F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Austin speedtrap: Who is the fastest of them all?

Austin's Circuit of the Americas has more fast corners than Spa and more slow corners than the Hungaroring, a blend that somewhat compromises top speed numbers.

As a high downforce venue, car set-up puts the emphasis on slow-speed grip, specifically traction at corner exit, but COTA's two DRS zones along the two longest straights help to eliminate the extra drag at high speed.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel topped the speedtrap readings by a small margin, outpacing their Mercedes rivals by approximately 4 km/h.

Proof of the good health of Ferrari's power unit was further validated by Charles Leclerc who breezed through the speedtrap at a cool 321.7 km/h.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo enjoyed a decent qualifying session, clocking in fifth overall but the Aussie's deficit to his fellow frontrunners in terms of top speed was massive, over 17 km/h!

Team mate Max Verstappen's speed was obviously impacted by his early exit from the session following his speed bump-induced suspension failure.

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Sebastian Montoya steps up to Formula 2 with Prema

Sebastian Montoya, the 19-year-old son of former Formula 1 star Juan Pablo Montoya, is set…

15 hours ago

Sauber finds its ‘Northern Star’ under Binotto’s leadership

When former Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto took on the role of Chief Operating Officer…

16 hours ago

Leclerc hails a season ‘without missed opportunities' in 2024

Charles Leclerc concluded the 2024 F1 season with a sense of satisfaction, the Ferrari driver…

17 hours ago

Coulthard sounds alarm over FIA president’s rift with F1 drivers

Former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard has voiced his dismay at FIA president Mohammed Ben…

19 hours ago

The rapid rise and fall of Super Aguri in F1

Super Aguri's application to join Formula 1 became a reality on this day in 2005,…

20 hours ago

Ferrari's 2024 Season: Marked improvement and a fight to the finish

Ferrari roared back into contention in 2024 to deliver their strongest season in years, thanks…

21 hours ago