F1 returned to the United States in 2012 with a new permanent home and with Lewis Hamilton chasing Sebastian Vettel around a circuit nobody had raced before.
Hamilton won that first United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) by 0.675 seconds. Thirteen years later, Austin has staged title celebrations, Ferrari one-twos, post-race disqualifications and a run of Max Verstappen victories.
COTA has hosted the race every year since 2012 apart from 2020, when the event was cancelled during the Covid-19 pandemic. Hamilton remains its most successful driver with five victories, one ahead of Verstappen.
Here is how the United States Grand Prix at Austin has developed since F1 arrived in Texas.
2012: Hamilton wins Austin’s first F1 race
Sebastian Vettel started the inaugural race from pole with his third world championship still to secure, but Hamilton stayed close enough to challenge the Red Bull.
The McLaren driver passed Vettel before winning by just 0.675 seconds, with Fernando Alonso third to keep the title fight alive until the Brazilian finale.
It proved to be Hamilton’s final victory for McLaren before his move to Mercedes for 2013.
2013-17: Vettel wins before Hamilton takes control
Vettel returned in 2013 and won from pole as Red Bull completed the final stages of its dominant V8 era.
From there, Austin became Hamilton territory. He passed Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg to win in 2014 before returning a year later with the world championship within reach.
Heavy rain disrupted the entire 2015 weekend and forced qualifying into Sunday morning. The race brought two Safety Cars and two Virtual Safety Cars before Hamilton passed Rosberg on lap 49 and won ahead of his team-mate and Vettel.
That gave Hamilton his third world championship with three races remaining.
He won at COTA again in 2016 and 2017, taking his Austin tally to five victories from the circuit’s first six Grands Prix. Mercedes also secured the constructors’ championship there in 2017.
2018: Räikkönen ends five-year wait
Kimi Räikkönen stopped Hamilton’s run in 2018 with what became the final victory of his Formula 1 career.
The Ferrari driver beat Hamilton at the start and held his position through a race shaped by different strategies. Verstappen recovered from 18th on the grid to finish second, with Hamilton third.
It was Räikkönen’s first win since the 2013 Australian Grand Prix. Hamilton had arrived with a chance to clinch the championship but instead had to wait until Mexico.
2019: Bottas wins as Hamilton takes sixth title
Valtteri Bottas started from pole and won in 2019, but his Mercedes team-mate had the bigger prize.
Hamilton made a one-stop strategy work to finish second ahead of Verstappen, enough to secure his sixth world championship and third in succession.
Austin had now hosted two of Hamilton’s title celebrations, four years apart.
2020: No United States Grand Prix
COTA did not host a race in 2020 after the United States Grand Prix was cancelled during the Covid-19 pandemic.
F1 returned to Austin the following year with Hamilton and Verstappen fighting for the championship.
2021: Verstappen holds off Hamilton
Hamilton beat polesitter Verstappen into Turn 1, but Red Bull went aggressive with its strategy and brought the Dutchman in early.
Mercedes kept Hamilton out longer, giving him fresher tyres for the closing laps. He closed on Verstappen but could not get close enough to pass, finishing 1.333 seconds behind.
Verstappen left Texas 12 points ahead in the championship with five races remaining.
2022: Verstappen recovers from slow pit stop
A slow Red Bull pit stop complicated Verstappen’s race a year later and dropped him behind Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
He recovered before catching Hamilton in the closing stages, passing the Mercedes with six laps remaining and going on to win. Leclerc finished third.
Red Bull also secured its first constructors’ championship since 2013 on a weekend overshadowed by the death of company co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz.
2023: Verstappen wins before two disqualifications
Verstappen had to start sixth after losing a qualifying lap for exceeding track limits, but worked his way through the field to take his third consecutive Austin victory and the 50th Grand Prix win of his career.
The classification changed several hours later. Hamilton had finished second and Leclerc sixth, but both were disqualified after excessive plank wear was discovered during post-race inspections.
Lando Norris was promoted to second and Carlos Sainz to third.
2024: Leclerc leads Ferrari one-two
Ferrari ended Verstappen’s winning run in 2024.
Leclerc started fourth but emerged from Turn 1 in the lead as Norris and Verstappen fought alongside him. He stayed there and headed Sainz home for a Ferrari one-two.
Norris and Verstappen continued their battle later in the race. Norris passed the Red Bull off the circuit and received a five-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage, dropping him behind Verstappen in the final classification.
2025: Verstappen returns to the top
Verstappen responded in 2025 by winning both the Sprint and Grand Prix.
After taking pole, he controlled Sunday’s race and finished 7.959 seconds ahead of Norris. Leclerc completed the podium for Ferrari, with Hamilton fourth.
It was Verstappen’s fourth United States Grand Prix victory at COTA, leaving him one behind Hamilton’s record.
Who has won the most F1 races at Austin?
Hamilton remains COTA’s most successful F1 driver entering the 2026 race, although Verstappen has won four of the past five Grands Prix at the circuit.
| Driver | Austin wins | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Lewis Hamilton | 5 | 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 |
| Max Verstappen | 4 | 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 1 | 2013 |
| Kimi Räikkönen | 1 | 2018 |
| Valtteri Bottas | 1 | 2019 |
| Charles Leclerc | 1 | 2024 |
Hamilton’s first Austin victory came for McLaren before he won the next four with Mercedes. Verstappen’s four have all come with Red Bull, with Leclerc’s 2024 win the only interruption since 2021.
Every United States GP winner at COTA
| Year | Winner | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren |
| 2013 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull |
| 2014 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes |
| 2015 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes |
| 2016 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes |
| 2017 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes |
| 2018 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari |
| 2019 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes |
| 2020 | No race | — |
| 2021 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
| 2022 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
| 2023 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
| 2024 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari |
| 2025 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
Six drivers and four constructors have won the United States Grand Prix since it moved to Austin.
How Austin became F1’s American home
COTA was America’s first purpose-built Formula 1 circuit and brought the championship back to the country five years after the final United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis.
The 5.513km circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke in collaboration with American architectural firm HKS and opened in 2012. Its 20 corners include the steep climb into Turn 1 and the rapid changes of direction through Turns 3-6.
Austin has since been joined by Miami and Las Vegas on the F1 calendar, but COTA remains the longest-serving of the current American venues.
Its future is secure until at least 2034 after Formula 1 agreed a contract extension last year. The deal will take Austin beyond two decades as a world championship venue.
The 2026 race brings another championship storyline. Kimi Antonelli arrives with his first opportunity to secure the world title, while Verstappen can move level with Hamilton’s COTA record by winning for a fifth time.
Our United States Grand Prix race-week guide has the championship picture, circuit guide and UK start times, with every remaining round also listed in the 2026 F1 schedule.
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