I’ve watched Formula 1 since the 1980s, but the 2018 US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas was the first time I’d ever gotten to attend a race.
Tickets for the US Grand Prix are expensive, so they’d normally be out of reach due to our $100 per day budget for our 50 state road trip. When quitting my job last year so that we could travel full time, they gave me a very generous leaving gift towards our road trip. We decided to use that money and some other money we’d put aside to pay for our tickets to the Grand Prix.
Although Formula 1 races are held on a Sunday, it’s a three day event from Friday to Sunday – part of the reason why our three day tickets were so expensive. Here’s what the weekend was like, along with some tips for how to maximize your Formula 1 experience if you attend the US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in the future.
US Grand Prix – Friday
The weather on the Friday in Austin was similar to what we’d experienced in Dallas over the prior couple of weeks – extremely rainy. So rainy in fact that I wasn’t convinced there’d be any driving going on.
This is what the schedule was meant to be on the Friday:
We were staying in Round Rock to the north of Austin, while Circuit of the Americas is south of the city. I’m a night owl, so wasn’t keen on having to get up super-early (for me) in order to attend Free Practice 1, especially seeing as it seemed like it’d be rained off.
In the end, we chose not to attend at all on Friday due to the weather. Apparently Free Practice 2 saw some driving, but it was wet and so there were no fast times. Free Practice sessions aren’t particularly competitive; as the name suggests, it’s just a chance for the drivers to practice driving the track.
US Grand Prix – Saturday
The Saturday of a Grand Prix weekend is more exciting as that’s when the drivers qualify for the race the following day. That’s not all that happens though – here’s what the schedule looked like:
There wasn’t anything must-see for us early in the morning, so we planned to arrive in time for the first race of the F3 Americas Series. Traffic meant our journey took longer than expected, with the lines for our parking lot also being longer than we thought they’d be. We got in to Circuit of the Americas by about 12:15, so it was after the F3 Americas Series race had finished but still in plenty of time to catch the final practice session of the weekend.
Once inside, we took a quick wander round to check out what else there was to see. All weekend there were bands playing on different stages located around the track…
…a chance to experience a pit stop by changing a tire on a race car…
…a reaction challenge to compare your reaction times to F1 drivers…
…a charity auction with photos signed by F1 drivers and team owners…
…watching someone decorate a race car and much more.
Circuit of the Americas also has an observation tower that’s 251 feet tall and looks out over the track. Regular tickets were $25 per person, with $40 tickets available which included a glass of champagne and priority entry.
The final practice session was about to start, so we made our way towards our bleacher seats at Turn 12. Before heading up, we took advantage of a stall offering complimentary samples of Johnnie Walker Scotch whiskey mixers. Shae tried one mixed with ginger beer, while I tried one with soda water. The other alternative was a lemon tonic water which we tried the following day and decided was the best of the three options.
Although it was overcast and breezy, there was no rain during Free Practice 3 which we appreciated.
It was fun getting to see Formula 1 cars racing in person for the first time. One of the things I immediately noticed was how different the cars sounded in person compared to on TV. They weren’t as loud as I’d expected, but their engines also didn’t sound as smooth as on TV either.
It was also interesting to see the uphill section leading up to Turn 1. It’s much steeper in person than it looks on TV.
After the final practice session, we had two hours until qualifying and so went to find some lunch. There were food trucks throughout the place offering all kinds of cuisines.
We decided to grab food from The Naughty Texan Food Truck. Shae got Mac n Cheese topped with beef brisket, while I went for a brisket sandwich.
With so much time until qualifying started, we wandered around the track to see more of the course. If you’re on a limited budget and want to attend the US Grand Prix, you can buy cheaper lawn seat tickets. Thankfully the lack of rain that day meant this section wasn’t as wet and muddy as it could’ve been.
At about 3:20pm, we realized we needed to head back to our seats to get there in time for qualifying. In Formula 1 there are three qualifying heats that take place over the course of an hour.
After the first heat (Q1), the fastest 15 drivers make it through to Q2. The 10 fastest drivers in Q2 make it through to Q3 with the fastest driver in Q3 taking pole position for the race on Sunday.
Q3 was an extremely close session, with the fastest three drivers being separated by less than 0.1 seconds. It was Lewis Hamilton – who both Shae and I were cheering for – who took pole position.
Shortly after qualifying ended, a Formula 4 race began. We caught the very beginning of the race, but didn’t stick around to watch it all.
We headed back to our car for a little while, but headed back inside shortly after. That’s because our tickets included two concerts that weekend.
Saturday night’s concert was Bruno Mars which I was actually excited about. Pop’s not my favorite music style, but I loved his halftime show at the 2014 Super Bowl as it was so high-energy.
Unfortunately he dialed that energy down to about 3 for his performance this past weekend. It started OK for the first couple of songs, but then slowed down and he seemed more interested in having the crowd want to sleep with him than putting on the show I’d hoped for.
It didn’t seem to be only us who felt that way as a heavy flow of people left with us after about 30 minutes of his show. We also heard several people the following day say that his performance was a letdown.
US Grand Prix – Sunday
The following morning we headed to Circuit of the Americas in what we thought would be plenty of time for the US Grand Prix.
We were wrong.
Thankfully our timing wasn’t disastrously wrong. We hit far more traffic than expected and lines didn’t move for what seemed like the longest time. A lot of people were parking along the roadside, as well as people’s front yards who were charging $20-$25 per car to make a little money.
Minutes ticked by and it was starting to look like we were going to miss the start of the race at 1:10pm.
We eventually got inside and from there it was a surprisingly quick drive to our parking lot. Walking as fast as possible, we reached our seats just before the national anthem and air display began.
the race began shortly after that. It didn’t start too well for Lewis Hamilton as Kimi Raikkonen overtook him heading into the first corner.
Things went even worse for Sebastian Vettel who was the only person left challenging Hamilton for the Formula 1 World Championship. He car connected with Daniel Ricciardo’s at Turn 13 and he dropped from 4th to 15th.
The race calmed down after the first few laps, so Shae went off to grab us some lunch. A Four Brothers food truck was close by which served Venezuelan food and was fairly tasty.
I’d done some research before booking our tickets and had read that Turn 12 was a great overtaking spot. That proved to be true and we saw plenty of overtaking maneuvers, but I sadly didn’t catch any on video.
There were several laps where Hamilton came incredibly close to overtaking Raikkonen for the lead, one of which I did catch.
The rest of the race was incredibly exciting, especially the last five laps or so. The Grand Prix finished with less than three seconds separating the top three drivers, with Hamilton almost overtaking Max Verstappen for second place with a couple of laps to go.
Despite Hamilton not winning the race – nor wrapping up the Championship – it was a pretty good result for him as he extended his lead over Vettel and it’s almost a formality that he’ll win the Championship in the next race or two.
It was also nice to see Kimi Raikkonen win – his first win for more than 5.5 years and likely the last win of his career as he’s leaving Ferrari at the end of the season and will be in a much slower car next year.
Once the race was over, a lot of people left immediately.
Shae and I stuck around though as Sunday night had the second of two concerts included with our F1 tickets. Saturday night was Bruno Mars, while Sunday night was Britney Spears.
Britney’s concert started off well and was performed with the energy we’d been hoping to get from Bruno Mars the previous night. It got a little boring after a few songs though for a couple of reasons.
First of all, Britney doesn’t sing live. Shae heard a couple of people chatting who were amazed that she could sing and dance at the same time, but she actually lip-synced the entire performance. For me, lip-syncing at a concert is a cardinal sin – if I wanted to listen to your recorded voice, I’d listen to your recorded voice.
Her choreography also became tedious after a few songs. The energy she expended was impressive, but the flailing arm dance routines ended up looking the same after a while.
We stuck around for about 45 minutes but decided to beat the concert traffic and left early. Similar to the Bruno Mars concert, hundreds of others seemed to have the same idea.
Final Thoughts
We had a great time at the 2018 Formula 1 US Grand Prix. It didn’t feel like we missed anything by not attending the first day, while there was a close qualifying session on the Saturday.
Sunday’s Grand Prix was amazing and was one of the most exciting races in years. We’d hoped to see Lewis Hamilton clinch the Championship in person, but alas – that wasn’t to be. We’ll just have to watch that on TV next week at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Tips For The US Grand Prix
Based on our experiences over the weekend, here are some tips if you’re planning on attending the US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in the future.
1) Get Tickets For Turn 12
Our tickets weren’t the cheapest available, but they certainly weren’t the most expensive either. If you want to catch as much action as possible on race day, the bleacher seating at Turn 12 is probably the best location.
The most overtaking during the race seemed to take place at Turn 12 as there’s a long straight where cars build up speed before slowing down quickly for its sharp left-hander. The cars continue to battle for places through Turns 13-18, all of which you can see from Turn 12 seats.
You can also see Turns 1 and 2 and several other sections of the track. I’m therefore glad we sat there rather than in more expensive seats in the Grandstand.
There were also large screens in front so we could keep tabs on what was happening elsewhere on the track.
2) Pay For Parking
Parking is expensive. As in $150 for three days expensive. It pained me to pay that much, but it ended up being a worthwhile investment.
The alternatives weren’t great. We could’ve caught an Uber, but I dread to think how expensive it’d be with surge pricing. We could’ve parked in people’s yards for $20-$25, but that would’ve involved a lengthy walk to the track. Shuttle buses were available from downtown Austin, but that would’ve involved expensive hotel stays or paying for parking each day there and having much longer days.
3) Arrive Early
We almost missed the start of the race despite leaving in what we thought was plenty of time. Expect long lines and head to the Grand Prix several hours early.
4) Don’t Get Food Or Drinks Just Before The Race
Lines for food and drinks were insanely long when we arrived on Sunday afternoon. We weren’t too hungry or thirsty and so waited until during the race. It didn’t take Shae long to get our food as lines at that point were virtually non-existent.
That’s obviously not ideal if you’re all wanting to catch every second, but it someone in your group doesn’t mind missing a few minutes of action, that’s your best option.
5) Do Activities On Friday
We’re not good examples of this seeing as we didn’t even show up on Friday. However, if the weather’s better when you attend, Friday would be a good opportunity to explore everything around Circuit of the Americas.
Everything’s much less busy, so you can take part in things like the pit stop and reaction challenge experiences without much of a line. If you wait to do that on Saturday or Sunday, you could be waiting a long time.
6) Wear Good Footwear If It Rains
I live as much of my life as possible in flip-flops, but that wasn’t an option last weekend. The rain meant it was extremely muddy – so much so that Shae wore hiking boots on Sunday. With thousands of people trampling the ground, you’ll want to have something good on your feet.
7) Be Prepared To Walk
Circuit of the Americas is much bigger than I anticipated, so be prepared to walk. A lot.
We were in Parking Lot F which – in theory – was close to our seats at Turn 12. In reality, the entrance is much further up, so it took at least 30 minutes to get from the car to our seats.
If you want to explore the circuit, you’re looking at many miles of walking, along with a lot of stair climbing. On the positive side, it means you’ll work off all the food truck food you’ll be eating 😉
Question
If you’ve attended the US Grand Prix in the past, what tips and tricks do you have? Let us know in the comments below.
Thank you for this. My husband is really into Formula 1 and we are planning to attend in 2020. I can’t tell you how helpful this was for me to start wrapping my head around planning :).
Great, I’m glad it was helpful. Hope you both have an amazing time there next year 🙂
Hi!!! What time its better to arrive? How many hours before? I have GA tickets for this year
It’s best to arrive as early as you possibly can on race day. There were long lines to get in, plus there are other races you can watch beforehand. Have a great time!