United States Grand Prix Preview

After Lewis Hamilton extended his championship lead to 59 points with victory in Japan after Sebastian Vettel’s spark plug failure forced him to retire, round 17 of the 2017 FIA Formula 1 World Championship returns to the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas for the 2017 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix. This marks the 39^th time that the United States Grand Prix has been run as a round of the World Championship since its inception in 1950 and the sixth time being held in Austin, Texas.

A look at the Circuit of the Americas

Circuit of the Americas is a permanent racing circuit located in Elroy, Travis County on the south-eastern periphery of Austin city limits in Central Texas. The circuit and Grand Prix was proposed in 2010 and was the first in the United States to be purposely built for Formula 1.

The layout was conceived by Tavo Hellmund and 1993 World Motorcycle Champion Kevin Schwantz with assistance from circuit designer and architect Hermann Tilke.

The circuit was opened on October 21, 2012. The Circuit of the Americas is also used for MotoGP, the FIA World Endurance Championship and the Tudor United SportsCar Championship.

The circuit draws inspiration from some of the best circuits in the world, as well as taking advantage of the site’s natural contours which features dramatic elevation changes of up to 40 metres.

There is a steep, uphill run into the first corner hairpin, which quickly became the track’s signature corner.

Turns three to six looks nearly similar to Silverstone’s high-speed Maggotts/Becketts/Chapel complex; turns 12 through 15 is similar to Hockenheim’s stadium section; and turns 16 through 18 mirrors the popular turn eight at Turkey’s Istanbul Park Circuit.

Support buildings include a medical facility, 14 executive meeting suites, a conference centre, a banquet hall, as well as an outdoor live music space.

The Circuit of the Americas is 5.513km (3.427 miles) in length with 20 corners and runs in an anti-clockwise direction.

Race distance is 308.405km (191.634 miles) in length with 56 laps in total.

Sebastian Vettel holds the fastest lap record at the circuit with a 1:39.347 set in 2012 in his Red Bull Racing Renault RB8.

Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton holds the record for most United States Grand Prix victories with five each.

Scuderia Ferrari are the most successful constructor at the United States Grand Prix with nine victories.

The last five United States Grand Prix winners

2016: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1. 2015: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1. 2014: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1. 2013: Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull Racing. 2012: Lewis Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes. 2011-2008: Not held.

Tyres

Pirelli will be bringing with them to Texas the purple-marked Ultra Soft rubber, the red-branded Super Soft compounds and the yellow-marked Soft tyres due to the Circuit of the America’s combination of fast corners and more technical sections along with the green-branded Intermediate and blue-marked Full Wet tyre compounds in case of rain.

Title contenders Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel have opted for seven sets of the ultras. Vettel has been slightly less conservative, selecting four sets of supers and two sets of softs while Hamilton has three each of the supers and softs.

Lance Stroll and Stoffel Vandoorne have opted for the most aggressive choices with both Williams and McLaren drivers choosing nine sets of ultras, three super-softs and one soft.

DRS Zones

There will be two DRS Zones at the Circuit of the Americas with the first detection point 150 metres after turn 10 with the activation point 320 metres after turn 11. The second detection point is 65 metres after turn 18 with the activation point 80 metres after the final corner on the main-straight.

Pitlane Speed Limits

Pitlane speed limits will be 80km/h during practice, qualifying and the race.

The Situation

Lewis Hamilton returns to Texas sitting on top of the World Driver’s Championship with 306 points and a 59-point advantage over title rival Sebastian Vettel. The Briton needs to win and Vettel to finish sixth or lower to secure his fourth world title crown. Valtteri Bottas is a further 72 points behind team-mate Hamilton in third place on 234 points.

Mercedes return to the Circuit of the Americas on top of the Constructors Championship with 540 points and a 145-point lead over nearest rival Ferrari who is second on 395 points while Red Bull Racing is a further 237 points behind the Silver Arrows in third on 303 points.

Daniil Kvyat returns to Toro Rosso this weekend after missing the Malaysian and Japanese Grands Prix, retaking his seat from Pierre Gasly who is returning to Japan to compete for Team Mugen in the final round of the 2017 Japanese Super Formula Championship.

Carlos Sainz will move to Renault and replace outgoing Jolyon Palmer. 2015 World Endurance Champion and 2017 Le Mans 24 Hours winner Brendon Hartley will make his debut for Toro Rosso, taking Sainz’s seat.

2017 World Drivers Championship Standings – Top 10

1. Lewis Hamilton – 306 Points
2. Sebastian Vettel – 247 Points
3. Valtteri Bottas – 234 Points
4. Daniel Ricciardo – 192 Points
5. Kimi Räikkönen – 148 Points
6. Max Verstappen – 111 Points
7. Sergio Pérez – 82 Points
8. Esteban Ocon – 65 Points
9. Carlos Sainz – 48 Points
10. Nico Hulkenberg – 34 Points

2017 World Constructors Championship Standings

1. Mercedes AMG F1 – 540 Points
2. Scuderia Ferrari – 395 Points
3. Red Bull Racing – 303 Points
4. Force India F1 Team – 147 Points
5. Williams Martini Racing – 66 Points
6. Scuderia Toro Rosso – 52 Points
7. Haas F1 Team – 43 Points
8. Renault Sport F1 – 42 Points
9. McLaren-Honda F1 – 23 Points
10. Sauber F1 Team – 5 Points

The 2017 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix kicks off Friday October 20 with Free Practice 1 and 2, followed by Free Practice 3 and Qualifying Saturday October 22 and the 56 lap Race Sunday October 23.