Lights OutMediaCOTA is 5.513 km, or 3.4 miles, with 20 turns. It opened in 2012 and was designed by Hermann Tilke, a German civil engineer and former racecar driver. The race is 56 laps, and the idea behind the track is to borrow famous corners from other circuits.
Turn 1 is a 133-foot climb from the start line to a sharp left at the top. It’s the track’s main overtaking spot, and at the start of a race, it’s where the chaos happens. Once the cars are through it, the lap opens up. Turns 3 through 6 are a fast sequence of quick direction changes modeled on Silverstone’s famous Maggotts, Becketts and Chapel. For the drivers, throttle control here matters a LOT.
Next up are Turns 9 through 11, which were resurfaced for this year, so the grip there could change a lot from session to session. Turn 11 is a tight hairpin that starts a straight of about 1,016 m, or 0.63 miles. At the end of it is Turn 12, a left-hander where drivers brake from more than 300 km/h (186 mph) to around 100 km/h (62 mph). That’s where a twisty section starts that echoes Hockenheim’s stadium and runs through Turn 15. Turn 15 is a hard braking corner that is difficult to line up, and a bad line there can cost a driver positions. After that, Turns 16 to 18 are a multi-apex sequence modeled on Turn 8 at Istanbul Park.
Turn 19 is where track limits can cause trouble, and drivers have often been caught going past them. Turn 20 is the last corner, and it’s easy to lose traction on the exit onto the straight.
The lap record here is 1:36.169, set by Charles Leclerc in 2019. There were 91 overtakes in the 2024 race, and a pit stop here costs a little over 20 seconds. This is the first time the 2026 cars have been to Austin, and the race is Sunday at 4:00 pm ET.