A modern classic: Driving a lap of COTA

2013 F1 season

Posted on

| Written by

That’s not a corner, it’s a launching pad. It’s a ramp pointing skywards which is going to send me, the McLaren MP4-12C I’m sitting in, and the surprisingly unflappable instructor in the passenger seat flying over the barriers and into the next state.

Turn one at the Circuit of the Americas is steep. Eau Rouge steep. I know because I’ve now walked up both of them and now, courtesy of Mobil 1, I’ve also had a chance to do what 22 Formula One drivers will on Sunday – drive one of the best modern circuits in Formula One.

Circuit design is a hotly debated topic. The latest generation of tracks are criticised for being insipid and unchallenging. The team behind the Circuit of the Americas, led by Tavo Hellmund and motorcycling world championship Kevin Schwantz, did not want another flat, featureless Yas Marina or Bahrain on their hands.

Hellmund famously gave F1 track designers Tilke Gmbh a shopping list of the world’s greatest corners. I’ll get to them once I’ve tackled the daunting turn one.

My instructor points out a cone next to the track which marks where I’m supposed to start braking. I know they’ll have placed it well before the true braking point for a car of the 12C’s capabilities. But while it may be capable of braking much later but my right foot has a mind of its own. Metres before the cone it jumps off the accelerator and stands on the brake.

The steep incline allow you to shed off speed surprisingly quickly. But now I’m starting at the sky, and the widening entry to the corner makes nailing the apex doubly difficult, even at my embarrassingly slow speed.

Now we’re plunging downhill into the ‘greatest hits’ sequence. This is usually likened to Silverstone’s Maggots and Becketts sequence but having driven both the differences between the two are quite striking.

COTA’s curves have more undulation, with several blind apexes, and aren’t approached at quite as high a speed as Silverstone. But COTA’s tortuous combination of corners goes on for longer – merely remembering which corner comes next feels like an achievement.

It’s hard enough work for me tackling it in a high-performance sports car like the MP4-12C. But F1 drivers cover the same section of track in a fraction of the time, their hands a blur of motion as their cars snap viciously from corner to corner.

Each time by I remind myself to be prepared for turn seven – a deceptively tight left-hander that urges you to attack but punishes the greedy. This being a modern-generation track the tarmac run-off is vast and forgiving – and I’m grateful for every last millimetre of it.

The long back straight, intended to facilitate overtaking, serves as welcome respite from the disorientating start to the lap. But at this point the character of the circuit changes dramatically.

From turn 12 we’re into a sequence of pedestrian hairpins. The first part of the lap made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck and my nerves tingle. This section is akin to driving around Sainsbury’s looking for a place to park and is exactly as thrilling.

I’m left wondering what purpose these corners is supposed to serve. It’s no fun to drive and it certainly adds nothing to the spectacle. It’s a sequence of bends beneath the abilities of a humble road car, let alone a snarling F1 beast.

Happily the track now reverts to its former character. Turns 16, 17 and 18 have shades of the celebrated quadruple-apex turn eight at Istanbul. Here the instructor tells me to keep the steering angle consistent and position the car using the throttle – easier said than done, but immensely satisfying when you get it right. I’ll bet.

During practice last year car after car sailed off the track at turn 19 and now I’m driving it I can see why. It comes up on you very quickly out of turn 18 and id another of COTA’s deceptive blind corners. “Brake now, brake now,” the instructor reminds me with increasing urgency shortly before I conduct another examination of the kerbing.

Turn 20 is one of those nothing corners that serves merely to bring you back where you started. I get half-a-dozen laps of this white-knuckle ride before the instructor takes over to show exactly what the car can do.

On this run we get as far as turn 11 – the farthest point from the pits – when the McLaren’s engine coughs from a lack of fuel, forcing us to crawl back to the pits.

The track has had 12 months’ use since F1 last raced here, with the World Endurance Championship, V8 Supercars and more laying rubber down. The surface is giving more grip and the track workers have seen their cars getting thirstier and thirstier – a factor teams will have to bear in mind this weekend.

There’s been a lot of hype about the Circuit of the Americas but this is one of those occasions when there’s a lot of substance to it. Jenson Button said “the first sector of this circuit ranks as one of the best parts of a racetrack anywhere in the world” and it’s hard to disagree with that.

For the most part this is a superb racing circuit with many great corners. And these great corners need some great names. Might I suggest Andretti, Hill, Gurney, Foyt…

2013 F1 season


Browse all 2013 F1 season articles

Images © F1 Fanatic

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

37 comments on “A modern classic: Driving a lap of COTA”

  1. The balaclava covers you but it’s impossible not to see the huge smile !

    1. @fer-no65 Definitely. Hadn’t been out of the pits at that point, either!

      1. @keithcollantine I can imagine the excitement !

        Did they paint the stars on the run off areas again or is that an old picture?

      2. Hehe, so what’s your best laptime?

        1. @keithcollantine

          Some people can rock a helmet, I don’t think it does for you ;-)

        2. petebaldwin (@)
          14th November 2013, 12:43

          @jeff1s – all 4 wheels of the track at T7 and T19 so it’s under appeal. :)

        3. Ha ha. I doubt Keith is going to share that info.

    2. Di you have running commentary @keithcollantine? I imagine that’d be rather difficult with that balaclava ;)

  2. No arguing that Yas Marina and Bahrain are quite bad track – but to call them featurless is a bit over the top.

    COTA is really nice – might be one of the best thou.

    1. petebaldwin (@)
      14th November 2013, 12:40

      Disagree about Bahrain as I think it’s actually quite a good track but any features at Abu Dhabi are simply cosmetic. If the race was run during the day, the hotel was removed and it was inland, youd be left with nothing of interest. Sector 1 isn’t too bad but then it’s followed by a series of 90 degree dull turns. Without 2 DRS zones to create some kind of excitement, there really is nothing good about that track.

      Bahrain has it’s fair share of boring parts but the run down from turn 4 to turn 8 is good and turns 9 and 10 are great with the breaking zone for turn 10 existing somewhere during turn 9. It looks like a challenging track.

    2. I’d agree on Yas Marina but the only bad thing about Bahrain is the location – the track itself looks quite nice – though I’ve never been there myself.

  3. The Blade Runner (@)
    14th November 2013, 11:50

    An excellent piece @keithcollantine

    To say that I’m a little jealous is a huuuuge understatement!

  4. Amazing write-up!!

    I read every stanza and then just closed my eyes and imagined the corners as they went by in the F1 2013 game.
    And loved it!!
    Keith you have done en excellent job!! This is exactly how I feel when I drive the track in the game.
    Your description of turns 7 and 19 were spot on! Every time in game it goes “Let’s brake a little bit later” and moments later I go “%^$# too much!!” :)

    Hoping for more such write-ups from you.

  5. To quote Monty Python:

    “you lucky lucky *******!”

    Enjoy!!

  6. Soooo jealous ;-)

  7. I think those hairpins aren’t as bad as you described them – obviously not from a drivers’ point of view, I don’t know about that -, there have been a lot of action and overtakes in those corners last year.

    1. And to add, it must have been a pretty awesome experience!

  8. This being a modern-generation track the tarmac run-off is vast and forgiving – and I’m grateful for every last millimetre of it.

    Blogger becomes driver!

  9. There couldn’t be a more deserving person to be given a chance to drive around one of the modern F1 circuits, always bringing us great, quality F1 pieces.

    1. this. (although I wouldn’t mind stealing @keithcollantine ‘s spot :D)

  10. We can say @keithcollantine is the voice of Mclaren ( Mclaren covering your mouth in the picture ) ;-) . No , Just kidding .
    Great article about a great lap.

  11. Nice story Keith but remember, this is Texas and it’s a long way to another State from here.

  12. I’m left wondering what purpose these corners is supposed to serve. It’s no fun to drive and it certainly adds nothing to the spectacle.

    Doesn’t it? It’s so wide and slow that it allows drivers looking to overtake to try different lines. From what I remember last year it was a good spot for cars harrying one another. Or have I exaggerated it in my mind?

    1. I am sure that was said somewhere else too, that the section was built for potential overtakes rather than just having slow corner overtakes.

  13. Great feature Keith, very jealous. That said off to drive a Formula Renault in Hertfordshire next weekend…looking forward to that!

  14. >MP4 12C
    >COTA

    SO JEALOUS. Once iRacing gets COTA, I’m relegated to experiencing the digital version of each, but I’d *relish* the chance to do what you just did!

  15. Enjoyed the article, welcome to the United States. Great idea naming the corners after famous Americans, I would love to see the likes of the Andretti, Foyt, and the Unsers carving up the track.

  16. Many of my friends have raced here where I’ve not been as lucky, yet… But I do agree with you here @keithcollantine

    For the most part this is a superb racing circuit with many great corners. And these great corners need some great names. Might I suggest Andretti, Hill, Gurney, Foyt…

    Absolutely. Something like maybe turn 6? A “high downforce” corner?

  17. If that picture doesn’t end up as the next caption competition, theres no justice in the universe. ;-)

  18. Nice read there Keith, I must say I am looking forward to this race after a couple of races on rather less inspiring tracks!

  19. @keithcollantine – Rarely do I get jealous of anything in life any more, too old for that. But, in this case I am making an exception. What a fantastic opportunity for you and especially on what is for sure one of the best F1 tracks on the calendar these days. Wow!

  20. Great first hand analysis

  21. Only just found the time to read this: excellent article. It’s a shame nowadays most of the F1 talk is about off-track stuff, not about driver style or anything like that. Thanks Keith.

  22. Only just found the time to read this: excellent article. It’s a shame nowadays most of the F1 talk is about off-track stuff, not about driver style or anything like that. Thanks Keith.

  23. Well deserved mate! Also incredibly jealous of you driving the perfect car/circuit combination, hope the F1 race delivers too.

  24. That car is sitting in the lobby of my hotel here in Austin, and right next to a McLaren F1 car. This is my first F1 race weekend. Is this normal?

Comments are closed.