Video: first lap at Circuit of the Americas

It’s really on. The United States Grand Prix will indeed take place November 18 in Austin, Texas. Here’s in-car video of Mario Andretti in a Lotus 79 taking a ceremonial first lap of the brand new course. 

 

+   The driver: Mario Andretti, the last American F1 champion, 1969 Indy 500 and 1984 CART champion, and official ambassador to Circuit of the Americas.

+   The car: a historic Lotus 79, the ground-breaking ground-effect racer in which Andretti dominated the 1978 F1 season.

+   The course: Circuit of the Americas in suburban Austin, an all-new facility built for the express purpose of hosting an F1 event in the United States.

“It’s very green, as you could expect,” Andretti told Reuters. “You get offline a bit, it’s a bit slippery. But that’s normal for a new circuit. Overall, my impression is absolutely fantastic.” The video provides a decent first glimpse of the Hermann Tilke-designed, 3.427-mile circuit and the surrounding facility. Of course, we’ll get a more complete look on race weekend.

 

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6 thoughts on “Video: first lap at Circuit of the Americas

  1. A bigger crowd than at some GPs this year. I hope Mario got few laps in, it seemed the car was just starting to run clean at the end of the lap!

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