In a recent review, Forbes listed Texas’ own Circuit of the Americas (COTA) as the top location for American Formula 1 fans to catch a race in the 2023 season.
The 3.426-mile track opened in 2012 and has quickly become a favored destination by fans and drivers in the sport.
At the time of its debut, champions of the sport gave the track positive reviews.
“The track seems spectacular, very, very nice. It will be challenging for us drivers and engineers as well,” said Fernando Alonso in 2012.
Lewis Hamilton also weighed in, stating, “It’s quite an interesting track. It’s quite difficult to learn initially but it looks fantastic to drive.”
Now, over a decade later, the Circuit of the Americas is regularly amongst the most highly regarded tracks on the Formula 1 calendar.
Forbes recently put together a list of the top destinations for Americans to consider watching a race and even with the hype surrounding Las Vegas’ inaugural race and the solid reviews for Miami’s first race last year, COTA topped the list.
In their article, Forbes touted Texas’s accessibility and central location for travel as top reasons to consider COTA.
Further, Forbes highlighted that COTA is in a sweet spot on the American sporting calendar.
“What else is going on that weekend in the US? Nothing. There are zero conflicts,” Rob Reed, the article’s author, wrote.
But in the end, COTA’s design is what carried the day.
“The track was specifically designed for F1 racing. As such, it consistently proves to be one of the best events of the year as voted by fans,” Reed argued.
COTA’s 20-turn track is laden with inspiration and references to some of the greatest features of other, famous Formula 1 circuits.
For instance, COTA recreates Silverstone’s Maggotts-Becketts-Chapel sequence, as well as the Senna “S” at Brazil’s Interlagos circuit, amongst other nods.
Last year, COTA generated over $600 million for the local economy and brought in a record-setting 450,000 fans throughout the race weekend. This made the race among the best attended in the history of Formula 1.
For Forbes, Monaco, Italy, Canada, and Abu Dhabi rounded out the remainder of the list, respectively.
While fans will still have to wait over six months before the sport comes to Texas for the United States Grand Prix at COTA, Formula 1 is set to start the 2023 season on March 5 in Bahrain.
This Formula 1 column is brought to you by Elliott Griffin, principal of Griffin Communications. To read his previous coverage on all things F1, click here.
