1978 F1 champion Mario Andretti opened the track of the Circuit of the Americas on October 21st 2012. Fans around the world witnessed Lewis Hamilton win the debut race at the circuit, his last for McLaren, with Romain Grosjean and Mark Webber joining him on the podium in second and third. The Circuit of the Americas (COTA) would be the start of a renaissance period for Formula 1 with the United States of America. The pinnacle of motorsport now also races in Miami and Las Vegas, alongside the fan favourite circuit in Austin, Texas.
F1 Academy
The all-female racing series first came to COTA in 2023 during its inaugural season. It was the first race in the series to be televised and saw Marta Garcia win the first of the three races across that weekend. It would also be the venue where the Spaniard would be crowned F1 Academy Champion. Hamda Al Qubaisi and Jessica Edgar won the second and third races respectively across the weekend with the likes of Nerea Marti, Lena Buhler and Abbi Pulling joining these drivers on the rostrum.
2026 will mark the first time since then that F1 Academy has returned to the circuit, having since raced elsewhere in the U.S.A., in Miami and Las Vegas. As was the case with the Canadian round of F1 Academy earlier this year, COTA will also see the series host three races across the penultimate F1 Academy weekend of the year.
The 3.4-mile-long circuit has a lap record of 1:36.169 set by Charles Leclerc back in 2019. Jessica Edgar holds the lap record for F1 Academy - a time of 2:07.962 set back in 2023 when the British driver raced for Rodin Motorsport. Known for its Silverstone/Suzuka inspired Ss element in sector one and its long back straight in sector two, the Circuit of the Americas is certainly set to test all of the F1 Academy drivers on all they’ve learnt so far - especially as none of the drivers on the grid have competed at COTA in the past.
Alisa Palmowski enters the weekend as Championship leader, forty-eight points clear of Emma Felbermayr in second place. Nina Gademan sits a further seventeen points points back.
Campos Racing comfortably lead the Team Standings ahead of Rodin Motorsport but the latter faces close competition from both MP Motorsport and PREMA Racing just behind them.
Alexia Danielsson will also join the F1 Academy grid in Texas as this round’s Wild Card Driver. After positive outings at recent F1 Academy test sessions, the Swede will now get the chance to prove herself across a full race weekend - with the possibility of joining the grid full time next season should her time on track prove to be successful.
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Find where you can watch F1 Academy this weekend here.