Excitement builds surrounding November Grand Prix
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In fewer than four months, the eyes of the racing world will be on Austin as the inaugural United State Grand Prix races into the Lone Star State.
Earlier this month in England, more than 100,000 people packed the Silverstone Circuit to take in the British Grand Prix. It was a spectacle that fans say is impossible to capture on television.
“On TV, you just follow them around the track and that's about it," fan Jack England said.
Over and over in England, fans said two things about witnessing Formula 1 racing in person: the speed and the sound.
"It's really cool, the atmosphere is really insane,” fan Zach Coupland said. “It's just ridiculous."
Coupland came for the race, but with live music, interactive experiences and even air shoes, there was plenty off the track to keep his attention.
"There's lots of stuff to do down there, so that's good fun as well," he said.
When city officials made the trip to England for the British Grand Prix, they also felt the excitement of the race and everything that came with it.
"This type of event is truly a global event,” Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said. “The challenge is going to be all the other events surrounding the races."
"Like the Super Bowl or the Final Four, the Masters, the Kentucky Derby, there's a sporting component and there's a social component," Julie Loignon, with the Circuit of the Americas, said. "In subsequent years, we can start building out the program, do more ancillary events leading up to it and I think have a lot of fun with it.”
In addition to the events at the track, Austin race fans can look forward to a downtown festival during the Grand Prix weekend in November.