A track inaugurated in 2010 and which in just a few racing seasons has become one of the most famous facilities in international motor racing.
The Circuit of The Americas – COTA, in Texas (USA), hosts the sixth round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship.
The American track, characterized by frequent changes in gradient, a total development of 5.513 kilometers and 20 curves, returns to welcome the world circus after the last appearance dating back to February 2020.
Ferrari’s history at COTA is closely linked both to competitions with GT cars, within the FIA WEC (six editions, with two victories and 13 podiums) and to the Formula 1 GPs, which saw Scuderia Ferrari collect 11 starts and one victory in Austin.
COTA’s appearance on the international racing scene dates back to 2010 when the American facility was inaugurated and began to stand out among the most popular circuits at an international level, in particular for the characteristics of the track which mixes curves of different radius and width and fast sections, such as the main straight which is over a kilometre long.
The 6 Hours of Austin, known as the Lone Star Le Mans, has been a round of the FIA WEC on six occasions, between 2013 and 2017 and in the 2019-20 season; during this period Ferrari has collected two victories, one in the LMGTE PRO class and one in AM, and 13 podiums.
The Maranello-based manufacturer achieved a success in LMGTE PRO with Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado (2017) in a race that also ended, in the same class, with third place for Davide Rigon and Sam Bird; both crews were at the wheel of the 488 GTEs of the AF Corse team.
In the same year, in LMGTE AM, Keita Sawa, Weng Sun Mok and Matt Griffin obtained a second place ahead of the other Ferrari shared by Miguel Molina, Thomas Flohr and Francesco Castellacci.
The first victory dates back to 2015 when Andrea Bertolini, together with Aleksey Basov and Victor Shaytar, brought the Ferrari 458 Italia to triumph in the LMGTE AM class.
Since the 2012 season, COTA has hosted the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix (with the exception of 2020 when the American race was not organised): Ferrari’s best placing in Texas dates back to 2018 when Kimi Räikkönen led the SF71H to success which in that season, driven by the Finn and Sebastian Vettel, obtained a total of six victories and as many pole positions as well as 18 podiums.
At COTA, Scuderia Ferrari recorded eight podiums overall, including third places for Charles Leclerc in the Sprint Race and for Carlos Sainz in the race, both in 2023.
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