Mercedes-AMG Petronas: 2019 United States GP Preview.

Toto Wolff Talks USA

 After we secured the Constructors' trophy in Japan, we said that we wanted to end this season in style and the race in Mexico was the first proof of that. It underlined how hungry this team still is - everyone keeps on pushing for the best possible result. It was the 100th victory for Mercedes-Benz in the F1 world championship - a great milestone in our motorsport tradition and an achievement that is testament to the skill and dedication of the many people who have contributed to our heritage.

The next race at the Circuit of the Americas is only a few days away and we're all looking forward to another fight on track. We have a decent track record in Austin; however, we had a difficult weekend in Texas last year as we struggled with tyre management. The W10 treats its tyres more gently than our 2018 car, so this should be less of an issue this year.

CotA has produced great racing with lots of overtaking, so we hope for another spectacular Sunday in Austin. The crowd is usually very enthusiastic and I'm sure we'll meet a lot of new fans thanks to the success of the F1 Netflix series in the US. It's great to see the growing TV audience numbers in the American market and we'll fight hard to make sure that this year's race will contribute to the increasing interest in our sport.

United States Grand Prix: Fact File

• The Circuit of the Americas has the joint-third most corners, with the Baku City Circuit, of any track on the calendar. There are 20 turns in total, split between eleven left-handers and nine right-handers.
• The high number of corners and changes in speed means that it is also one of the busiest laps on the calendar for gear changes, with around 52 per lap.
• The high-speed first sequence of corners at Austin see the drivers taking the first six corners at an average speed of over 260kph and makes this circuit one of the most sensitive to downforce.
• Circuit of the Americas is one of only five tracks on the 2019 calendar that run fully anti-clockwise (three of which make up the last rounds of the season).
• Many of the corners at the Circuit of the Americas were inspired by iconic turns from European tracks. These include the Turn 3-6 complex (similar to Silverstone's Maggots and Becketts), Turns 12-15 (Hockenheim's stadium section) and Turns 16-18 (inspired by Istanbul's Turn 8).
• Drivers experience 5.0G through Turn 6 at CotA, which is the joint-second highest of the season alongside Turn 9 (Copse) at Silverstone.
• The braking zone for T12 sees the drivers experience over 5.8G under braking and makes it one of the biggest of the season. This means that a driver weighing 70kg experiences forces of over 400kg under breaking.
• Turn 1 at Austin is the biggest single corner elevation change of the season, with the drivers climbing over 30m in little over 200m of track.
• Austin is one of the bumpiest circuits on the F1 calendar with several sections on the straight between T11-12 requiring surface grading to reduce the severity of the bumps.
• With 44 overtakes in 2017 and 31 in 2018, the Circuit of the Americas is one of the tracks most likely to see positions in the race decided by on-track overtakes.
• 10 different venues have hosted Formula One races in the United States, the most of any country.

PREVIEW PROVIDED BY: Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport