After almost a month off, F1 returns to the track, and the first stop is the United States Grand Prix, which will take place in Austin at Circuit of the Americas. Thanks to the Pirelli preview, we can get an idea of what to expect this weekend.
The resurfacing work at the COTA circuit has been completed, addressing the bumps that characterized it. Specifically, the circuit has been resurfaced between turns 9 and 12 and between turns 16 and 3. The abrasiveness of the track could be different compared to last year, as a new layer of track surface is usually smoother than an old one.
For this reason, we will see a noticeable evolution of the track throughout the weekend sessions.
The Compounds Brought by Pirelli
The compounds Pirelli has brought for this second American race are the same as in the past two years: C2 for the hard compound, C3 for the medium, and C4 for the soft.
The layout of the circuit is very varied; designer Hermann Tilke was inspired by many other existing tracks. The section between turns 3 and 6 is inspired by Silverstone and Suzuka, while the long right-handers from turns 16 to 18 are reminiscent of turn 8 at Istanbul Park, the Turkish circuit.
Tire Degradation
In terms of forces exerted on the tires, the loads at COTA are fairly evenly distributed between the front and rear axles, with a predominance of lateral loads over vertical ones. Degradation is usually thermal in nature and will depend heavily on the weather conditions in Texas.
As for the number of stops, we’ll need to see how the circuit performs with the new asphalt. The Saturday Sprint Race will provide teams with a lot of data.
Usually, a two-stop strategy has always been the fastest on this circuit, especially because a one-stop requires careful management of degradation, at the cost of performance. In 2023, the most used compound was the C3, more effective than the C2. It will be interesting to see if the Hard compound becomes one of the teams’ preferred choices with the new track surface.
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