[Bubbles]

Fact File: United States Grand Prix (Mercedes infopak)

• The design of several corners at the Circuit of the Americas was inspired by iconic turns from European tracks. These include Turns 3-6 (Maggots and Becketts at Silverstone), Turns 12-15 (Hockenheim’s stadium section) and Turns 16-18 (Istanbul Park’s Turn 8).

• Turns 16-18 were inspired by Turkey’s Turn 8, but how do they compare? Both sequences are around 570 metres in length, but it takes slightly longer to negotiate Austin’s section due to a slower entry speed. However, the cars are accelerating all the way through the corner, whereas at Turn 8, they maintain the same speed.

• COTA is tied with the Baku City Circuit for the fourth-most corners of any track on the 2021 F1 schedule, with 20 in total – split between eleven left-hand turns and nine right-handers.

• Because of the high number of corners and variety of corner speeds, it’s also one of the busiest laps on the F1 calendar for gear changes. Drivers change gear 56 times per lap.

• There are seven anti-clockwise tracks on the 2021 F1 schedule, one of which is COTA. The other six circuits are: Istanbul Park, Imola, Interlagos, Baku, Jeddah and Yas Marina.

• The drivers take the sequence from Turns 2 to 7 at an average speed of over 250kph, making this one of the most sensitive tracks in terms of downforce. This is why COTA sits at the higher end of the downforce spectrum.

• This means the drivers are continuously cornering above 250kph for over 800 metres, one of the longest stretches of cornering at this speed on the calendar. And the g-forces are building with each corner through this section of track.

• The braking zone for Turn 12 generates over 5G under braking, one of the biggest of the season - a driver weighing 70kg will be experiencing 350kg when they hit the brakes.

• The steep rise to Turn 1 is the biggest single corner elevation change of the season, with a 30m climb in just over 200m of track. This is half the height of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. For comparison, COTA’s Observation Tower measures in at 77m tall.

• COTA is renowned for being one of the bumpier tracks that F1 visits, due to subsidence and the bumps evolving with each season.

• It’s one of the better tracks for overtaking, due to the layout featuring several long straights followed by short, sharp, low-speed corners. It is also a circuit that allows drivers to take a few different lines through certain corners, to achieve the same lap time. This characteristic opens up opportunities and means you can drive out of the wake of the cars ahead but still follow closely to get the tow on the straight.

• A good example of a corner with multiple lines is Turn 15, which has a wide entry and narrower exit. So, the opportunity is there to make a pass, or set up a pass later in the lap. It’s also a corner with a ‘combined’ braking zone - turning and braking at the same time - which can cause lockups if pushing the limits of the tyre too much.