With the start of the 2022 Formula 1 (F1) season underway it is the perfect time to share our experience attending the F1 United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the America’s (COTA) Austin, TX in 2021. This was our first F1 race and we had an absolute blast! A lot goes into attending a F1 race weekend. It is not like going to a stadium size concert for the night or attending a NFL game, it is truly a league of its own. According to the FIA, the 2021 F1 race at COTA saw over 400,000 fans throughout the weekend event, breaking records for the venue, the state of Texas, and the biggest attendance for a Formula 1 race, ever. There has been an insane growth of interest in F1 since Netflix’s ‘Drive to Survive’ – it truly was a massive event. So, here is to F1 in Austin – knowing before you go!
PURCHASING THE TICKETS
Okay. This one was a doozy. Now we know what to do but wow was it something else. Well before tickets went on sell we went onto the official Formula 1 website and requested an e-mail when tickets were going to be released. We kept an eye out and when the much anticipated email finally hit our inbox it was game on. The 3-day grandstand tickets were going left and right. It was crazy but something I have seen with other events. We were trying to purchase upper Turn 15 (seat backs, cup holders, numbered seating, and a big screen). However, we ended up with upper Turn 19 bleachers (bleacher style, numbered seating, and big screen). Something we did not realize was a must and completely messed up: YES. Buy the expensive parking pass WHEN you purchase your tickets. We waited and ended up with lot Q… never. ever. again.
General admission tickets gives you access to the venue and there are so many areas to claim your spot and watch the race. You can buy 1 day general admission tickets, which is much more affordable to be able to go at least one day, but I would highly recommend getting the 3 day pass as you get to see so much and really experience the F1 weekend. With grandstand tickets you do want to bring a blanket or lawn chairs to claim your spot and have a space to sit.
Besides grandstand, bleacher, and general admission there are the ‘experiences’, paddock club, cota club and more which come with all kinds of perks.
To give you an idea, for the race in Austin this year (2022) 3 day tickets:
- General Admission $415
- Turn 19 $465
- Turn 4 $915
- Experiences $2,000+
- Paddock Club = thousands of dollars, at the time of this post the accurate ticket price for paddock club was unavailable
- * many grandstands sold out the day tickets were released so I do not have accurate pricing for those
PRACTICE | DAY 1
Normally I want to take little man to anything we do and there were plenty of families with young children at COTA. However, we felt he was too young (12mo) and would have more fun with his cousins. Due to work and last minute plans of bringing baby boy to Austin we were not able to get to Austin until Friday evening which means we missed out on practice. We gave our Friday tickets to family who live in the area. They did tell us that practice is so relaxed for spectators. They were able to go over to other bleachers and grandstands throughout the day and had an overall amazing experience. One of my cousins did stay behind to enjoy the Twenty One Pilots concert and the only downside was how long it took to get back to the car and back home.
QUALIFYING | DAY 2
Finally, we were headed to COTA! Getting there was a breeze and we even thought the shuttle was great from lot Q to being dropped right at the front entrance of the track. Getting through security was similar to any other venue and then we started to take it all in! First things first, we grabbed some beer and spent, in my opinion, way to much money on official Ferrari merchandise. Then we headed towards our seats in the upper section of Turn 19. Once we got there we quickly realized how amazing our seats were! We were able to see the very end of the start, Turn 1, the straight coming off Turn 18, all of Turn 19, and most of Turn 20. We got there just in time to catch Practice 3 and all of Qualifying. It was amazing seeing the cars for the first time and taking in the atmosphere of a Formula 1 race, Texas style.
Unfortunately we were not able to stay for the Billy Joel concert after qualifying. We had to head back to pick up baby boy. This is where disaster set in. The line for the bus back to lot Q was brutal. There was no way we were going to make it back to pick up baby boy in time. So, we started to walk the 4 mile walk back to the car. Christian semi-jokingly said he could run to the car and pick us up… He trained for an Iron-Man and used to run all the time so he figured no big deal. We continued to walk while Christian ran to the car. Let’s just say most people probably will not be willing to do that after a long day of drinking and doing a lot of walking already. We barely made it back in time to get baby boy down for bed. It ended up working out but it was a close call and it is safe to say we were all very, very over lot Q by the end of the day.
THE RACE | DAY 3
We had been waiting for this day for MONTHS, ever since we bought the tickets in April. After breakfast we headed straight to COTA and might have popped a bottle of champagne in the car for mimosas on the way! *the driver was not drinking, obviously* We have a tradition of mimosa Sunday on every race day – we get together at our house or Helon’s parent’s to watch the race, eat some brunch, and sip on mimosas.
The traffic wasn’t great, but it wasn’t totally awful either so getting to the overall vicinity was not too bad. As I mentioned earlier, we were DONE with lot Q. We had seen the previous day people selling parking on their property directly across the street from the entrance. Not going to lie, before we got there we tried bribing the attendant in lot B to let us park there, it didn’t work. So onto our original idea. Christian did have to do some aggressive driving to make it work, but we ended up spending $50 to park in a huge private lot across the street from the COTA entrance. Best $50 ever spent.
We got through security and into COTA right on time to grab drinks, take pictures, and slowly head to our seats before the driver’s parade. This is where all the drivers are on a trailer of sorts and driven around the track while being interviewed before the race. Fans also get to see the drivers which is pretty cool. After the parade basically everyone and their mom swarmed to grab food and drinks before the national anthem, red bull planes doing their tricks, and the start of the race. Not to sound like an alcoholic or anything… but you don’t want to miss anything once the race starts, so we divided and conquered. Each of us got as many beers or margaritas as they would serve one person so we were all stocked up for the race. And it wasn’t just us, everyone around us was doing the same thing.
We all got back to our seats in time and before we knew it – LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE GO!!! It was wild! And yes, we got to see Verstappen beat Hamilton. Let’s just say the mostly US crowd was STOKED. It was a great race and we had the best time.
Right after the race we slowly made our way back to our car and then even more slowly made our way out of the grass parking lot. We have never seen anything like this… it took two hours to get out of the parking lot. The traffic was insane. However, we were very happy to be sitting comfortable in our car for all that time rather than standing in an enormous line in the Texas heat waiting on a bus to drive us 4 miles.
WHAT TO DO | PUTTING IT SIMPLY
- Put yourself on the Formula 1 e-mail list to know when tickets are released
- Do some research to find out where you want to sit so you are not overwhelmed by choices when you go to buy your tickets
- Buy your 3 day pass AND parking pass the day tickets are released. I would recommend Lots A, B, or D just from what I saw while there. You can reliably buy your tickets through a few different sites
- Pre-pick 2 or 3 sites to be logged into, profile created and everything when tickets are released. If for example Turn 15 disappears on one site, it might still be available on another
- Once your tickets & parking pass are purchased, book a hotel room. DO. NOT. WAIT.
- Count on the traffic to be rough so make sure you have plenty of gas to/from COTA and give yourself plenty of time to get there. There are all kinds of activities surrounding the track, you will not get bored if you get there early.
- If you can buy the hats and t-shirts prior to the event it might be cheaper as many of the official team websites have discounts.
- COTA is hot and exposed. Pack plenty of sunscreen, sunglasses, and a hat
- This one might be the mom in me but I am being so serious – pack a cooler in your trunk full of water and snacks. This is for post race when you are sitting in traffic for hours on end. Trust me, you’ll thank me.
Thankfully, Formula 1 at COTA is probably the most accessible race of all the races. I looked at the Miami race when the tickets were released and all I thought was holy moly… while I also heard the Miami race is being tagged the “Monaco of the USA races”. Hopefully one day we can make it to the Miami race, but it might be a while! For now, we will continue enjoying the race in ATX.
All the love,
