Being one of the lucky few permitted to walk down pit lane at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas before the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix delivers unimaginable thrills to motorsports fans.
Only the luckiest race partisans get to experience the bliss of Formula 1 track level - I can literally count on one hand the amount of times I've been fortunate enough to do it.
Formula 1 first came to Austin in 2012, and before the inaugural event that year, I physically ran alongside thousands of Austinites in the one-and-only Formula Run, which allowed residents to run a 5k-style race on the actual racing surface.
I remember standing on the start/finish line and gazing eastward towards the Texas-sized American flag and being in absolute awe of the steepness of Turn One's incline at COTA.
It has also been my privilege to watch the trophy presentation up-close-and-personal from track level during the Sunday post-race “fan invasion,” which is an experience I WILL NEVER FORGET and HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
There have always been rumors - but for its VIPs, COTA allows invited fans to walk down pit lane and interact with their favorite drivers and teams on the Thursday immediately prior to race weekend every year.
Not once have I been included in this Thursday super special activity - UNTIL NOW.
I received the following email explaining the particulars of the special event - the most important details being the free parking in lot A from 3pm onward and the actual track walk itself from 4-5pm.
Excited about the prospect of a new Austin, Texas F1 Experience, I parked at 3.15pm and headed from the Main Grandstand towards Turn One only to quickly encounter a lengthy line at the tunnel approaching the track entrance.
While many of the F&B vendors had not yet opened for the weekend, merchandise stores and the zip line were open for business.
Fans had come from all over the map - we were sandwiched between two couples who had traveled from Florida for the race for the very first time and also witnessed fans from locales as varied as Mexico and The United Kingdom.
At exactly 4pm, the queue began to slowly move.
There is no more bougie feeling than when one enters pit lane by the Paddock Club, where luxury cars flanked the entrance to the pristine F1 team garages.
The ten team garages in pit lane are in order of their standings in last year’s Constructors’ championship, meaning that last year’s champion Red Bull Racing was at the far end of the paddock.
Thursdays of Austin F1 race weekend are all about pit stop practice and preparations for Friday’s qualifying, and team pit crews were assembled at each garage.
We started at the Williams Racing garage and moved past AlphaTauri and Aston Martin.
TV cameras filmed actress and talk show host Drew Barrymore (under Team Principal Christian Horner’s supervision) changing the front right tires in the Red Bull Racing Area much to the assembled crowd’s delight.
At Ferrari, Charles Leclerc stepped out to wave to fans as his #16 car was used for practice.
Here is my popular TikTok with the pit stop practices from Ferrari, Haas and Red Bull.
Over at the Alpha Romeo garage, Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu greeted fans by signing autographs and taking selfies with fans.
I would estimate approximately 500-1,000 people attended the Thursday Pit Lane Walk this year, and I highly recommend checking it out if you are a racing fan.
If you are a F1 fan like me, read my review of the 2023 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, available on the Social Musings by Austin website here.
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