Motorsports/Racing
Weather was terrible which made everything difficult for COTA and its patrons. As a holder of a Turn 4 bleacher seat and a cancelled 'N' parking pass, mud was the prevailing theme of the weekend. Washrooms, concessions and parking was completely or partially inaccessible due to the mud. Hopefully COTA applies any lessons learned, and these issues don't reoccur in following years.
Excellent facility good racing hope to be there next year
The racing was great and the F1 cars were incredible. The price of everything on-site was out of this world. The price of a program was $20 twice the price of Montreal F1. The food was also out of the world expensive $10 for a small crappy Cheese Burger or $15 for a Chicken Gyro Ah Ha (Ah ha no chicken). Even though I had to walk a mile from the shuttle to the gate I couldn't bring my lunch or any food. I got hassled for a banana and some trail mix. No outside drinks of any kind except water. Skip this place and go to Montreal for real Grand Prix Experience, Bring your lunch and your own beer if you wish.
Best track experience you are likely to see. General admission is enough as there are lots of public areas to watch from, although we had turn 11 grandstand seats at hairpin. Interesting food and beverage at the track. Be sure to get some Texas BBQ. Stay in downtown Austin and take the $5 round trip shuttle bus. Music and bar scene downtown are excellent. People very friendly. Highly recommended. Montreal GP is great. This is better.
I really enjoyed my time at Formula 1 in Austin, the circuit needs toi improve on mobility and ways to get from place to place around the track. Also need a few more pedestrian bridges where traffic of cars and people combine. LET PEOPLE ON TRACK IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE RACE, DONT WAIT TILL CEREMONY IS OVER.
Austin Texas hosted their inaugural Formula 1 race on a fantastic brand new track. Seating at turn 12 had incredible views of much of the 3.5 mile track and particularly at the end of the straight where much of the passing occured. The track staff were incredibly friendly and helpful. Huge lineups at the vendors were probably due to the inexperience of the new track, but improvements there were noticed as the weekend wore on. Shuttles to and from the track which could have been a logistical nightmareworked extremely well. First time in the city and found Austinites extremely friendly and willing to advise you on anything from things to see to clubs and restaurants to visit. Cant wait till next year!
Just wanted to say that I had a great time at the inaugural USGP at the brand new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas! I highly recommend any F1 fan to attend this event in the future. I sat in GS 11W and had a great view of the cars between turns 9 & 11.
The race track is great, without question. I just couldn't believe how bad everything else was. From the concession stands (food and drink lines took way to long to buy drinks and food), they also ran out of drinks - or they weren't cold. The stands to buy clothing and hats was cash only - the credit cards and debit machines didn't work. Everything was way over priced ($50.00 for a baseball cap). The outside of the stadium isn't finished ( lucky it didn't rain the mud would have killed even wanting to go. The shuttle bus drop off was way too far from the stadium, then the walk to the seats was just as bad- they should have planned this event better- they obviously were not ready, I never experienced anything this disorganized in my life. The shuttle should have dropped you off near your seats, but that might require someone to know what they are doing. I love F1, but I will not go back there until I know a lot of things are fixed. And the line ups to get out were even worse.
What a great venue and a great event. An amazing track, the weather was perfect, and the Texan's hospitality went above and beyond. A few suggestions. Increase the food vendors to decrease the line-ups.. And the Parking was pricey, $200.00 for the weekend. .
F1 was wonderful, seats were fantastic! Organizers dropped 60,000 fans in a dusty parking lot a mile from the event with buses. Loading was poorly organized, there was woefully inadequate assistance for handicapped and those poorly equipped to handle this walk. It took hours of queues to get transport back to parking. However, the Texans were friendly, and endured our abuse with a smile.
