20/10/2015
NEWS STORY
Formula One has made several attempts in the past two decades to regain a successful foothold in the United States, and seems to have finally struck gold with the Circuit of the Americas. The sport is steeped in history in the USA, with the likes of Watkins Glen and Long Beach helping to define that era, but after transitions through Detroit, Dallas and Phoenix it struggled to find a permanent home.
The short-lived stay in Indianapolis was followed by a five-year absence, but since 2012, the universally popular Texas venue has carried Formula One back with a bang. Williams has scored victories at five US circuits, with Alan Jones at Watkins Glen in 1980, Long Beach and Las Vegas in 1981 (it was common to have multiple races in the US), and with Keke Rosberg at Dallas in 1984 and Detroit in 1985.
Valtteri Bottas: Austin is the place where I scored my first points so it will always be special to me. It's also one of my favourite circuits to drive, with fast sweeping corners. Austin as a city is a fantastic place, accompanied by great weather. For me it's one of the best locations on the calendar.
Felipe Massa: Austin is a beautiful place with a great circuit which has fantastic infrastructure. The circuit is very fun to drive with many fast corners. The first sector is incredible leading into a long straight with the opportunity for overtaking. The first corner is special - the elevation change is incredible and the space available means it's a great place to pass and it's hard to defend. The fans really enjoy Formula One and the drivers like to go there.
Rob Smedley: We head to Austin after not getting all of the points we should have done in Russia, despite having a really good car with great pace. We are in a positive frame of mind and the circuit suits our car so we should have a good race. We need to keep pulling open a gap on Red Bull and the team must keep on fighting to get as many points as possible. Both drivers are coming off the back of really good drives in the last Grand Prix so we should be able to score some decent points.