The Circuit of the Americas opened its doors to Formula One back in 2012. Despite infighting over ownership during its development and Bernie Ecclestone threatening to cancel the promote’s F1 hosting license, the circuit was an immediate hit with the drivers, markedly the 11 degree of climb to the first corner named “Big Red.”

The site of COTA is built predominantly on clay and part of the perimeter of the track lies on a floodplain which meant in time the asphalt would subside creating sections of the track which are bumpy. And it became apparent last year that twelve years of racing had taken its toll.

The new ground effect cars work best when operating as close as possible to the ground and last years event saw the bumps creating excessive wear on the underfloor plank used by the FIA to adjudicate legal ride height.

 

 

 

Bumps cause havoc at 2023 USGP

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified following the Grand Prix because the planks under their cars had worn below the allowable limit. This created questions from the drivers and teams as to the suitability of the tracks deteriorating surface.

There were other issues with the state of the circuit with Sergio Perez and Lando Norris speaking about the difficulty of getting a good exit a turn 11 (before the back straight). The exit of this corner is crucial for the driver behind who will use the slipstream and DRS in an attempt to make an overtake lunge into the left handed turn 12.

“The Big Repave” as its been called is an attempt to address the many criticisms about the bumpy surface in Austin and Pirelli have been scanning the new track in an attempt to understand how its characteristics will play out.

“The place for overtakes is before Turn 12 — utilising the long back straight,” Pirelli’s F1 chief engineer Simone Berra told Motor Sport. “But we checked and the exit of Turn 11 has not been resurfaced — so traction there is expected to be low, on the same levels as last year.”

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F1 closer racing at COTA

As asphalt on racing circuits ages, it loses some of the tar/bitumen content that binds together the stones in the mix. The loss of the sticky tar clearly means the track displays a reduced grip. This process also usually exposes more of the stone then when the surface was laid, which has the effect of wearing the tyres more quickly.

So the combination of deteriorating bitumen and the greater exposed stone edges has a greater effect on a car traveling closely behind another. Running in the hot, turbulent air and down on grip, making it through the low traction turn 11 is difficult and favours the car playing defence.

Despite this Pirelli’s chief engineer believes, “Potentially, the new track surface could allow drivers to be closer to the car in front on another section of the circuit. But we know that it’s difficult to follow the car in front as the tyres overheat and begin to slide.

“So we could end up in a similar situation to last year just because Turn 11 has not been resurfaced.”

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Smooth surface favours troubled RB20

Max Verstappenn has won the last three USGP and while he enjoys the COTA layout he was most critical of the surface in the post race interviews. “It needs to be redone because at the moment it feels like it’s better suited to a rally car. I’m jumping and bouncing around.” claimed the world champion.

The big repave will certainly help Red Bull’s ailing fortunes given their RB20 car this year has been suspect at tracks with high kerbs and an uneven surface.

The Pirelli tests of the COTA surface have been undertaken on the two days before the practice session begins on Friday. The entire track has been scanned with lasers to produce a detailed image of the texture of the surface. Pirelli also assessed grip levels with their three wheeled trolley device.

“The data collected showed a decrease in macro and micro grip levels,” said Berra. “Basically we have a very smooth surface [in places] compared to the past and obviously this will have a lot of affect on tyre performance.

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F1 drivers pushing harder

“The bumps on the circuit have also changed, which can cause sliding and affect tyre performance on longer stints. In the past this was always an issue as drivers had higher degradation levels compared to what they had at other circuits with the same compounds,” Berra concludes.

The improved circuit in Austin should mean the drivers will be more comfortable with the Pirelli hard compound which for this weekend in the C2, as it was last year. This is the second hardest in the Pirelli range this year.

Last year the majority of teams opted for a two stop strategy using the combination of the medium and hard tyres, yet late in the race George Russell, Alex Albon and Yuki Tsunoda all struggled on the hard compound as did Lando Norris who saw them fade towards the end of the race along with his hopes of a win.

“We think that the new surface will work slightly better [with the C2] than in the past, so it opens up the strategy a little bit,” said Berra. “I don’t think a one-stop will be a real possibility, but we could expect a lower degradation — meaning drivers can manage their tyres less.”

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F1 Sprint weekend adds complications

Whilst the smoother surface should allow the drivers to push harder for longer, Pirelli warn that the new smooth tarmac could create incremental levels of graining. The high grip the driver feels is translated to ever increasing cornering speeds which under load causes small tears in the surface of the tyre – affecting both traction and grip.

Graining tends to decrease across an F1 weekend as the track gets rubbered in from the tuning of the cars. However, this s a Sprint weekend with just one practice sessions and Berra notes this to be a point of exception.

“We only have one practice session to gain as much information as possible from the teams,” said Berra. “And it’s not enough for us to have a clear view.”

The Pirelli man adds the Italian rubber manufacturer will closely examine the tyres used during the Sprint race for a proper read because the drivers are “pushing and managing less compared to a normal race — which will give us a better overview of what to expect on Sunday.”

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Red Bull Racing have a formidable reputation as one of the most hardened competitors amongst their current rivals in Formula One. They almost completed the ‘perfect’ season of racing in 2023 when the team won twenty two of the twenty three Grand Prix on offer.

Rolling into testing in Bahrain for this year, again it was Red Bull who looked the team to beat. Come the Grand Prix a week later, it was Max Verstappen romping home to victory by a winning margin that eclipses even Norris’ the last time out in Singapore.

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