Formula One has a long and complex history of racing in the USA. So, as Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team prepares to make its United States Grand Prix debut, here's everything you need to know about F1 racing Stateside ahead of this weekend's action.
Since the inaugural Formula One Word Championship season in 1950, a variety of venues across the USA have played host to the sport, with some historic moments occurring at a wide range of iconic and lesser-known American racetracks.
In one of the most dramatic season finales of all time, Jack Brabham would physically push his car over the line at Sebring International Raceway in 1959 to finish fourth, sealing the Drivers' Championship and becoming the youngest driver in history to do so at the time.
After an an ill-fated move to Riverside International Raceway for 1960, Watkins Glen became the most permanent home for the United States Grand Prix to date, hosting the race for two decades between 1961 – 1980.
From British dominance in the 1960s to James Hunt's iconic recovery drive to overcome Jody Scheckter in 1976, Watkins Glen would prove a popular destination for the F1 community before financial reasons eventually curtailed the event.
While The United States Grand Prix moniker would not return to the F1 calendar until 1989 for a brief and unpopular three-year run at the Phoenix Street Circuit in Arizona, several other incarnations of the race did take place in the interim with mixed success.
From the stiflingly hot Caesar's Palace Grand Prix in Las Vegas [1981 – 1984] to the disastrous Dallas Grand Prix in Texas [1984], a race won by Keke Rosberg despite the track surface disintegrating beneath the drivers, none were particularly successful.
With the long-term future of F1 racing Stateside in jeopardy, the United States Grand Prix would eventually return to the calendar in 2000 at the infamous Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the Indy 500.
Once again, the love affair between F1 and the USA would prove a relatively fleeting affair, with Indianapolis falling off the calendar in 2007, two years after a controversial disagreement over tyre safety saw only six cars take the start line for the 2005 race.
Five years later, however, Formula One would finally find its first true home Stateside since departing Watkins Glen in 1980, this time at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, which has hosted the race since 2012.
Designed by Hermann Tilke, the track layout draws inspiration from some of the most iconic venues in world motorsport, taking its cues from Silverstone's Maggots-Becketts-Chapel complex, the stadium section at Hockenheim and Istanbul Park's infamous Turn Eight.
With elevation changes across 130ft, including a steep incline up to Turn One that provides fans with views over much of the circuit, coupled with the slaloming run through Turns Two to Six, the circuit has become popular with drivers and fans alike.
Able to attract headline talents such as Taylor Swift to the entertainment bill, the Circuit of the Americas has become one of the most entertaining events of the year, both on and off track.
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