Words cannot adequately describe how I felt Tuesday seeing Circuit of The Americas for the first time. It is incredibly huge, ginormous and overwhelming. I was in awe. And I only saw part of it. So much to see, so little time.
It’s official. The keys to the track, so to speak, had been turned over. All was approved and FIA is in Go Mode.
Tagging along with BOB VARSHA and DAVID HOBBS, SPEED F1 broadcast commentators, was so much fun. They know everyone! I got to meet J.R RUSSELL, the COTA Construction Manager; HERMAN TILKE, track designer; CHRISTIAN HEPPEN, Vice President Tilke Engineering; and STEVE MATCHETT, the F1 engineer on the SPEED F1 team.
Preparation work is continuing at a feverish pace as things are made ready for not just the first F1 race at COTA, but the first race ever. Quite an undertaking.
One sees all kinds of things at a Formula One race, many high-tech and unusual things. The Ferrari Designated Smoking Area outside its garages struck my fancy. It was the only one I saw, and of course it was in Ferrari Red. It resembled a tiny bus stop shelter complete with ledge containing covered ash trays. Quelle moderne.