SPEAKER 1: Two years, ago admit it.
You never thought this place was actually going to be
built, a new FIA Spec Formula One racetrack that sprung up
in the heartland of Texas.
This is the Circuit of the Americas, the newest and most
modern motorsports facility in North America, and unlike
Korea or India, it's actually done weeks ahead of its
inaugural Grand Prix.
MIKE MUSTO: We're very lucky because we're actually one of
the first crews allowed on here, to not only experience
the circuit to some extent, but to bring it
to you guys at home.
STEVE CARPINO: Today, we're here at this
Circuit of the Americas.
It's a new racetrack in Austin, Texas, really designed
for Formula One racing.
Now, Pirelli has got a really close link to Formula One for
many years, particularly in the last couple years.
We're actually the supplier of the tire that's
run on all the cars.
MIKE MUSTO: And so the facility itself is just simply
mind boggling.
If you look at the grandstands the grandstands alone are
going to hold 9,000 people.
All the temporary seating, up and around that you can see
over here, you're talking upwards of 100,000 people, and
this thing's going to be packed on race day.
MIKE MUSTO: So we're standing at pit exit.
We're also standing at the end of the straightaway.
Now, this straightaway is almost 3/4 of a mile long.
I believe it's 0.64 of a mile if I'm not mistaken.
Guys are going to be coming up here at speed, on the
throttle, braking really hard, diving into that first corner.
This is going to be commonplace at this circuit,
and we're looking so forward to seeing this stuff on a
weekend basis here.
OK, so here we go.
This is actually our first lap ever, at the Circuit in the
Americas, down in Austin, Texas.
Now heading up the hill, left hander turning in, of
following the pace truck, but that's absolutely OK.
Dropping it down into a downhill right.
Now, the great part about this track is the visibility.
You can see everywhere you're going and you've got loads and
loads of run-off.
The other part is, you've got a lot a real estate out here.
You can actually use this track, where there are some
tracks that are somewhat, well, small
and you feel confined.
You don't get that here.
You can go in, you can turn in, you can see where you're
going, and the track feels great.
This is also a very, very technical track.
This track is 3.4 miles with 20 turns.
That's a lot.
So you're wheeling this track.
It's not like it's a Sunday drive.
And you're not going to learn it after one, two, three laps.
It's going to take you time to master this track.
That's going to be the coolest part about the F1 season.
Think about that.
I actually have more seat time on this track than some of the
F1 drivers.
SPEAKER 1: This year, Driven's been fortunate enough to gain
access to behind the scenes in Formula One thanks to Pirelli.
They've been one of our biggest
supporters behind the scenes.
With their reemergence into Formula One, the brand has
made huge investments into new tire compounds.
Those black things around your wheels may look unattractive,
but as car technology improves, the weakest link in
the chain will always be the limiting factor.
And unlike many things in the auto industry, the
trickle-down technology from race tire to
street tire is real.
MIKE MUSTO: OK, so we're down here in Austin, Texas right
now filming on Pirelli's new P7 Cinturato All Season tire.
This is an all season tire, which means it's got a 700
treadwear rating.
So should we be on a track with this?
Well technically it's not the most ideal place for
this tire to be.
But let me tell you something.
It's not doing bad, and that's the most surprising
part about this car.
The wet weather traction on these tires is fantastic.
In fact, it's one of the best wet weather
tires I've been on.
I've got a lot of miles on a Conti BW, which prior to this,
I thought, was one of the best wet weather
tires I've been on.
This, to be honest with you, eclipses that, which is quite
impressive.
OK, so what we're going to do right now, is we're going to
do a relatively high speed run, up to about 45, 50 miles
an hour and go onto a wet zone, slam the brakes, and see
how well the tires actually disperse the
water underneath this.
We're going to see if the car slides around a little bit or
if I can control it.
Let's see how this works, OK?
So, hard on the gas, bringing it up.
Well, I'm just doing about 45 miles an hour.
To the cones, slam on the brakes, no problem.
We're coming up to another one up here, which
is on a left hander.
We're going to do the same thing.
We're going to bring it up to about, let's see, oh about 50
miles an hour, go in if I can see the cone,
hit the brake, turn.
Now, just because you don't think you're going to have a
panic stop situation, that doesn't mean
you're not going to.
Accidents happen because, well,
they're called accidents.
You don't know when they're going to happen.
You don't know when you're going to do a panic stop.
But you have to understand that the tires that you have
on your car make the difference between a big
repair bill and no repair bill.
So just try to keep that in mind.
SPEAKER 1: While we enjoyed testing that durability of the
new Pirelli P7s on track, we were even more thrilled to
visit the Circuit of the Americas.
There's no doubt excitement is building in Austin, and we're
just glad we could bring you an inside look at the track
prior to race day.