COTA Track Preview

therookiereporters

5 minutes ago

2 min read

Formula One touches down in America, ready to race at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas. Before they go racing, here’s what you should know about the track, last year’s race, and what we can expect this year.

Track Facts:

Formula One first raced at the Circuit of the Americas in 2012, and has a race distance of 308.432km and 56 laps. In 2019, Charles Leclerc set the fastest lap around the 5.513km track at 1:36.169s. With a number of high-speed corners, fans are sure to have the thrill of a lifetime. On top of that, the infamous hill climb to turn 1 aka the “Big Red”, has provided plenty of overtaking moments and racing incidents over the years; other overtaking spots include turn 5 and 12.

2025 Recap:

Last time out in Texas, Verstappen did the double, taking home both pole positions and race wins, he also took the grand prix chequered flag with a 7.9 second lead. Joining the Dutchman on the podium was Lando Norris in second, who made a late overtake on lap 51 on Charles Leclerc who finished third. Lewis Hamilton had one of his strongest weekends finishing P4 with championship challenger Piastri in fifth. We only had one driver not finish the race in Carlos Sainz, the Williams driver sustained damage to his front wing and suspension from a collision with Antonelli on lap 7 forcing a retirement. The collision saw the Spaniard receive a 5 place grid penalty in Mexico for locking up and making contact. In terms of the championship, Piastri retained his lead however Norris had closed the gap to just 14 points while Verstappen was now just 40 points behind too.

2026 Expectations:

This year it's Kimi Antonelli who leads the championship with Mercedes over his teammate George Russell, by 98 points. Meaning it’s his first opportunity to take the World Drivers’ Championship and become the youngest champion in history. For him to do this though he would have to win this weekend’s Grand Prix, Russell to finish no higher than ninth and Hamilton no higher than fifth: so can he do it and claim his first title?

We know from all the races so far that Mercedes will be at the front but it’s possible the most interesting battles will be between the teams behind them. The standings currently are Ferrari, McLaren then Redbull, with the three constructors spanning a less than a 100 point gap, meaning they still have time to move up or down a position before the end of the season, so every point truly counts. But which team do you think will come out on top in Texas?

Weekend Schedule (CDT):

Free Practice One: