United States 2026: Overview | Atlassian Williams F1 Team

UPCOMING

FP1 17:30 • 23 OCT

United States Grand Prix

Welcome to the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, for our second trip Stateside of the year for the United States Grand Prix.

Despite its relatively recent addition to the calendar, this circuit is a modern classic in Formula 1, celebrated for its unashamed cherry-picking of other tracks’ elements to become greater than the sum of its parts.

Because of this, COTA offers a diverse range of corners and straights set among dramatic elevation changes to test drivers and teams to their limits.

Circuit Overview:

The Circuit of The Americas is 5.513 km (3.426 miles) of Texan asphalt with 20 turns that begin with a steep climb to the tight Turn 1 hairpin, a prime spot for overtaking.

A blast through a copy-paste of Silverstone's famous Maggotts-Becketts-Chapel sequence segues into the quick Sector 2, with a sharp hairpin breaking up full-throttle running and preceding the prime passing spot down the back straight.

Sector 3 echoes the Hockenheimring's arena and Istanbul Park's multi-apex Turn 8 to conclude this lap of F1's greatest hits.

Fast Facts

Circuit Name: Circuit of the Americas

Location: Austin, Texas

First Grand Prix: 2012 (first US GP: 1959, Sebring)

Circuit Length: 5.513 km (3.426 miles)

Race Distance: 308.405 km (191.634 miles)

Laps: 56

Lap Record: 1:36.169 (Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 2019)

Alex Albon Last Year

Race: P14

Fastest Lap: 1:38.328 (Lap 38)

Qualifying: P9 (1:33.150)

Tyre Strategy: Hard-Medium-Soft

Carlos Sainz Last Year

Race: DNF

Fastest Lap: 1:40.327 (Lap 3)

Qualifying: P19 (1:34.690)

Tyre Strategy: Medium

Williams’ US GP History

Best Finish: P1 (Alan Jones, 1980)

Best Qualifying: P1 (Alan Jones, 1979)

Alex's Best Finish: P5 (2019)

Carlos' Best Finish: P2 (2024)

Williams Highlight: Our best memory at COTA came on a Saturday, rather than a Sunday. Carlos Sainz secured our first-ever Sprint podium with a P3 finish, and Alex Albon backed it up to make it our only double-points finish in the format with a P6.

USA at a Glance

Capital: Washington, D.C.

Population: 342.6 million

Size: 9,833,520 sq km

Language: English

Currency: US Dollar (USD)

Schedule

Time displayed in your local timezone

Free Practice 1

FRIDAY, 17:30, 23 OCT 2026

Free Practice 2

FRIDAY, 21:00, 23 OCT 2026

Free Practice 3

SATURDAY, 17:30, 24 OCT 2026

Qualifying

SATURDAY, 21:00, 24 OCT 2026

Race

SUNDAY, 20:00, 25 OCT 2026

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