Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race Results

COTA confirms United States Grand Prix will go ahead

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The United States Grand Prix will go ahead as planned at the Circuit of the Americas [COTA] this year, the race organisers have announced.

The race's slot on this year's calendar was marked as subject to agreement with the promoter due to financial concerns, with COTA's funding being cut by the State of Texas. However, the circuit has now announced it has secured the necessary funding to host the race, also announcing Taylor Swift as the headline act for the concert after qualifying on Saturday night.

“We are so happy to confirm F1’s return to COTA as well as Taylor Swift’s headline performance," COTA chairman Bobby Epstein said. "We can’t think of a better way to mark this important 5-year milestone for F1 in Austin.

"Since we first hosted this event in 2012, we have gained a lot of knowledge and insight that has allowed us to make significant annual improvements to the event that we are confident will continue to establish the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix as the standout race weekend on F1’s calendar.

"By combining the excitement of Formula 1, the fun of the festival, and a full concert by Taylor Swift, we ensure fans can enjoy the greatest sports and entertainment event of the year. We’re looking forward to welcoming visitors to Texas and the Circuit of The Americas, for what promises to be an amazing weekend.”

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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.