If you told me years ago that I would attend the F1 Austin Grand Prix for the first time last year, I would have straight up laughed in your face. I can’t even imagine a sporting event that I could be less interested in. Something about extremely loud cars driving in circles in extremely hot weather just did not sound appealing to me. Well, then came the Netflix television show, “Drive to Survive.”

The TV show was also something I was not interested in but it was one of those shows during the pandemic that just happened to be in the background. Slowly, I started getting invested in the drivers, the races, and of course, the drama. It also didn’t hurt that all of the drivers are extremely good-looking (lol). Either way, Netflix did an amazing job with the series. It has managed to turn something that has historically not been popular in the United States to now a cult following now. 

My friend and I have plans to go to the F1 Austin Grand Prix again this year and have already pre-booked our hotels for the F1 Las Vegas that’s happening in 2023. Since a lot of you might be going to your first race this year, I thought it would be helpful to make this guide since I was at a total loss on what to do. I’ll be splitting the guide up into three parts just because there’s so much ground to cover. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment down below!

 

What’s the Closest Airport to the F1 Austin Grand Prix?

If you are going to fly to Austin, the closest airport would be Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS). I wouldn’t recommend flying into any other airport since the racetrack (COTA) is only eight miles from AUS. It would be the easiest to fly in and out of but will probably be the most expensive. Flights during this time can skyrocket three to four times as much so make sure you take that into consideration.

 

What is the Weather in Austin Like?

You would think that late October would have cool autumn weather, but it was the exact opposite. Not sure if every year is like this, but my god, it was so hot and humid! Like in the high 90s, super sunny, and thick with humidity. If you have one of those water bottles with a fan at the nozzle, you should bring it. I was seriously sweating the whole day and my poor neck was sunburnt. Hopefully, this year’s USGP will have more forgiving weather.

 

What Tickets Should I Get?

Tickets for the F1 Austin Grand Prix can range from basic general admission to thousand-dollar private boxes. The type of tickets that you want will largely depend on the type of experience you’re looking for and how much money you have. Since last year was our first time and kind of a last-minute decision, all we could afford were the 3-Day General Admission tickets. To be honest, I had a great time with those tickets. A lot of people say not to even bother with the grandstand or bleacher tickets because most of the fun is walking around the raceway and getting to sit at different viewpoints. 

So, if you are tight on money, I highly recommend getting the 3-Day GA tickets. I would suggest walking around the whole track on the first day (practice day) so you get a sense of where the best spots to watch are. Once you’ve located your spots, then you’ll know exactly where you want to sit once Qualifying and Race Day comes. 

 

What Hotels Should You Stay At?

The race is held at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) racetrack. The racetrack is super close to AUS airport so any airport hotel will be a solid choice. We stayed at the Extended Stay America Premier Suites Austin Airport last time and thought it had a pretty decent location. It was 12 minutes away from COTA (without traffic) and around 15-20 minutes from Downtown Austin. 

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We contemplated for a bit if we should stay in Downtown Austin since we figured we would want to go out at night but ended up sticking to our Extended Stay hotel. We figured that it would be better traffic-wise to be closer to COTA. If you do end up staying in Downtown and don’t want to deal with the driving, COTA provides a shuttle service (for a fee) from different stops in Downtown. The 2022 bus information isn’t up yet, but you can read up on the 2021 offerings here.

 

What Times are the Races?

The F1 Austin Grand Prix lasts over three days from Friday-Sunday. The dates for 2022 have been confirmed for October 21-23. Friday will have your Practice 1 and Practice 2 races. Saturday will have Practice 3 and the Qualifying Race. Sunday will be the main Race Day. All times below are reflective of Austin’s local time.

October 21, 2022 (Friday)

• Practice 1: 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
• Practice 2: 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

October 22, 2022 (Saturday)

• Practice 3: 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
• Qualifying: 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

October 23, 2022 (Sunday)

• Race: 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

 

How Early Should You Get There?

Do not underestimate what time you should get there! There will definitely be traffic. Depending on where you are staying, I would figure out what time you want to get to the venue and add at least 1-1.5 hours to that, especially on Race Day. It’s better to get there early and relax than be late and stressed in the car/bus.

 

When Should I Buy F1 Merchandise?

If you are planning on buying merchandise, I highly suggest you get there the first day and as early as possible if you want to find the right size/item. We didn’t start looking until the Qualifying day and almost everything was sold out. Alternatively, if you want to prepare ahead of time and not deal with the merchandise booths, you can pre-order your items online and have them ready for the race. The good news is that if you buy right now, the F1 Store is having its mid-season sale with code F1SALE so it’s a win-win!

Photo Courtesy: https://f1store4.formula1.com/en/

 

Complete Beginner’s Guide to F1 Austin Grand Prix (Part 2) Coming Soon…