’t look bad, he had to retire after heading into the pits when it was found that the radiator was leaking. A big disappointment after getting to start from pole position. His team mate, Charles Leclerc was still too far back, having had a 19-place penalty on the starting grid.
Race starts at 2 pm on Sunday in Texas/ 3 am in Malaysia (Monday)
The 2022 Formula 1 World Championship is in the western hemisphere again a third time for the first of three rounds in the Americas. The first one this weekend will be the US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, followed by Mexican GP at the end of the month, and the Brazilian GP in mid-November. The US GP has been held at COTA since 2012, except in 2020 when the race was cancelled due to the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Besides Austin, other American cities which have had Formula 1 rounds in the past have been Detroit/Michigan (1982 – 1988), Los Angeles/California (1976 – 1983), Dallas/Texas (1984), Las Vegas, Nevada (1981 and 1982), Riverside/California (1960), Sebring/Florida (1959), Watkins Glen/New York (1961 – 1980), and Indianapolis/Indiana (2000 – 2007). This year, Miami in Florida joined the list and next year will see Las Vegas having a round again. In total, there have been at least 50 rounds of F1 held in America though it is not so apparent.
Race starts at 2 pm in America/3 am on Monday in Malaysia
After circulating around Europe since April, the Formula 1 World Championship crosses the Atlantic to the USA for Round 17. The event is at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, which has to cancel its race last year due to the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s a venue that the teams have always been happy to visit since it first joined the championship in 2012.
The 5.513-km long circuit with 20 turns offers drivers a variety of challenges. The first sector features a wide, blind first corner that allows for multiple lines, followed by a sequence of rapid changes in direction similar to Suzuka’s Esses. A car with good balance will have an advantage.
The second sector has a long high-speed straight followed by a heavy-braking overtaking point at Turn 12. The cars approach this turn after having traveled the long straight and must lose almost 240 km/h in order to set the braking point up right. They go from 333 km/h to 94 km/h in just 2.52 seconds and 125 metres.
During that time, the drivers are subject to 5.8g in deceleration or almost 6 times their body weight. So a driver weighing 70 kgs will feel like he weighs almost 420 kgs, which requires a high level of fitness to be able to cope with that and control the car properly over 50 times during the race.
Compared to the motorcycles, the single-seaters complete the race 30 seconds sooner because they travel a good part of the corners at a faster speed and sometimes don’t need to brake. Of the 10 braking sections on COTA, Brembo technicians have classified three as demanding on the brakes, one is medium difficulty and five are light.
Commenting on the conditions at COTA, Pirelli’s Head of F1 and Car Racing, Mario Isola, said that despite the circuit having been resurfaced for around 40% of its total length, there’s not a huge difference in terms of abrasion compared to the last F1 race in 2019. Several bumps are also still present despite some surface ‘milling’ – a process designed to smooth out the asphalt.
“The biggest difference has instead been the weather, with both track and ambient temperatures considerably warmer than the cool conditions experienced a couple of years ago. As expected in today’s warm temperatures, there was a bit of overheating on the soft C4 compound rear tyre, which is quite stressed given the severe traction demands of this circuit in the final sector especially,” he said.
“A two-stop strategy is the more likely, with the high speeds and abrasive surfaces here taking a lot out of the tyres. At the same time, the relatively low pit stop time loss and number of overtaking opportunities mitigate the advantages of a one-stopper. There are a number of different two-stoppers that are quite closely matched, depending on the race circumstances, so this looks set to be an intense strategic battle,” added Isola.
The championship for drivers still remains close at the very top, with Max Verstappen just 6 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton after the 16th round in Istanbul. For the constructors championship, Valtteri Bottas’ win in the Turkish GP plus Hamilton’s 5th placing gives the Mercedes-AMG team a 36-point lead ahead of Red Bull Racing. The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS team and Lewis Hamilton have been dominant at COTA but Verstappen’s pole position for today’s race may be the beginning of a change.
