Embracing the Land of the Free for trip two of three this year, let’s highlight some memorable races from the past around Circuit of The Americas!

After a dreadfully three-week long hiatus from the top flight of motorsport, Formula 1 finally returns by kicking off a triple header in the United States. Starting in Austin, Texas for the United States Grand Prix, we’ve witnessed numerous exciting races and moments in recent years. Take 2017 as an example, when Max Verstappen overtook Kimi Räikkӧnen for the podium places off track in the last sector of the final lap, where he was handed a time penalty and lost his P3 slot.

While it’s disheartening to know that the Honey Badger won’t be in attendance for his honorary home race, it will still be an astonishing spectacle to see the fastest cars in the world go around the twisty turns of COTA. After all, it will mark Liam Lawson’s first showing in 2024, after replacing the injured Daniel Ricciardo for five races last year; only this time, he’s replacing the Australian until we end our season in Abu Dhabi. As the Kiwi prepares for his first outing back, let’s look back at past amazing Grands Prix around the 5.513km long circuit!

2023: Sargeant records his first (and only) point in his home race

Last year’s race was one to remember for the lone American driver Logan Sargeant, as he recorded his first – and only – point in Formula 1. After finishing the Grand Prix 12th on track, news broke out hours after the race that Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc – who finished second and sixth – were disqualified from the race, after it was discovered that the Mercedes and Ferrari car had excessive wear on their skid blocks, which made it ineligible for both drivers to be classified as it was out of the FIA technical regulations.

Because of this, all drivers who finished below the Monegasque driver went up two places (and those below Hamilton went up a spot), meaning that the Williams that finished 12th moved up to 10th, thus allowing Sargeant to record his first ever point in F1. However, this will mark the only bright spot of his short F1 career, as he would not be able to score more points in the following races up to his departure after the Dutch GP this year.

2021: Verstappen’s ‘classy’ performance extends tight title lead

During the enraging title fight between defending world champion Lewis Hamilton and aspiring contender Max Verstappen, the paddock entered the 2021 United States Grand Prix with tension in the air. As the Flying Dutchman held a six point lead over the Briton in the drivers’ championship heading into Texas, Verstappen claimed pole position by two tenths to Hamilton, further cementing himself ahead. Going up the hill in Turn 1 on Sunday however, the Briton claimed the lead instantly, and held it firmly for the first stint.

Under the blazing hot sun, tyres for all cars were degrading rapidly, and Red Bull made the call to pit Verstappen on Lap 11, prompting an undercut on the Mercedes. Hamilton reacted three laps later on Lap 14, ultimately coming out behind the championship leader, thus allowing themselves to get undercut by the former constructors' champions. The next pit stop came on Lap 29, with Verstappen switching from old to new Hard compound tyres. Hamilton maintained a 16.5s gap when Car #33 came in, only for that to drop by five seconds when the seven-time world champion switched tyres on Lap 37.

Appearing 8.8s behind his rival, it was now a fight to the finish for 19 laps. Despite the sheer pace of the RB16B, backmarkers became a hindrance for the race leader, as Hamilton creeped up to mere car lengths behind him with five laps to go. Even with a monstrously long DRS zone on the back straight as well as eight-lap fresher tyres, Verstappen kept his cool under pressure to claim victory, doubling his gap in the roaring title fight. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner commented on his winner’s drive, calling it ‘classy’. The Dutchman’s performance would carry on to that night in Abu Dhabi, where he would take his maiden title.

2015: Hamilton clinches third world championship

Early on in Mercedes' dominant run of the turbo-hybrid era, it was a tense battle between the Silver Arrows and the scarlet red car of Sebastian Vettel for the drivers’ championship. Heading into Austin, Lewis Hamilton had the chance to clinch the title if he outscored Vettel by 9 points and his teammate Nico Rosberg by 2. Running in treacherously wet conditions all weekend long, the race was expected to be slightly less wet, drying out in the latter stages of the Grand Prix.

Rosberg would take pole, with Hamilton right behind him. Vettel initially qualified 5th behind both Red Bull cars, however due to both Ferrari cars attaining new power units for the weekend, Vettel dropped to P13. Uphill towards Turn 1 – just as how he would do it six years later – Hamilton got the jump on Rosberg, not without pushing him off the track however. This caused Rosberg to lose momentum, as he then got overtaken by the Red Bulls and dropped to 4th.

With alternating tyre strategies and sheer pace from the German team, chaos and uncertainty filled the background with numerous safety cars, following incidents such as Marcus Ericcson in the Sauber stopping on the track and Daniil Kvyat going onto the grass at Turn 19 into the wall. The chequered flag would only see twelve cars crossing it. Ultimately, Hamilton sealed his third championship by claiming victory, with Rosberg second and Vettel recovering to finish P3. This would mark Hamilton’s first of two occasions where he won it all at COTA, doing it once again in 2019.

2024: Verstappen and Norris’ title fight enrages?

We can only hope that after an entertaining fight in the championship, between the three-time world champion and the fast Briton, will bring more thrilling action for the hardcore F1 fans that have been waiting for a competitive battle for so long, after seeing the Dutch driver dominate the past two seasons, winning 34 out of the 45 races in that span. As we countdown the final few days, the world can’t wait for not only Red Bull and McLaren to carry on their duel, but for Formula 1 to be back racing once again!