[Official] United States Grand Prix 2015: Weekend Thread

[Born Racer]

One of the great curiosities about the Formula 1 World Championship has for a long time been the sport’s failure to make a dent in the American sporting conscience. Perhaps this should not be a surprise, as the United States is an enormous and fascinating country in itself which lives in its own world and on its own terms (some say in its own bubble), where typical sports are a form of football played with the hands, an accelerated frenzy of tactics and heavy impacts not dissimilar to rugby, basketball (which has extended farther and wider than the States and baseball, whose world series is US-dominated.

In terms of motorsport, ovals dominate, from the roots of grasstrack and racing on dirt through to NASCAR stock car racing. A parallel exists among many of these sports – stop-start events, with a blow of the whistle or a wave of the yellow breaking the action for a while, during which time strategies are re-assessed: these are high-energy bursts of sporting action with the onus on entertainment and “the show” too.

Formula 1 meanwhile, lived its own bubble for so long that despite protestations that the US was an essential market commercially-speaking and more importantly, was vital to its interests of claiming to be a true world championship, it simply never generated a following. This oddity came in spite of the fact that the country has produced two world champions, Phil Hill (1961) and Mario Andretti (1978) and prior to the latest incarnation of the race) ran Formula 1 races at nine circuits across eight different states – Sebring, Riverside, Watkins Glen, Long Beach, Las Vegas, Detroit, Dallas, Phoenix and Indianapolis. In fact, from 1959 in Sebring until the last race at Indianapolis in 2007, there was at least one Formula 1 Grand Prix in 41 of the 56 seasons in the USA. Many times, there were two Grands Prix (Long Beach, a popular street track, was always run as US Grand Prix West, for example) and in 1982 there were even three races on US soil (Detroit, Las Vegas and Long Beach).


If you look at the Formula 1 winners lists you will see some unfamiliar names arise. Strangely perhaps, points scored in the Indy 500 from 1950 until 1960 counted towards the Formula 1 world championship despite the race not being a Grand Prix. This didn’t, however, give Formula 1 a foothold in America. For that it needed to do its own thing and some of the circuits were good (e.g. Watkins Glen) and some bad – there was a combination of excellent races and ill-thought-out messes.

1980 to 1982 in Las Vegas springs to mind. Las Vegas should bring a certain razzmatazz to the sport, but the decision to hold the Grand Prix in an uninspiring car park round the back of the Caesar’s Palace hotel and casino doomed it to failure, despite being a championship decider. Dallas held a one-off Grand Prix on a street track in 1984 but like Spa a year later, the track surface broke apart in the heat before the race. Unlike Spa, the race never returned. Between 1989 and 1991 the race took place in Phoenix. It did not garner much attention. In 1990 with attendance figures low (reported at 10,000 to 15,000), a local ostrich race pulled in more spectators - a bit more than three times as much. This was not a positive sign.

And then there was Indianapolis. This was after the biggest break in the US Grand Prix history and despite taking place eight times, it never seemed to make much sense. Going all the way to the hallowed temple of speed which is host venue of the Indy 500, only to see quick cars scramble round an awkward infield course and drive one fast corner of the oval backwards didn’t capture the imagination or gel as a concept. In 2006 after the Michelin runners (the majority of the field) did not have tyres considered safe enough to last the race, an infamous boycott occurred, leaving just four Bridgestone-shod Jordans and Minardis trailing in the wake of the winning Ferrari pair. This was a fine refutation of the concept that there is no such thing as bad publicity and was just the wrong country in which to happen. That said, Formula 1 hardly generated any publicity anyway and so there was always the hope that someday, Formula 1 would return to the United States with a track and event of which to be proud.

In 2012, that day arrived and it came in the Texan state capital, Austin. The enthusiastic and forward-thinking city welcomed Formula 1 with fervour and open arms. I was pleased to attend the inaugural event there that year and thoroughly enjoyed the race and exciting layout. It immediately leapt up to be well up the list as one of my favourite tracks. It is one of four anticlockwise circuits, all near the end of the season, along with Marina Bay in Singapore and the forthcoming Interlagos and Abu Dhabi. From a clean sheet of paper, the track developers created one of the most undulating tracks on the calendar, with a big variation in gradient. This year, Austin forms an American double-header, with the return to Mexico City up next week.

The track is fantastic. The run up to Turn 1 is steeply uphill with a blind apex into the left-hand Turn 1. Turns 3 to 6 are a relentless thrill, like Maggotts and Becketts at Silverstone, but perhaps even more dramatic with the elevation change. The drivers chuck the cars in and keep flicking in opposing directions. Turns 16 to 18 is a multi-apex delight, rather like the one in Istanbul Park. Far from being some kind of rip-off, you put these corners into this new track and you get a circuit with its own character and excitement.

Last time out in Sochi, Mercedes sealed the constructors’ championship, but only late in the evening after Kimi Raikkonen’s penalty for booting out Bottas from the race. With Rosberg’s DNF after leading, it was not a glorious result for the Brackley-based team, who will be hoping to celebrate their victory this weekend in more emphatic style, preferably for Lewis Hamilton coupled with what now seems like his inevitable third drivers’ championship victory. Lewis only needs to finish 9 points in front of Sebastian Vettel and 2 in front of Nico Rosberg to take the spoils.

Californian Alexander Rossi also becomes the first home driver since Scott Speed in 2007 to start a United States Grand Prix. He is in the slowest car of the year, so it will be interesting to see what the level of home support is.

Will anyone from Ten-Tenths be in attendance in Austin this weekend? Let us know.

Constructors’ championship standings: http://www.formula1.com/content/fom-...standings.html

Drivers’ championship standings: http://www.formula1.com/content/fom-...standings.html


Circuit length: 5.513km
Number of laps: 56
Race distance: 308.405km

Dry weather tyre compounds: Soft and Medium
DRS Detection Zone 1: between Turns 10 and 11
DRS Activation Zone 1: between Turns 11 and 12
DRS Detection Zone 2: between Turns 18 and 19
DRS Activation Zone 2: On start-finish straight
Speed trap: Just before Turn 12

Lap Record: 1:39.347 (2012 – Sebastian Vettel- Red Bull Racing-Renault)

First World Championship Grand Prix: 2012

[chillibowl]

you certainly brought the razzmatazz to that intro! really really great job BR.

[djinvicta]

10 out of 10. Thank you BR.

[Richard C]

Great intro!

Richard

[Lanky Turtle]

I'm in Austin for the race. The big story this weekend will be rain, rain, and more rain. The forecasts now calling for 100% chance for Friday and Saturday and 90 for sunday with inches of rain expected each day. I've got my fingers crossed that none of the sessions are canceled but it seems liKe a good possibility with heavy thunderstorms and possible flooding expected in the area.

[JeremySmith]

Stunning intro BR... Rain rain and more rain
It's predicted that we will get over six inches !!!
Hopefully it will be dry for the race ?? I somehow doubt it though..

[canamman]

Drainage system of the property may be
in for a work out. I just hope you guys
don't get wind as well. Good luck! We will
be watching on the tube and be looking forward
to your posts.

[rwintle]

That intro certainly was a tour de force, and a nice history lesson. Bravo!

It also made me want to watch this race... my attention to F1 has fizzled over the season but now I'm re-energized. Bernie, send "Born Racer" some swag!

[bjohnsonsmith]

Excellent intro.

Looks like this is going to be the WDC decider. I think the last time the WDC was decided in the US was at Caesar's Palace car park in Vegas in '82 when Keke Rosberg won it.

[chillibowl]

well LH's chances just went up as SV has incurred and 10 place grid penalty for going over his permitted number of engines.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/34610947

[Born Racer]

I've been looking on the BBC website and the weather's showing thunderstorms at the moment for the 13:00 qually session and just rain for the 14:00 race.

[HJJ]

For those in the states, NBCSN has FP1 on now. Check local listings or use the NBC Sports Live Extra App.

NBCSN will be showing all 3 FP sessions. Oh, it's going to be wet.

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by Lanky Turtle

I'm in Austin for the race. The big story this weekend will be rain, rain, and more rain. The forecasts now calling for 100% chance for Friday and Saturday and 90 for sunday with inches of rain expected each day. I've got my fingers crossed that none of the sessions are canceled but it seems liKe a good possibility with heavy thunderstorms and possible flooding expected in the area.

Have a top time. I hope the rain adds to the event rather than detracts.

Great intro. Born Racer.

[Armco Bender]

A shower of rain and no one will come out to play in their toys..

[bella]

being fair, bendy, that was a tiny bit more than a "shower"

unless by "toys" you mean "pool inflatables" in which case...

[wolfhound]

I thought conditions would have been good enough for that other sport that the Kiwi's are pretty handy at involving boats with large wings.

[Adam43]

Shame those sessions were ruined today. Conditions were pretty bad from the short bits I saw.

[canamman]

I just hope we can luck out at hit a decent weather window
to get quali and the race in.

[Paradise City]

http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/aus...orecast/351193

Wet tomorrow, still wet but not as intense for Sunday. According to this forecast anyway.

[Lanky Turtle]

Well I got to see P1 today at least. It actually rained less than I thought it would, but it was still too much for the facilities. I bought a rain suit and managed to stay relatively dry and clean until we decided to leave after P2 was canceled. I made the mistake of parking in the grass park n ride lot where they bring you in on a bus. It was fine coming in, but leaving they herded everyone through a mud pit to get on the buses. Then the parking lot was a massive mud pit. Almost everyone's car got stuck including mine, like hundreds of cars stuck in the mud, with muddy fans trying to push them out and just one tractor to pull everyone out. Total mud chaos!

[Adam43]

Like it was at Silverstone a few years back.

Fingers crossed for today. Even if there is no more rain it should be a little more unpredictable as everyone's running has been reduced.

[Born Racer]

Yeah, not much preparation time, like in Russia. I hope it's decently wet because we haven't seen much wet racing this year, but these days they don't run in extreme wet conditions, so I hope it isn't too strong either. Some changeable conditions seem to always make for a tense race.

[justracing]

Originally Posted by Lanky Turtle

Well I got to see P1 today at least. It actually rained less than I thought it would, but it was still too much for the facilities. I bought a rain suit and managed to stay relatively dry and clean until we decided to leave after P2 was canceled. I made the mistake of parking in the grass park n ride lot where they bring you in on a bus. It was fine coming in, but leaving they herded everyone through a mud pit to get on the buses. Then the parking lot was a massive mud pit. Almost everyone's car got stuck including mine, like hundreds of cars stuck in the mud, with muddy fans trying to push them out and just one tractor to pull everyone out. Total mud chaos!

Sounds like South Bank at Brands Hatch on a summers day
Any weather updates?

[stripedcat]

Originally Posted by Born Racer

Yeah, not much preparation time, like in Russia. I hope it's decently wet because we haven't seen much wet racing this year, but these days they don't run in extreme wet conditions, so I hope it isn't too strong either. Some changeable conditions seem to always make for a tense race.

Ditto, BR. Let us hope for a decent wet weather race. Here's the irony - when we tend to think of Texas - we always seem to think of sunshine! It might be what F1 needs to show the USA how good it can be.

I quite like the Austin track. It sort of feels like a rollercoaster ride - and there have been some decent races in the past(2012 with Lewis and Vettel battling for most of the race - and 2014 with Lewis and Nico). It does seem to be one of Tilke's better tracks.

I doubt Lewis will be crowned champ here though. He might have to wait a couple of races.

[Lanky Turtle]

2 hours before P2 and it's raining heavy but no lightning at least. Local news is telling people to stay home due to flooding risk. FIA says they will make a decision about track activities "later".