United States GP 2022: COTA amps up logistical provisions in anticipation of record number of attendees for F1 race
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United States Grand Prix
The stage seems to be all set for the United States Grand Prix, which will mark the first of the four remaining races of this current Formula 1 2022 season. Every year, the Circuit of the Americas, situated in Texas, sees a massive crowd gather for the US Grand Prix extravaganza. For many years, COTA has been the sole American circuit to host an F1 GP, but now, Miami has also entered the calendar, with a proposed Las Vegas Grand Prix all set to take place in 2023 as per the FIA schedule.
Despite all efforts of the FIA, the increasing number of Formula One races that are being held in America can hardly keep up with the huge popularity of the sport amongst the residents of the country. The Netflix series Drive to Survive accelerated the growth of the F1 fanbase in the US, even though the pinnacle of motorsports was previously viewed as a closed-off, elitist game reserved only for the rich societies of Europe.
Last year, the United States GP 2021 saw a record-setting crowd flock to the COTA grounds to watch the race. The unprecedented headcount led to several logistical problems as there were not enough provisions for all the members of the audience. Keeping that in mind, this year, the Circuit of the Americas is all-set to invite an even bigger crowd than last year with all facilities almost doubled to keep up with the large headcount.
COTA gets ready to greet over 400,000 guests during the United States GP weekend
The United States GP is scheduled to be held two years from now, and Bobby Epstein, CEO of the Circuit of the Americas, said they are expecting an even bigger crowd at the race than last year. He also revealed that it was previously decided that there will be limited tickets to reduce the crowd to avoid the congestion problems that arose last year. But then a change of plans set in, and now, the circuit is geared up to welcome a massive headcount, without any logistical issues.
As per the reports, a five-lane road leading to the racetrack has been added by the city of Austin to make sure traffic is not disrupted during the race weekend. According to Circuit of the Americas CEO Bobby Epstein, many more shuttle buses are being added (over 600 in place of 325) to help the commuters, and more grandstands are also being added to allow for seating against reservations. There will also be an expansive arrangement for food as Vienna-based Do & Co Aktiengesellschaft is taking up the duty to provide food.
.@COTA is roughly doubling the number of shuttle busses it'll have for fans who didn't buy parking (from 325 last year to more than 600) and increasing the number of food/drink kiosks around the venue to try to improve the logistical issues from @F1 2021. https://t.co/QNjkat0OUY
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) October 12, 2022
Overall, this looks to be an interesting situation for the Circuit of the Americas as it is being expected that the crowd will gather in heaps to check out the race. Now, it only remains to be seen if Max Verstappen maintains his winning streak and equals the record for the maximum number of GP wins in a single season by becoming victorious at the United States GP, or if Charles Leclerc manages to prevent him from achieving that feat.
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Riddhi Mondal
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