F1’s only previous visit to the state of Texas in 1984 (pictured) saw one of the hottest races ever recorded. As the air temperature in Dallas rocketed to 40C the track began to fall apart and several drivers crashed out.
The Circuit of the Americas lies south-east of Austin which is the fourth-largest city in Texas. In August temperatures reach as high as 35C but at this time of year they generally peak in the low 20s.
That is more or less what’s expected for the days ahead, with slightly cloudy conditions and temperatures exceeding 20C across the weekend. A wind of up to 15kph will come from the east, giving drivers a tailwind on the longest straight on the new Circuit of the Americas.
Local forecasters are predicting a dry weekend with a slight chance of light rain on Sunday, most likely too late to have any effect on the race:
There will be regular updates on the track conditions during each session on F1 Fanatic Live and the F1 Fanatic Twitter account.
Austin weather radars:
- NWS radar – Austin / San Antonio
- KXAN Austin weather radar
- KVUE Live Doppler Weather Radars for Austin, West Texas
Location of the Circuit of the Americas
See the location of every race on the 2012 F1 calendar here:
2012 United States Grand Prix
Image © Williams/LAT
Atticus (@atticus-2)
15th November 2012, 11:14
20-21C seems quite low for me. I wouldn’t be surprised if certain teams would struggle to warm up their tyres – especially considering the tyre choice of hard and medium, besides the predominantly long straight-slow hairpin character of the majority of the track. Of course the Esses and the Istanbul replica will ease the issues.
I’m also sad we don’t get rain for qualifying – sad, both from a neutral and a Ferrari fan perspective. Rain would improve Alonso’s chances on the grid and thus in the race and the WDC as well.
BasCB (@bascb)
16th November 2012, 7:26
Already saw Webber stating it might be a bit of a stumbling block for Red Bull …
debbie milstead
15th November 2012, 13:17
So glad no rain… I want the drivers to see america the beautiful!!! Go Lewis Hamilton!!!!! Please win for me!!!!!
codesurge (@codesurge)
15th November 2012, 14:07
Good news to hear from the point of view of being a fan at the track. Will still be packing a disposable poncho given the craziness of recent weather patterns though!
Tom (@newdecade)
15th November 2012, 14:41
Good to hear its going to be that warm actually, in Houston this week its been down in the 13-14 range, and never have UK summer day temperatures felt so cold…
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
15th November 2012, 15:03
Comment from Roger-E moved here
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
15th November 2012, 15:36
Comment from Force Maikel moved here
Mariano (@mariano)
15th November 2012, 16:03
I hope it doesn’t rain during the race. That will allow us to judge the strengths and weaknesses of this new track.
LJ
15th November 2012, 16:30
I’ll be surprised if there isn’t a few crashes during this race, I doubt it’ll need rain to spice it up. I’m hoping for high tyre deg too, I don’t want to see many if any drivers one stopping. Let’s hope theres plenty of action!
Atticus (@atticus-2)
15th November 2012, 17:10
Actually, that T1 is begging for Grosjean…
baldgye (@baldgye)
15th November 2012, 17:41
have to say, this has all the make-up of another dull race track… having done a bunch of laps around it in F1 2012 there are so little places to over-take, add that to the fact the tires are so well mapped out atm 1 stopping is pretty much standard atm… the only variable could have been the weather, and its going to be dry and warm…
I wish they would put more thought into tracks that are in mostly dry locations to make them really nice for over-taking… they might be less fun to drive but so much more enjoyable to watch… the last race made F1 almost look bad with people making botched over-taking moves (hey Webber) and the only over-taking done on the straight… and this new track seems to be pretty much the same… :/
George (@george)
15th November 2012, 18:18
Abu Dhabi and Buddh both have sections designed for overtaking, and it’s the dullest place on both tracks (slow corners into mile-long straights). Overtaking only happens when some variables change, otherwise everyone would be sorted out from their qualifying positions, so other than weather or super abrasive tarmac there’s not much you can do circuit-wise.
Taking that into account, I hope COTA has more character than you make it sound, the tracks I mentioned above both suffer from a lack of it.
baldgye (@baldgye)
15th November 2012, 18:39
becasue of the way the track is designed, if you get up close to someone and its not on the straight your only ever going to be at a disadvantage due to the dirty air, the weather was the only real thing that could have mixed that up… but alas
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
16th November 2012, 8:56
Glad to see the weather is likely to behave itself, will be interesting to see if Ferrari’s upgrades are any good.