AUSTIN, Texas — As many of you know, it is shaping up to be a historic sports weekend in Austin, with not only UT’s home game vs. Georgia – which you can watch on KVUE – but also the Formula 1 Pirelli United States Grand Prix, which will take place at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) on Sunday.
The race weekend has an interesting schedule that is slightly different from the 2023 race, when Saturday was entirely dedicated to the Sprint, with qualifying for it and the Sprint itself taking place on the same day. For this season though, while there is only one free practice session like last year, the Sprint Qualifying will take place on Friday instead of Saturday.
For Saturday, instead of the Sprint race ending the day, the Sprint race starts things off for track action at COTA, and that will be followed up by Grand Prix Qualifying for Sunday’s race.
With that, we’re tracking highs in the 80s all three days with a few more clouds Friday and Saturday than Sunday, with a 10% shower chance for Friday and Saturday, mainly in the Hill Country.
The clouds could play a key role in race strategy, as well as the southeasterly winds which will be light in nature.
Much of the issue with clouds is that if they are broken or scattered, which is forecasted, it could result in track temperatures in parts of the circuit differing from others, which could complicate tire degradation.
Additionally, winds out of the southeast could cause issues with rear grip as a result of the crosswind, especially as the cars move through the eases, the long straight after Turn 11 which is known as the “Bobby Pin”, and the last few corners before the start/finish line.
Stick with KVUE as we continue to get you pumped up for the incredible weekend at COTA!
Here’s your seven-day forecast!
