Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a Grade 1[2] FIA-specification 3.426-mile (5.514 km) motor racing track and facilities located in Austin, Texas, United States.

In a news conference on July 27, 2010, Tavo Hellmund announced plans to build the track on about 890 acres (3.6 km2) of undeveloped land in southeastern Travis County.

The money was to be used to restore the land if the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) declined to allow the project to move forward because part of the site lies in a floodplain.

In January 2012, Travis County announced that Elroy Road—one of the two primary public access roads to the circuit—would receive an upgrade to handle the increased volume of incoming traffic, but not before the running of the 2012 race.

[21] The track was officially opened on October 21, with Mario Andretti running the ceremonial first laps in a Lotus 79, the car he drove when he became the last American to win the World Drivers' Championship in 1978.

[22] The Grand Plaza, Observation Structure, Tower Amphitheater, and Main Grandstand were designed by Austin-based architectural firm Miró Rivera Architects.

McCombs wished to call the site "Speed City",[23] but the owners originally anticipated selling the naming rights to various parts of the facility for $7 million.

[30] In November 2011, Bernie Ecclestone expressed what he called "minor" doubt over the future of the United States Grand Prix in Austin after "disagreements inside the [management] company".

[33] Bernie Ecclestone later issued an ultimatum to the owners and organizers: find a solution before the December 7 meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council or else risk being removed from the 2012 calendar.

On December 7, 2011, the World Motor Sport Council released the final calendar for the 2012 season, with the Circuit of the Americas retaining its November 18 date.

Further details revealed that the race investors, McCombs and Epstein, had reached a new arrangement with Ecclestone, with work on the circuit scheduled to resume immediately.

[36] Further details emerged, reporting that Hellmund was in the process of attempting to acquire Epstein's interest in the company, describing the condition of the circuit as of March 4 as "teetering".

[41] In April 2011, plans were unveiled by Tavo Hellmund of Full Throttle Productions and Kevin Schwantz of 3fourTexas for the circuit to host a round of the 2013 MotoGP World Championship, with the race to be known as the Texas Grand Prix.

[44] Schwantz then accused Sexton and the Circuit of the Americas of "undermining" him, deliberately blocking his attempts to establish a race in order to have the contract terminated and allowing them to negotiate a more-favourable arrangement with Dorna.

On February 11, 2020, (perhaps as a precursor of the season to come) the opening day of IndyCar Spring Training, cold temperatures and persistent showers severely limited track time for all competitors to slow installation laps and a few experimental runs on rain tires.

[54] On September 15, The Athletic has reported that NASCAR will return to the circuit for the 2022 season as Speedway Motorsports, the promoter of the race picked up the renewal on the contract.

[58] In an episode of Speed TV's Wind Tunnel program broadcast on August 22, 2010, Tavo Hellmund revealed that the circuit would be 3.426 miles (5.514 km) long and would be made up of twenty turns with an elevation change of 133 feet (41 m).

The design draws from several European Formula One circuits, including a recreation of Silverstone's Maggotts–Becketts–Chapel sequence, Hockenheim's arena bends, and a replica of Istanbul's Turn Eight.

They then take a downhill right-hander inspired by the Senna 'S' of Interlagos before climbing back up the side of the hill to navigate a series of fast sweepers modeled on Silverstone's Maggotts–Becketts–Chapel complex, which is turns 3-6 at COTA.

This corner takes them to the far end of the circuit and a hairpin at Turn 11 where the drivers then follow a 0.62-mile (1.00 km) straight back towards the pit and paddock area.

Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton both praised the circuit, suggesting that it would be considerably more difficult to learn than other recent additions to the Formula One calendar.

[63] Kamui Kobayashi however was less enthusiastic, claiming that he did not feel intimidated by the steep climb to the first corner as it was no different from Eau Rouge at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, and accusing the media of hyping it up without precedent.

[62] Bordered by the track on three sides, the Grand Plaza is a 20-acre (0.081 km2) space designed by Miró Rivera Architects of Austin, Texas that includes a large reflecting pool, lawn, and varying landscape zones.

[64] Circuit of the Americas features a 251-foot (77 m) observation tower designed by Miró Rivera Architects and built by Patriot Erectors as a landmark for the venue.

The structure of the tower consists of an elevator hoist-way surrounded by a double helix staircase of 419 stairs, both of which lead to an observation platform 230 feet (70 m) above ground level.

[65] In addition, a "veil" consisting of 18 bright red steel tubes runs nearly the full height of the tower, acting as a canopy for both the observation platform and the stage below.

The design of the observation tower was inspired by the visual imagery of sports cars and movement, and the red color was selected to mimic the streaks of lights trailing racecars at night.

[72] Above-ground construction on the grandstand began in March 2012, and the "topping out" occurred in June 2012 with completion in time for the inaugural United States Grand Prix.

The unofficial lap record is 1:32.029 set by Valtteri Bottas in a Mercedes AMG F1 W10 EQ Power+ during qualifying at the 2019 United States Grand Prix.