Formula One Heading To Texas from 2012

On the back of recent speculation over a return to the United States came an historic announcement that F1 will indeed return.

The F1 circus, last seen held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana, will now be held in Austin, Texas, in a 10-year deal commencing in 2012.

The official statement was put out just days before the Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone already talking up the new opportunity.

Ecclestone said:

“For the first time in the history of Formula One in the United States, a world-class facility will be purpose-built to host the event. It was 30 years ago that the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix™ was last held on a purpose-built permanent road course circuit in Watkins Glen, NY (1961-1980), which enjoyed great success.

"Since then, Formula One has been hosted by Long Beach, Las Vegas, Detroit, Dallas and Phoenix all on temporary street circuits.

"This however, will be the first time a facility is constructed from the ground up specifically for Formula One in the US.”

Tavo Hellmund, Managing Partner of Full Throttle Productions, the promoter of the US Grand Prix said:

"We are extremely honoured and proud to reach an agreement with the F1 Commercial Rights Holder. We have been diligently working together for several years to bring this great event to Austin, the State of Texas and back to the United States.

"All parties involved have a great amount of trust and confidence in each other and are committed to establishing the Formula One United States Grand Prix™ in Austin, Texas as a prestigious global event. "

The news will be a disappointment for fans who would have loved a return to Watkins Glen, and the President of the Monticello Motor Club, also in New York after last week admitting to being in talks with Ecclestone.

The decision is a logical one. Austin will have the opportunity to build a purpose-built F1-grade facility in one of the most spectacular cities in America. That the state of Texas is also home to more Fortune 500 companies than any other is also a big draw for the money-hungry machine that is F1.

Ecclestone will have been won over by the spectacular skylines Austin has to offer, while being close to both San Antonio and Dallas, and area covering 22 million inhabitants with fantastic transport infrastructure.

Building from scratch also removes the need to accumulate finance deals to upgrade existing facilities elsewhere in the country with finance being ploughed into state-of-the-art facilities for teams, drivers, spectators and officials alike, as we've seen with other recent additions to the F1 calendar.

Whether Austin is the right choice for F1's return to America remains to be seen, but Ecclestone, the promoters, and those associated with the bid in Austin are all determined to make it work.

I have one reservation. Please don't let Herr Tilke anywhere near the circuit design. We have too many Tilke-crafted races. If the circuit design is yet to be finalised, they should consult the sport's top drivers.

I am sure that with another designer, F1's drivers past and present could come up with a track which is challenging for the driver and fun to drive, but also allows for overtaking - something which needs to increase, and increase soon!

What do you think of the decision to host the United States Grand Prix in Texas? Let us know in the comments.