Title shake up in America?

Lotus reserve driver, Jerome D’Ambrosio, has had the honour of being the only current driver in Formula One to have had the opportunity to drive the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Watching him complete his flying laps, it is clear that the circuit, the latest to be designed by Hermann Tilke, will be a real test for the drivers and a real treat for the fans.

D'Ambrosio drives the circuit in Austin.

It appears to be a track of two halves with the first half possessing shades of Beckets and Maggots at Silverstone which will push the cars and drivers technically.  There is a mixture of low speed corners and corners taken at high speed.  The elevation into Turn One is awe inspiring, with the hill looming up in the distance as they power up the opening straight, up over the crest in second gear, then a long sweep down the hill.  Turn eleven down to twelve is a kilometre long straight driven at two hundred miles per hour with a slow speed corner at the end providing a great opportunity for overtaking.  The double right hander through the hairpin at Turns thirteen and fourteen provides more challenge for the drivers.

The Circuit of the Americas is new to all of the teams and drivers and will therefore mean they will be starting the race weekend on a more equal footing than we have seen in recent races.  The driver’s title is expected to be decided in Austin, but the element of the unknown, together with the challenge of the track could throw a serious spanner in the works.  Hopefully we will be treated to the unexpected resulting in a knife edge conclusion to the driver's title in Brazil.