2012 US GP - Circuit of the Americas

[Gerhard Berger]

The medium tire will be the tire of choice for the race and qualifying as the hard will have difficulty in getting up to temperature. I suspect it will be colder in Austin than in any other venue F1 has raced so far. One can only hope for a wet weather qualifying session to put Alonso on the front row, or maybe a race that starts wet and ends dry.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/4671654, looks pretty hot at the moment, that can't change too much in 2 weeks. It's going to be one of the hottest tracks I would imagine

http://www.myweather2.com/Motor-Racing/ ... spx?sday=7

This long range forecast suggest temperatures will not be that high, and there is a small chance of rain.

[PlatinumZealot]

THe surface will be oily I suspect. How will that affect the grip?

[Shrieker]

Medium and hard ? Isn't that... Too conservative ? One stoppers aren't very exciting

[Guisson]

The circuit will be tricky on Friday..The Lack of Grip can cause the track to be very slippery ..( just like India Last Year and Korea this year)
Based on Race results i'd say that this circuit is Red Bull - Ferrari suited ( high speed corners , good traction needed)
RBR is likely to clinch the WCC title there .
Now it's the moment of truth, neither Alonso nor Vettel can afford DNF of other issues ( penaltys) .
However it would have been better if Pirelli had choosen Hard and Soft instead of "Bridgestone tyres"..( Hard - Medium)
Looking forward to #Austin

[MarkedOne8]

I think soft-medium would be pretty much enough.It's the new surface which needs rubber on it.

[KATO]

Perez is expected to be the Home Driver here. Also Dependig on how abrasive the track is on the tires we might see some of the cars that are kinder on their tires have a slight edge given that no support races will take place this weekend.. You guys do realise one stop Drivers like the 2013 McLaren Drivers Button and Perez might stand out here if it turns out the tire choice was "conservative" but if not then it shouldn't matter but maybe......

[godlameroso]

The track is like most modern Tilke tracks, and the oily surface will only magnify the lack of abrasion, there might be graining issues however. Also it seems that the Ferrari and McLaren like the Medium tires, in fact there doesn't seem to be much difference between the cars on this compound. I stand by the statement the Hards will be ill suited to this track as it will be too cold. The correct tire choice for this track should be soft and medium. I hope for next year Pirelli reduces the amount of compounds, they only ones that should exist are the supersoft. soft, and medium compounds, and they should just be nominated as soft, medium, and hard. Especially if the tires will have wider operating windows.

[Nathan]

The extended two week forecast shows that there will be sprinkles/showers on Thursday, Friday and Sunday, and that it will be cool on Saturday and Sunday. Be wary though, it is a two week extended forecast and it could turn out to be warm/hot with no chance of rain at all.

http://www.timeanddate.com/weather/usa/austin/ext

[hairy_scotsman]

Turn one look extremely tricky. I think there is a very good chance of a majr turn one accident. Think qualifying pole will be very important.

Yeah, I think the aspect of turn 1 which complicates it the most is the way it flattens at the top just before turn-in. The car will "get light" toward the end of the braking zone, so judging braking and turn-in will be extremely critical and extremely difficult. I believe T1 will see many incidents, esp early on in the weekend.

[hairy_scotsman]

The extended two week forecast shows that there will be sprinkles/showers on Thursday, Friday and Sunday, and that it will be cool on Saturday and Sunday. Be wary though, it is a two week extended forecast and it could turn out to be warm/hot with no chance of rain at all.

http://www.timeanddate.com/weather/usa/austin/ext

Yep. Could be right, but 2-week forecasts are basically useless around here.

looks pretty hot at the moment, that can't change too much in 2 weeks. It's going to be one of the hottest tracks I would imagine

You would think so, but weather here is very volatile this time of year. It could stay hot or we could have a could front that puts high temperatures in the 50F range. Even colder. Right now it's a bit warmer than usual, but 10-11 days ago we had highs in the low 60s.

The average high temp for Nov18 is 70, with an avg low of 50. Record high is 86. Record low is 26. I'm hoping for average weather.

[hairy_scotsman]

Medium and hard ? Isn't that... Too conservative ? One stoppers aren't very exciting

Agree. I was disappointed with that choice. Can they reconsider?

[raymondu999]

To memory, tyre suppliers must give a week's notice at least on any changes to the tyre compounds. Other than that, they can change the compounds up to the week before.

[hairy_scotsman]

To memory, tyre suppliers must give a week's notice at least on any changes to the tyre compounds. Other than that, they can change the compounds up to the week before.

Thanks. Wasn't sure, but I thought I had seen changes leading up to a couple of GPs.

[raymondu999]

THe surface will be oily I suspect. How will that affect the grip?

Was the last layer laid down that recently? If so, graining could be an issue as traction is still low.

[SamH123]

ahh yeah sorry, I forgot some places can have weather that changes so much over a few weeks

That could be really interesting if it's only 12-14C! We could see some major issues with getting the tires warm enough maybe, it could suit Ferrari maybe