Circuit of the Americas

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What is a lap of Circuit of the Americas like?

The lap opens with a climb at a gradient of over 11% to Turn 1, a tight left-hand hairpin at the highest point of the circuit, named Big Red after co-founder Red McCombs. The layout borrows from classic circuits: Turns 3-6 are a fast left-right-left-right sequence modelled on Silverstone's Maggotts and Becketts, Turns 12-15 mimic Hockenheim's stadium section, and Turns 16-18 are a triple-apex right modelled on Istanbul Park's Turn 8. The main overtaking spots are Turn 12, at the end of the roughly 1 km back straight that starts at the Turn 11 hairpin, and Turn 1; both are approached through DRS zones. The anticlockwise circuit has been run on the same 20-turn, 5.513 km layout since F1 first visited in 2012.

Lap length

5.513 km

Turns

20

Direction

anticlockwise

Downforce

Medium

Longest straight

1,016 m

Elevation change

30.9 m

DRS zones (to 2025)

2

Character

Technical (about 40% of the lap is cornering)

Layout described

Grand Prix layout, 5.513 km / 20 turns, used by F1 since the circuit opened in 2012 (2012-2019 and 2021-2025) and for the most recent race (2025 United States Grand Prix)

Sources for the checked facts (14)

• formula1.com/en/racing/2025/united-states
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circuit_of_the_Americas
• racefans.net/2022/10/20/sausage-kerbs-removed-from-five-corners-at-cota-after-2021-crashes
• formula1.com/en/latest/article/trackside-performance-analysis-threading-the-needle-through
• circuitoftheamericas.com/blog/2024/2/16/what-your-favorite-cota-turn-says-about-you
• circuitoftheamericas.com/?p=13445
• racefans.net/f1-information/going-to-a-race/circuit-americas-track-information/
• planetf1.com/uncategorized/circuit-of-the-americas-track-guide
• planetf1.com/news/mario-andretti-cota-corner-renamed
• africa.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/30538630/cota-names-turn-1-big-red-co-founder-red-mccombs
• nascar.com/news-media/2021/05/20/circuit-of-the-americas-turn-by-turn-analysis/
• racefans.net/2025/10/19/2025-united-states-grand-prix-strategy-briefing-all-the-data-to-fo
• formula1.com/en/latest/article/need-to-know-the-most-important-facts-stats-and-trivia-ahea
• formula1.com/en/latest/features/2016/10/highs-and-lows---which-f1-track-has-the-most-eleva

Map, character and grey values are approximate (measured from a GPS trace). Report a correction.

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Does pole position win at Circuit of the Americas?

The pole sitter has won 6 of 13 races here (46%). Across all circuits since 1950 the pole sitter wins 44% of races. The winner started from the front row (P1 or P2) in 11 of 13 races (85%) and from the top three in 11 (85%). Lowest grid position to win: 6th, Max Verstappen in 2023.

Where the winner started, every race at this circuit. Pole sitter means the driver who set the fastest qualifying time (first on the grid where no qualifying data exists); a grid penalty can move the pole sitter back, and that race still counts for them. Compare every circuit.

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How are races at Circuit of the Americas won?

Since 2010

13 races; winners made 1 stop in 6, 2 stops in 7; first stop at a median lap 18 (32% of the race)

Lap times over the years

All races at Circuit of the Americas