Returning to the United States for the first time in five years, Formula 1 has a new lease on life in the lower 48.
The Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas is the country's first purpose-build Grand Prix track in the U.S., giving F1 a home in the U.S. through 2021. With construction done just in time for this weekend's race, organizers and teams were excited for the new track, conceived by famed designer Hermann Tilke.
The race also marks a special return to the U.S. for championship leader and Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel. The German driver made his F1 debut at Indianapolis in 2007 and made an immediate mark after finishing eighth to become the youngest points winner in history, at 19 years and 349 days. Five years later, Austin will be his 100th Grand Prix, and a chance for him to seal his third straight championship with one race remaining.
The first practice session saw a number of teams hesitant to push their cars to the limit. As final preparations were completed just before the weekend, dust and a lack of rubber on the tarmac saw a number of cars lose control on the Pirelli hard tires.
The session finished with Vettel in top spot, followed by McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, and Ferrari driver and championship contender Fernando Alonso in third place.
Moving onto the medium tires for the second practice proved much more reliable. Vettel dominated as track temperatures rose, finishing almost eight-tenths of a second ahead of teammate Mark Webber. Alonso finished a close third, while McLaren teammates Hamilton and Jenson Button were over a second behind.
While many saw the new circuit as an oppourtunity for a number of potential winners, Vettel seems intent on making the title challenge as difficult as possible before heading into the final round in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
Going into Sunday, the German has four victories and a third place in the last five races.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso must keep within 15 points of Vettel after this race to have any chance of winning the title. While he has podium finishes in five of the last six rounds, he hasn't won since the German Grand Prix in July. The Spaniard remains confident for the weekend, but hinted the Scuderia team may have their work cut out for them.
"The updates we have brought here seem to work, but we still need to look more closely at the data before having a definite answer. I am happy about this, but it’s also true that while we are making small steps forward with each passing race, so too are the others, so the distance between us remains unchanged."
After a strong showing in the first two sessions, Vettel is looking forward to Saturday's qualifying.
“It was slippery this morning and a bit like driving on ice. It wasn’t so easy, but we managed to get into a rhythm. I think there were a couple of surprises today in terms of pace, so we’ll see tomorrow. The track will constantly improve – it’s good that we are amongst the guys at the top, now we’ll try to improve the car to make sure we stay there.”
Along with the chance to clinch the drivers' championship, Vettel and the Red Bull team can also shut the door on Ferrari for the constructors' championship, which they currently lead 422 to 340.
Qualifying starts tomorrow at 1 p.m. (EST) on TSN2, while the green flag drops Sunday at 2 p.m. on CTV Two.
Photo: Keith Rizzo / Circuit of the Americas
