2022 Formula One United States Grand Prix

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2022 Formula One United States Grand Prix.jpg
Over 400,000 people are expected to attend the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas as Formula 1 returns to action for the US Grand Prix.

COTA's 20 corners over 5.5 kilometers will be the stage for the F1 drivers to do what they do best at this year's US Grand Prix.

With the drivers' and constructors' championships already decided, all but Max Verstappen and Red Bull will be battling to maintain or improve their position in the standings. The final rankings for drivers and constructors have yet to be solidified, and points are increasingly rare with just three races remaining after the US GP.

Last year's race was won by Verstappen, who edged out 2021 rival Lewis Hamilton, who himself has won the United State Grand Prix six times. Hamilton is still chasing his first victory of the season, and will likely end held to the first winless season of his career.


The fastest race lap at COTA belongs to Charles Leclerc, who set a time of 1:36.169 on lap 44 of the 2019 race. The 2022 season has been frustrating for Leclerc, who started the season with rapid pace and strong results, but quickly cooled off. He currently sits one point behind Sergio Perez in the drivers' standings.

After Austin, the field will finish out the season with races in Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

What are your predictions for the United States Grand Prix? Could Max Verstappen tie the single-season race wins record this weekend? Let us know in the comments below.

(Image credit: McLaren)​
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Mike Smith
Mike Smith
I have been obsessed with sim racing and racing games since the 1980's. My first taste of live auto racing was in 1988, and I couldn't get enough ever since. Lead writer for RaceDepartment, and owner of SimRacing604 and its YouTube channel. Favourite sims include Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2, Automobilista 2, DiRT Rally 2 - On Twitter as @simracing604

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Comments

BP
avenger82 said:
iRacing is currently running Mercedes W12 series at COTA and fastest guy did 1:31. This seems too fast in comparison to real laptimes. It’s weird since the W12 was supposed to be very realistic.
Click to expand...

Ah this old chestnut. So many reasons why this is possible:

1) A reminder that no sim is 100% realistic: Even the works team simulators aren't 100%. If they were, porpoising and various other unintended effects/lack of IRL performance wouldn't have happened because the sims would have detected it.

2) The 2022 car design is significantly different: the W12 and all V6 hybrids before it generated the bulk of downforce from above with various wings, winglets and design choices on the top side, this year's cars get downforce primarily from ground effect. This is significant because they can't be as aggressive on some corners/track limits to avoid destabilizing the floor i.e. suddenly removing a good chunk of downforce. In other words, comparing the 2021 sim car to the 2022 real car is pointless.

3) The 2022 tyres are significantly different: besides obvious tyre size difference, the formula of the compounds are more than likely not the same as 2021. Also, we don't know which 3 of the 5 compounds are used in iRacing. Another reason why you can't compare anything from 2022 to 2021 and expect parity.

4) The giga 2021 Merc engine: we all saw how powerful the 2021 engine was in its final form (last 4 races)...the 2021 USGP was 2 races before Hamilton got the big upgrade. The iRacing car is most likely modeling the performance of the final engine.

5) Track and weather conditions: F1TV shows track temp at roughly 35 C during Q3 in 2021. I drive the W12 regularly and sessions went from 33C to as low as 28C...based on that alone (not even talking about wind speed or how much/little rubber on track), I expect sim times to be faster.

6) Track limit variations: There are certain lines you can take in the sim that are faster, that wouldn't be used IRL because of either track limit differences, danger of damaging the car (either sim or IRL) or both.

7) Sim setup, environment and the fear factor: A sim driver can tweak wheel and pedal strength/resistence to whatever they want, regardless of realism. A sim driver could be driving in an AC room or in cool climates. Based on the many streamers I've seen that don't seem to sweat during a race lol, those first 2 are probably very true. Most importantly: A sim driver can throw the car into corners much harder/faster because there's no real danger...which usually equates to faster times vs. IRL.
 
J
Let Carlos Sainz's performance today be lesson 101 in how NOT to start a race from pole. Do not slow down unexpectedly with 18 cars behind you unless you want a bollockin innit.
 
THK84
Kingkoenig said:
OK! I'm sold! I will watch for sure. Great job! :D
Click to expand...

Hope you enjoyed! Not bad, not bad at all!

DOTD (also for me): Vettel
3 way team battle for the win.
MV vs LH again
MV vs CL again
Some chaos
Alonso airlines: Least carbon emission to take flight. Furthering the sports eco incentives.
Latifi skidding out over some Nutella. Not his fault. At least he didn't blame the car for a change
Overtakes on and off track
Another inevitable championship out of the way
 
Mr2it3881
As a Seb guy that was awesome and disgusting all in the same race! Sebs last lap had my heart skipping beats! haha Awesome drive Seb! He will be dearly missed :( By the way man is Stroll dangerous! Thats nothing new but he almost really hurt is new team mate.. Good luck Alonso, Stroll doesnt need mirrors, AM can save weight.
 
Last edited:
RichardHessels
BP said:
Ah this old chestnut. So many reasons why this is possible:

1) A reminder that no sim is 100% realistic: Even the works team simulators aren't 100%. If they were, porpoising and various other unintended effects/lack of IRL performance wouldn't have happened because the sims would have detected it.

2) The 2022 car design is significantly different: the W12 and all V6 hybrids before it generated the bulk of downforce from above with various wings, winglets and design choices on the top side, this year's cars get downforce primarily from ground effect. This is significant because they can't be as aggressive on some corners/track limits to avoid destabilizing the floor i.e. suddenly removing a good chunk of downforce. In other words, comparing the 2021 sim car to the 2022 real car is pointless.

3) The 2022 tyres are significantly different: besides obvious tyre size difference, the formula of the compounds are more than likely not the same as 2021. Also, we don't know which 3 of the 5 compounds are used in iRacing. Another reason why you can't compare anything from 2022 to 2021 and expect parity.

4) The giga 2021 Merc engine: we all saw how powerful the 2021 engine was in its final form (last 4 races)...the 2021 USGP was 2 races before Hamilton got the big upgrade. The iRacing car is most likely modeling the performance of the final engine.

5) Track and weather conditions: F1TV shows track temp at roughly 35 C during Q3 in 2021. I drive the W12 regularly and sessions went from 33C to as low as 28C...based on that alone (not even talking about wind speed or how much/little rubber on track), I expect sim times to be faster.

6) Track limit variations: There are certain lines you can take in the sim that are faster, that wouldn't be used IRL because of either track limit differences, danger of damaging the car (either sim or IRL) or both.

7) Sim setup, environment and the fear factor: A sim driver can tweak wheel and pedal strength/resistence to whatever they want, regardless of realism. A sim driver could be driving in an AC room or in cool climates. Based on the many streamers I've seen that don't seem to sweat during a race lol, those first 2 are probably very true. Most importantly: A sim driver can throw the car into corners much harder/faster because there's no real danger...which usually equates to faster times vs. IRL.
Click to expand...
8) You can't die making a mistake.
 
P
Max, Lewis, Nando and Seb showed today that they are world champions for a reason, great performances by all of them. Let's hope more young drivers can do the same in the near future, not good that 3 of the 4 drivers mentioned are over 35 years old, and one of them is retiring after the next 3 races.
 
Durge Driven
Brad, you must feel a bit sheepish fobbing off a F1 driver teamed with Schumacher and has won Lemans. :coffee:
 
Last edited:

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