United States GP: Williams Martini Grand Prix Preview

Formula One has made several attempts in the past two decades to regain a successful foothold in the United States, and seems to have finally struck gold with the Circuit of the Americas. The sport is steeped in history in the USA, with the likes of Watkins Glen and Long Beach helping to define that era, but after transitions through Detroit, Dallas and Phoenix it struggled to find a permanent home. The short-lived stay in Indianapolis was followed by a five-year absence, but since 2012, the universally-popular Texas venue has carried Formula One back with a bang. Williams has scored victories at four US circuits, with Alan Jones at Watkins Glen in 1980 and Las Vegas in 1981, and Keke Rosberg at Dallas in 1984 and Detroit in 1985.

PAT SYMONDS:
Austin is one of those modern tracks that has been built to really stretch both the driver and the car. After turn one, the succession of corners is reminiscent of the first part of Suzuka and just as challenging, may be even more so than that classic track. Whilst last year’s event was severely disrupted by weather, we hope for a more straightforward weekend this time around. Apart from the weather, one of the surprise features last year was how bumpy the circuit had become in just twelve months. We certainly are hoping that it hasn’t degraded any further as last year was a challenge, and ultimately led to the retirement of both our cars. That aside, we hope the circuit will reward our new power unit upgrade being introduced for this event.