Usain Bolt to get F1 up to speed in Austin

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Eight-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt has been added to the all-star line-up for the United States Grand Prix this weekend.

The Jamaican sprinter will give the signal to get the cars underway on their formation lap on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, Bolt will also be driven round the 3.4-mile Circuit of the Americas track in a Mercedes-AMG road car. His chauffeur for the occasion with be three-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Bolt retired from competition earlier this year but remains a huge star in the US. His participation is part of a big push by promoters of the race.

As part of the pre-race build-up, drivers will receive individual one-by-one welcomes to the grid. Legendary boxing announcer Michael Buffer, famous for his call to get 'ready to rumble', will compere proceedings.

There will be a pre-race show on the grid with Stevie Wonder and the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders taking part. And on Saturday, fans will be able to enjoy an evening pop concert by Justin Timberlake.

Drivers to get 'ready to rumble' intro at Austin

"The USA is, without a doubt, the country where sports events are seen as entertainment that goes above and beyond the purely sporting contest," explained Formula 1 commercial director Sean Bratches.

He said that the events were just part of wider plans to create more entertainment value for fans. He said the aim was to build a party atmosphere around the racing.

"We continue to layer in new elements at each Grand Prix and this innovative driver presentation format seemingly was an appropriate addition for Austin.

"We want to do something that positions Formula 1 Grands Prix as breaking the boundaries, between sport and a show, thus becoming a unique event that, minute by minute is an unforgettable experience."

The expanded entertainment has resulted in a number of changes being made to the normal Formula 1 schedule for a race weekend. Qualifying will take place later than usual at 4pm local time (10pm BST).

Sunday's race start time is unchanged at 2pm (8pm BST). However cars will leave pit lane 15 minutes earlier than usual to make time for the driver introductions.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.