[Official] United States Grand Prix 2021: Grand Prix Weekend Thread - Round 17 of 22

[Born Racer]

The history

Formula 1 has had a mixed relationship with the United States. On the one hand, the country has produced two of the series' world champions, Phil Hill (1961) and Mario Andretti (1978) and prior to Austin, ran Formula 1 races at nine circuits across eight different states, at the following circuits - Sebring, Riverside, Watkins Glen, Long Beach, Las Vegas, Detroit, Dallas, Phoenix and Indianapolis. In fact, from 1959 in Sebring until the last race at Indianapolis in 2007, there was at least one Formula 1 Grand Prix in 41 of the 56 seasons in the USA. Many times, there were two Grands Prix (Long Beach, a popular street track, was always run as US Grand Prix West, for example) and in 1982, there were even three races on US soil (Detroit, Las Vegas and Long Beach).

Nonetheless, the US has its own popular motorsport series, including NASCAR and, to a lesser extent recently, Indycar. F1 never really got a proper foothold in the country, but with new management and more attention paid to 'the show' in general, that may change. A second race in Miami is intended to add to that enhancement in the public consciousness.

If you look at the Formula 1 winners lists you will see some unfamiliar names arise. Strangely perhaps, points scored in the Indy 500 from 1950 until 1960 counted towards the Formula 1 world championship, despite the race not being a Grand Prix. This didn’t, however, give Formula 1 an identity in the US. For that it needed to do its own thing and some of the circuits were good (e.g. Watkins Glen) and some bad – there was a combination of excellent and more ill-thought-out messes.

1980 to 1982 in Las Vegas springs to mind. Las Vegas should bring a certain razzmatazz to the sport, but the decision to hold the Grand Prix in an uninspiring car park round the back of the Caesar’s Palace hotel and casino doomed it to failure, despite being a championship decider. Dallas held a one-off Grand Prix on a street track in 1984 but like Spa a year later, the track surface broke apart in the heat before the race. Unlike Spa, the race never returned. Between 1989 and 1991, the race took place in Phoenix. It did not garner much attention. In 1990 with attendance figures low (reported at 10,000 to 15,000), a local ostrich race pulled in around three times as many spectators. This was not a positive sign.

And then there was Indianapolis. This was after the biggest break in the US Grand Prix's history and despite taking place eight times, it never seemed to make much sense. Going all the way to the hallowed temple of speed which is the host venue of the Indy 500, only to see quick cars scramble round an awkward infield course and drive one fast corner of the oval backwards didn’t capture the imagination or gel as a concept. In 2006, after the Michelin runners (the majority of the field) did not have tyres considered safe enough to last the race, an infamous boycott occurred, leaving just four Bridgestone-shod Jordans and Minardis trailing in the wake of the winning Ferrari pair. This was a fine refutation of the concept that there is no such thing as bad publicity and was just the wrong country in which to happen. That said, Formula 1 hardly generated any publicity anyway and so there was always the hope that some day, Formula 1 would return to the United States with a track and event of which to be proud.

In 2012, that day arrived and it came in the Texan state capital, Austin. The enthusiastic and forward-thinking city welcomed Formula 1 with fervour and open arms. I attended the inaugural event there that year and thoroughly enjoyed the race and exciting layout. It immediately leapt up the list as one of the driver' favourite tracks. From a clean sheet of paper, the track developers created one of the most undulating tracks on the calendar, with a big variation in gradient.'

The track

The track is fantastic. The run up to Turn 1 is steeply uphill with a blind apex into the left-hand Turn 1. Turns 3 to 6 are a relentless thrill, like Maggotts and Becketts at Silverstone, but perhaps even more dramatic with the elevation change. The drivers chuck the cars in and keep flicking in opposing directions. Turns 16 to 18 is a multi-apex delight, rather like Turn 8 at Istanbul Park.

Now

Kimi Räikkönen goes into his final United States Grand Prix with this venue the scene of his most recent, and likely last victory. Meanwhile, Hamilton and Verstappen enter the round still super close in the championship, separated by a mere 6 points. Verstappen has never won here, while Hamilton has won in the US 6 times (including at Indianapolis). Vettel and Bottas have also topped the podium, Bottas the last time out in 2019.

Track map and other information



Circuit length: 5.513km
Number of laps: 56
Race distance: 308.405km
Dry weather tyre compounds: C2, C3 & C4
Race lap record: 1:36.169 (2019 - Charles Leclerc - Ferrari)
First Grand Prix: 1908
First World Championship round in the US: 1950 (Indy 500)
First World Championship Grand Prix: 1959
First Grand Prix at this circuit: 2012

Join the fun in the Predictions Contest and Fantasy F1:

https://tentenths.com/forum/showthre...38#post4079338

https://tentenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=156053

Sorry I haven't had the chance to do a longer preview. I would like to do one some time. Maybe people could share some of their memories of Formula 1 in the USA in this thread.