In Numbers: 10 Austin Statistics

It's our second trip of the year to the USA, as we head to Austin for the 2024 United States Grand Prix.

Austin is a city that truly embraces Formula 1, and Circuit of the Americas is a track which takes inspiration from classic circuits across the globe like Silverstone, Suzuka and Hockenheim.

To get you in the mood, we’ve dug out ten statistics about COTA, the USGP and Austin.

Alex Albon will make the 100th start of his Formula 1 career this weekend in Austin. By doing so, Albono will take 80th place on the list of all Grand Prix starts, moving ahead of Sir Jackie Stewart and Robert Kubica, who both sit on 99.

In Singapore, Alex entered the top 10 for most Formula 1 starts for Williams Racing. This weekend will be his 62nd for the team, putting him just 33 behind Nigel Mansell’s total of 95. At the current rate, Albono will become the driver with the most starts for Williams at Round 5 of the 2026 F1 season.

Keke Rosberg’s win in Dallas in 1984 has a special place in the history of the current USGP venue, as it was the first Grand Prix ever attended by Bobby Epstein, who – 28 years later – would go on to build the Circuit of the Americas.

Austin is dubbed “The Live Music Capital of the World” and anyone who has visited ATX will know that is true. VisitAustin suggests there are roughly 250 venues where artists will perform throughout the year, from world-renowned festivals to iconic dive bars, and even the airport.

Circuit of the Americas isn’t the only place in Austin where you’ll see cars going quicker than usual. The nearby Texas Highway 130 has a posted speed limit of 85mph (137 km/h), the highest speed limit on any public road in the United States.

The city of Austin is officially a “sister city” of Adelaide in Australia, a former host of the Australian Grand Prix. Williams won the first and last Adelaide F1 races thanks to Keke Rosberg (1985) and Damon Hill (1995).

Rodeo is the official state sport of Texas. The drivers will be hoping that resurfacing at COTA no longer means they’ll be doing a rodeo of their own amid the bumps and 133-foot (41-metre) elevation change around a lap.

Austin forms the first part of a massive triple-header across the Americas. Totalling roughly 8,632 km (5,363 miles) as the crow flies, from COTA the F1 circus heads straight to Mexico City and then São Paulo.

This weekend will be the 53rd United States Grand Prix and the race has been held at six different venues - Sebring, Riverside, Watkins Glen, Phoenix, Indianapolis and Austin.

But they’re just the venues to hold races under the moniker of the USGP, as a total of 12 locations have held World Championship races in the USA. In addition to the six listed above, there have been trips to Long Beach, Caesars Palace, Dallas, Detroit, Miami and Las Vegas.