Inaugurated in 2010, the Circuit of The Americas – COTA, located in Texas, United States, has become one of the most renowned venues in international motorsport within just a few years.
The American track is characterised by frequent elevation changes along its 5.513-kilometre layout, comprising 20 corners – 11 left-handers and 9 right-handers. Many of these corners draw inspiration from famous international circuits, including the Maggotts-Becketts-Chapel sequence at Silverstone, the arena section at Hockenheim, and Turn 8 at Istanbul Park. The track’s layout intentionally features wide sections at certain points, allowing drivers to experiment with various racing lines.
A particularly iconic feature of the US circuit is Turn 1, which follows the start/finish straight and features an incline exceeding 11%. Turn 1 is a wide and fast left-hand corner designed to mimic the famous “S do Senna” at Interlagos and requires precision and skill to hit the apex at the top of the climb before starting to descend. Also particularly challenging are the blind Turn 10 and the heavy braking into Turn 12, which leads into the final sector.
