Over 100,000 F-1 fans and curious locals showed up on Sunday, November 18th, to witness the historic inaugural running of the Circuit of the Americas F-1 Grand Prix. The day started with a Porsche GT3 Cup race and a Ferrari 458 Challenge race in the morning. These support races were followed by the F-1 Drivers Parade, and finally the main event. Pole sitter, Sebastian Vettel held on to the lead through the first corner, with Lewis Hamilton dropping one place, to third, through the first few laps. Lewis quickly passed Mark Webber to regain second place and gradually chipped away at Vettel’s lead. After a round of pit stops, Hamilton closed the gap to Vettel and eventually got around him at the end of the long back straightaway and held on to capture his second win at a U.S. F-1 race.
With the numerous jumbo-size video screens placed around the track, race attendees could see everything TV viewers at home saw, plus the added benefit of seeing and hearing the unique F-1 cars in person. When up-shifting and down-shifting, these naturally aspirated V-8s make noises that, for some reason, are not be captured by broadcast TV; you have to see and hear these cars in-person to fully appreciate the raw “violence”.
This event is covered in 4 photo galleries: (1) Friday Practice-1 & Practice-2; (2) Saturday Practice-3, & Qualifying; (3) Downtown Austin Fan-Fest; and (4) Sunday – race day.
Gallery – 4: Sunday, Race Day
This event is covered in 4 photo galleries: (1) Friday Practice-1 & Practice-2; (2) Saturday Practice-3, & Qualifying; (3) Downtown Austin Fan-Fest; and (4) Sunday – race day.