United States GP 2015 Preview: Start Time, TV Times, Weather, Schedule, Odds
The Formula One season is entering its final stages and stops off in Texas this weekend for the 2015 United States Grand Prix.
The Circuit of the Americas in Austin will be the venue, hosting the grand prix for the fourth time. This will be the 37th race to bear the title of U.S. Grand Prix and the 55th world championship F1 event to be held in the United States.
And if results go a certain way, it will go down in history as the seventh American race at which an F1 world champion was crowned.
With just four of the 19 races to go, Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes holds a commanding 66-point lead over Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel. The Briton's team-mate, Nico Rosberg, is a further seven points in arrears.
The mathematics are simple—if Hamilton outscores Vettel by at least nine points and Rosberg by at least two, he'll become the first British three-time world champion since Jackie Stewart achieved the feat in 1973.
If he doesn't, the championship battle will stay alive for at least one more round.
Though most of the attention will be on the fight at the front, eyes will also be focused on a man likely to start at the rear. Alexander Rossi will return in place of Roberto Merhi at Manor; in doing so, he'll become the first American to start a grand prix on home soil since Scott Speed in 2007.
Read on for a full preview of the weekend ahead, including a circuit map and detailed guide, TV times for UK viewers on Sky Sports F1 and U.S. viewers on NBC, session times, tyre and DRS information, current standings, weather and odds.
Current Formula 1 Drivers' and Constructors' Championship Standings
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Lewis Hamilton's win in Russia, coupled with Nico Rosberg's retirement, means the Brit has a 66-point lead in the drivers' championship with just four races to go. But it's a lead over Sebastian Vettel, not Rosberg, who is 73 points in arrears.
Further down the order we encounter a somewhat closer battle for fourth place. Kimi Raikkonen took Valtteri Bottas out in Sochi and extended his lead in the fight to 12 points. Felipe Massa is also in the mix.
The current top 10 drivers are:
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | 302 |
| 2 | Sebastian Vettel | 236 |
| 3 | Nico Rosberg | 229 |
| 4 | Kimi Raikkonen | 123 |
| 5 | Valtteri Bottas | 111 |
| 6 | Felipe Massa | 109 |
| 7 | Daniil Kvyat | 76 |
| 8 | Daniel Ricciardo | 73 |
| 9 | Sergio Perez | 54 |
| 10 | Romain Grosjean | 44 |
Mercedes won their second consecutive constructors' championship in Russia; Ferrari could, in theory, equal their points total, but the Silver Arrows would still take the title thanks to a superior number of wins.
The current constructors' standings are:
| 1 | Mercedes | 531 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 359 |
| 3 | Williams | 220 |
| 4 | Red Bull | 149 |
| 5 | Force India | 92 |
| 6 | Lotus | 66 |
| 7 | Toro Rosso | 45 |
| 8 | Sauber | 34 |
| 9 | McLaren | 19 |
| 10 | Manor | 0 |
Data sourced from the official F1 website.
Circuit of the Americas Track Guide
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The Circuit of the Americas lies just over 15 kilometres from the centre of Austin, state capital of Texas. The first American circuit purpose-built for F1, it was finished just a few months before hosting its first grand prix in 2012.
The reception was mostly positive. COTA features some nice elevation changes, one of the best first corners on the calendar, a challenging sequence of high-speed turns and at least two decent overtaking opportunities.
It's certainly one of the best modern circuits around—and if they got rid of the unnecessary, ugly red stripes that surround the racing surface and laid down some nice green grass, it'd be one of the best-looking as well.
Turns 1 and 2
A lap begins on the pit straight heading downhill into a dip before the track rises sharply ahead of the braking zone for the slow, left-hand hairpin of Turn 1. The track levels out briefly for the corner itself—which has a very wide entry—before dropping away steeply at the exit.
In the world of stunning elevation changes, only the Eau Rouge-Raidillon complex at Spa has a greater "wow factor."
The track continues to glide downhill at a less-steep angle through the fast right-hander of Turn 2, then it begins to rise again as the drivers prepare for the most challenging sequence of corners COTA has to offer.
Turns 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9
And what a sequence it is. Comprising seven corners numbered from three to nine and featuring constant shifts in elevation, this sector became an instant classic when it was first encountered in 2012.
The driver keeps his foot firmly to the floor as he steams through the fast left of Turn 3 then employs a tiny bit of throttle-feathering for the right-hander of Turn 4.
A dab of the brakes sees the car safely through the slightly longer left-hand Turn 5. The next corner, right-hand Turn 6, is a little trickier—it tightens halfway through, so the drivers need to bleed off speed mid-corner before tagging the late apex.
Left-hand Turn 7 is the first corner in the sequence taken at speeds below 200 kilometres an hour, and it leads straight into an the even slower right of Turn 8. The drivers stick to the right-hand side of the circuit here for the best line through the final corner of the complex—Turn 9, a medium-speed left.
Beautiful.
Turns 10 and 11
The track rises briefly before starting to fall again as the drivers fly through the flat-out left of Turn 10.
A short downhill straight follows before the second big-braking event of the lap for Turn 10—a tight, slow hairpin left. The entry is very wide here, but the drivers will be more concerned with getting a good exit, because it leads out on to COTA's longest straight.
Turn 12
The straight isn't entirely straight, but its slightly curved nature—a very gradual, constant lean to the right—doesn't spoil any overtaking attempts.
Speeds in excess of 330 kilometres an hour are achieved as the drivers spend a full 13 seconds at full-throttle before braking hard for the tight, slow left-hander of Turn 12.
This is the best passing spot on the circuit and has twice been the corner at which the lead changed. Lewis Hamilton overtook Sebastian Vettel here to win the 2012 U.S. Grand Prix and did the same to team-mate Nico Rosberg to claim victory in 2014.
However, it's easy for either attacker or defender to make a mistake in the downhill braking zone.
Turns 13, 14 and 15
A quick squirt of the throttle at the exit sends the drivers toward Turn 13. This slow right-hander is taken at around 100 kilometres an hour, and it leads straight into the slightly quicker, more open right of Turn 14.
Barely a heartbeat later, it's time to pick your line for a corner that's far trickier than it looks—slow, double-apex Turn 15.
The drivers tend to ignore the kerb at the exit of Turn 14 and try to get as far over to the right-hand side of the track before braking and steering to the left. The first of the two apexes is ignored, the cars drifting lazily around the outside before cutting in to hit the late second apex.
It's interesting to watch the slight variations in each driver's preferred line, and keep an eye out for opportunistic overtakes—especially on the first lap.
Turns 16, 17 and 18
The drivers get on the power as quickly as they can at the exit and head out on to a short straight. As they reach speeds of around 200 kilometres an hour, they turn in to the long, flat-out right-hander made up of Turns 16, 17 and 18.
Designed as a nod to the famous Turn 8 at Istanbul Park, it doesn't come close to matching the majestic beauty of its big brother but is nonetheless a nice-looking corner. Flat-out from start to finish, the six-second corner is COTA's longest, and the drivers pop out of the exit at around 280 kilometres an hour.
A short straight follows.
Turns 19 and 20
Now approaching the end of the lap, the drivers brake and turn in to the medium-speed left of Turn 19. This corner looks straightforward enough, but it's very common to see cars running wide at the exit.
Another short straight leads us to the final corner—a tight, slow, 90-degree left. Once the apex is cleared, the drivers are back on the pit straight and heading downhill to start another lap.
Pit Lane
The pit-lane entry is on the inside just before Turn 20, and the exit lies on the left-hand side of the pit straight just before Turn 1.
Slide Image: Creative Commons.
Tyre Choices and DRS Zones
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The Circuit of the Americas features a broad range of corners that test all areas of the cars and tyres.
The first sector sees the fronts worked hard through the fast sequence from Turn 2 onward, while the rears take more punishment at the exit of the many slower corners.
An all-round circuit requires an all-round tyre selection; Pirelli will therefore be providing the teams with the yellow-marked soft and white-marked medium tyre compounds.
This is the most common compound pair—by the end of the season, the soft and medium will have been supplied together for nine of the 19 races.
Last year's race was won using a two-stop strategy, and if conditions are similar, we should see the same this time around.
DRS
There will be two DRS zones at the United States Grand Prix.
The first zone will have its detection point midway between Turns 10 and 11. The activation point will be on the main back straight and the zone will end with braking for Turn 12.
The second zone's detection point will be just before the braking zone of Turn 19. The activation line is just after the exit of the final corner; the zone ends as the drivers brake for Turn 1.
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United States Grand Prix Weather Forecast
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Austin has a humid subtropical climate, with hot summers and winters that are usually mild. The average October day sees temperatures in the high 20s degrees Celsius, and rain falls one day in every four on average. October nights are normally mild, but temperatures below freezing have been recorded in the past.
The current forecast suggests the weekend ahead will start with a flash and a bang. A brutal cluster of heavy thunderstorms looks likely to be in the Austin area on Friday, with the U.S. National Weather Service issuing a special weather statement for the region.
It refers specifically the "Interstate 35 corridor"—the road runs through Austin—and warns of the possibility of flash flooding. It goes on to add that "the heavy rainfall and lightning could lead to disruptions of outdoor activities."
Third practice could also be washed out, and qualifying could be affected, too. But the storms should have cleared the area in time for Sunday's race, which will see clear skies and temperatures a touch below the average.
The rain could well be heavy enough to make any running impossible, so this is a forecast that's well worth keeping an eye on.
BBC Weather and National Weather Service will have the latest.
United States Grand Prix Odds
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Lewis Hamilton occupies his usual position as pre-qualifying favourite. Nico Rosberg is second-favourite and Sebastian Vettel is third.
If the trio finishes in the order of their odds, Hamilton will take the title.
The Williams drivers have shorter odds than they have had in recent races, as do the Force India pair.
The top 10 favourites are:
| Lewis Hamilton | 1-2 |
| Nico Rosberg | 11-4 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 11-1 |
| Valtteri Bottas | 33-1 |
| Kimi Raikkonen | 40-1 |
| Felipe Massa | 40-1 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 150-1 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 150-1 |
| Sergio Perez | 150-1 |
| Daniil Kvyat | 200-1 |
Selected Others
The safety car made two appearances at the Russian Grand Prix, and it's been out at the last two U.S. Grands Prix as well. It's 4-6 that we see the Mercedes GT S for the third U.S. race in a row, and 11-10 for it to remain in the pits.
In our regular pre-race predictions this week, we somewhat optimistically backed both Pastor Maldonado and Fernando Alonso to score points. Maldonado is 7-4 to set a new personal best of three consecutive points finishes, while Alonso is 7-2 for his third top-10 finish of the year.
And 2015 has seen four hat-tricks of pole, race win and fastest lap—all by Lewis Hamilton. It's 5-2 he does it again in Austin; team-mate Nico Rosberg is 14-1 and Sebastian Vettel 100-1.
All odds sourced from Oddschecker and correct at the time of publication.
United States Grand Prix TV Times and Session Times
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As always, the United States Grand Prix weekend will consist of three free practice sessions, qualifying and the race.
The session times are as follows:
| Practice 1 | Friday | 10 a.m. |
| Practice 2 | Friday | 2 p.m. |
| Practice 3 | Saturday | 10 a.m. |
| Qualifying | Saturday | 1 p.m. |
| Race | Sunday | 2 p.m. |
All times given are in Austin local time (CDT, UTC-5). The official Formula One website has a useful tool on its homepage to convert them to your own time zone.
TV Times
In the United Kingdom, live coverage of all sessions will be provided by Sky Sports F1. The programming times are as follows (all times BST, except Sunday which is GMT):
| Practice 1 | Friday | 4 p.m. | 3:45 p.m. |
| Practice 2 | Friday | 8 p.m. | 7:45 p.m. |
| Practice 3 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | 3:45 p.m. |
| Qualifying | Saturday | 7 p.m. | 6 p.m |
| Race | Sunday | 7 p.m. | 5:30 p.m. |
In the United States, live coverage is provided by the NBC network on NBCSN and NBC. The times are as follows (all times EDT):
| Practice 1 | Friday | 11 a.m. | 11 a.m. (NBCSN) |
| Practice 2 | Friday | 3 p.m. | 3 p.m. (NBCSN) |
| Practice 3 | Saturday | 11 a.m. | 11:00 p.m. (SLE) |
| Qualifying | Saturday | 2 p.m. | 12:30 p.m. (NBCSN) |
| Race | Sunday | 3 p.m. | 2:30 am (NBC) |
Note: NBC's qualifying show starts at 12:30 p.m., and it appears to include a delayed rerun of third practice.
Enjoy the weekend!
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