F1 News: US Grand Prix Track (COTA) repaved yet again for 2024

With Formula 1 heading to the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) for the United States Grand Prix in Austin, the track is being resurfaced for the umpteenth time.

Authorities aim to eliminate undulations from the track that affected the F1 cars just about every year.

The Problem

Clay-like soil surrounds the track, and even roads to/from the track suffer from undulations. It is a problem that is not likely to go away anytime soon.

Resurfacing was done in 2020, 2021, and the entire track in 2022, but when F1 arrived in Texas in 2022, the cars visibly bounced during Friday’s practice. And a year later, the bumpiness remained, though it’s not discussed publicly as much as it used to be.

“It’s very bumpy here,” Sunday’s provisional pole sitter Charles Leclerc said last year. “And the car definitely felt good on bumps today, which gives you quite a bit of confidence to push through at high speed, which normally is our weakness, but maybe because our car was good on those bumps. We could at least match the others, and then our car was strong at medium and low speeds.”

In the 2023 round at COTA, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified after finishing 2nd and 3rd due to irregularities in the planks, which failed to meet the specified thickness as per the regulations. Mercedes and Ferrari attributed the issue to the sprint format and the track’s undulations. In response, the circuit’s management has decided to resurface the track ahead of the upcoming Formula 1 United States GP.