F1 at Circuit of the Americas

[miataspeedracer]

For those of you that aren't here, an FYI: it's AMAZING!!

[bnordin]

Agree completely and the weather has been perfect.

[modernbeat]

Parked at the top of turn one. Couldn't ask for better conditions.

[Sharpie]

There will be more races. Sounds like the traffic isn't as much of a nightmare as I thought it would be.

[modernbeat]

Traffic was bad, but for most people the wait for buses to the remote parking lots was horrible. 2+ hour waits to get on the bus. We walked out of Turn 1 two minutes after the finish. Turn one was the closest to Gate 1 which was closest to the Lot-Q bus pickup. For us it was only about a ten minute wait. By the time we were seated the line had grown to 1000s of people long and was getting worse. I'm familiar with ALL the back roads in the area, the rally shop is just a few miles away, so were were able to dodge the heavy traffic immediately around the track and went south. In that direction traffic thinned out pretty quick, but was still heavier than I've ever seen it on those roads.

Waits for food and drinks were bad. Waits for COTA F1 souvenirs was horrid. Worst organization I've ever seen.

[Rogue]

Maybe they will be better prepared by V8 Supercars........except for Austin traffic. No such luck there.

[motorollow]

They should have the track paid for in no time at all for what they charge for a COTA t-shirt. On-line they are $32 & $42 each.

[jrj512]

It seems to be common for the first event at large new venues, such as TMS and Jerry World. I bet it will be much better next year.

[bnordin]

I parked in H and it only took me 15 minutes to reach the loop heading North at 80 MPH after the race was over on Sunday. So much better than I expected.

[bnordin]

And you had to wait in line for 30 minutes to get the privilege of giving them your money. People were spending money like it had no value. Maybe they were right!

[miataspeedracer]

Facility is amazing. Traffic was not as bad as expected. The only real hassle for us was getting out on Sunday. Got on the bus to lot Q within 15 minutes, but took almost another 45 minutes to get out of the lot and over to our remote lot. Other than that, no big deal.
Line for food and beer were long, but no worse than most large, crowded concerts or events. I DO agree that by far the worst experience was the lines for COTA merch. I got in line twice and gave up after moving 5 feet in 20 minutes.

But, we learned a lot that will make next years race even more enjoyable.

[CosmosMpower]

I had a good time bought the 30 dollar airport parking and that was well worth it. Walked by a 1/4 mile of people waiting for the two main shuttles and got right on my bus. Bought my cota stuff at the cota fan fest booth in 15 mins. Sat at turns 1, 12, 20 and views were good from everywhere.

The only main problems were the long food lines and traffic walking across the bridges to get around the track.

[SirHustlerEsq]

F1's "medical inspection" prior to each race:
http://youtu.be/Y8084nyZUEE

[SirHustlerEsq]

I love the insanity in this vid:
http://youtu.be/dlo0FkNo8lc

[Nails]

I love the insanity in this vid:
http://youtu.be/dlo0FkNo8lc

It's private.

[Majik]

I have to disagree that the organization was horrible. Was it perfect no? But for the size of the event and the first time it happened I was pretty pleased. Depending on the food you chose to eat the wait was long, but there were a ton of the COTA stands that had regular hot dogs and stuff that had a very short line. The food trucks were getting killed. As for the parking the buses were set up pretty well for the amount of people, you can only load buses so fast so there is going to be a wait. The best plan for next year would be to have a race after the F1 race. Give some people a reason to stay and let most leave. I had a great time and never felt like things were in disarray. Even waiting for the buses we were having a great time talking about the race and F1 in general.

[SirHustlerEsq]

There will be more races. Sounds like the traffic isn't as much of a nightmare as I thought it would be.

It probably would have been better if the police were working, rather than parking their cars next to each other and collecting overtime pay.

[MoonieGT]

We magically avoided traffic all days except leaving the track Friday afternoon. I suspect that had to do more with rush hour than the track.

Concessions were horribly slow. Unexplainably, unacceptably slow. I was able to get my son a toy car from one of the booths behind the main grandstands during the Ferrari Challenge race on Sunday with no fuss, but other than that getting food or drink was a nightmare.

The track is fantasmagorically great. Can't wait to drive it someday.

Seating tips: unless you need a physical seat in the stands, you'll do just fine with a folding chair on one of the many (and awesome) lawn areas around the track. We were in the Turn 1 grand stand, and the view from there was awesome. I think I'd try out the Turn 12 grand stand (preferably towards the end of the back straight. Should be some good racing to watch there.

[MoonieGT]

View from our seats at Turn 1:

[MoonieGT]

Might as well go for three in a row...

Who broadcasts F1 coverage? Is there a way to watch online? I think speed used to, but doesn't anymore?