Paddy Lowe admits teams will be on the back foot this weekend at the Circuit of the Americas due to the washout that was seen in 2015 due to a lack of tyre information.
Lowe, the Mercedes AMG PETRONAS Executive Director (Technical), watched as pretty much the whole 2015 weekend in Texas was clouded with rain, with only the race being run with some dry conditions, but teams will only have tyre data from 2014 to work with, particularly when it comes to qualifying, which is not ideal heading into the weekend.
“Looking ahead to Austin, we’ll be hoping for some drier weather than last year – which won’t be difficult, given the torrential rain which simply didn’t stop until Sunday last time around!” said Lowe.
“The weather conditions in 2015 have also had a knock-on effect in that we actually have very little up-to-date data from which to establish the performance of the car and the tyres at this circuit. Teams will therefore have to work on the basis of records from 2014, which is an unusual challenge heading into a race weekend.
“We have the Medium, Soft and SuperSoft tyre compounds available this weekend, which will likely produce some quicker lap times than those previously seen at this circuit.”
Lowe admits the Circuit of the Americas is a great track on the Formula 1 calendar that has already provided good races in the past, including in 2015, and he hopes another is on the cards this weekend.
“It’s a great track, with interesting elevation changes, tricky sequences of corners providing a good all-round test of power and cornering, with some prime overtaking opportunities too,” said Lowe. “In its short history to date, this track has always produced exciting races – not least last year, which saw multiple changes of the lead.
“There are plenty of enthusiastic fans who come from all across Northern and Central America, which is great to see. We know how dedicated they are, having seen them standing out in the rain last year waiting until the bitter end for the show to continue.
“We look forward to going back to Austin and putting on another great event in this very welcoming city.”
