COTA boss: Sprints sweeten the weekend, but they don’t sell Austin
The Sprint debate rumbles on in Formula 1, but don’t count Austin among the true believers. Circuit of the Americas chairman Bobby Epstein says the Saturday dash adds value for fans already through the gates — just don’t expect it to move the turnstiles.
F1’s been tinkering with Sprint weekends since 2021, and recent seasons have settled around six of them. Austin has been part of that club since 2023, with the extra competitive session slotting neatly into a Texas-sized show. It’s a fuller schedule, sure. A sales engine? Not really.
“It gives more value to the ticket,” Epstein told a small group of reporters this week. “Fans are warming to it. But we haven’t seen it shift demand in a meaningful way.”
Promoters watch the numbers that matter — scan rates, day-by-day attendance, dwell time — and Epstein’s view is simple: Sprint or no Sprint, buyers decide on the event first. The extra race is dessert, not the main course. If it keeps fans on site longer on Saturday, great. If it nudges a few more to buy a three-day pass, even better. But as a headline draw, he isn’t convinced.
That chimes with the vibe around COTA. The US Grand Prix was the first modern foothold F1 found in America back in 2012. Since then, Miami and Las Vegas have swelled the Stateside footprint, and the sport’s U.S. presence in 2025 remains a three-stop tour. Austin’s place in that trio feels secure — its current contract runs through 2026 — and there’s no panic about what comes next.
“Conversations are ongoing and we’re optimistic,” Epstein said of a post-2026 deal. “There’s no sense of urgency on either side. When it’s time, we’ll come to an agreement.”
The confidence is rooted in a strategy that’s bigger than a race weekend. COTA continues to lean into being a year-round destination. The on-campus hotel is working its way through approvals after clearing a city council hurdle, while Cotaland — the amusement park tucked between Turns 19 and 20 — is coming to life, complete with the ‘Circuit Breaker’ coaster edging toward certification. It’s not just entertainment for race week; it’s a pipeline to convert casual visitors into motorsport fans.
“There are a lot of Americans who still think ‘oval’ when they think racing,” Epstein said. “When they get to see a Grand Prix track up close, the scale of it, what the drivers are up against — especially kids — it clicks. The park’s restaurant deck looks out over the track. Even if you came for a family day, you might leave curious about F1.”
There’s also the kind of experience you can’t get at a theme park: a proper hot lap around 3.4 miles of Grand Prix asphalt. That’s a different kind of rollercoaster, and the plan is to make it a fixture. The more people who come for thrills and leave talking about apexes and braking zones, the more sustainable the venue becomes — with or without a Sprint, and, crucially, less reliant on one weekend a year.
That independence gives Austin unusual freedom in the Sprint conversation. Many promoters would welcome any format that packs the stands. COTA is chasing a more nuanced metric: satisfaction. More sessions, tighter schedules, Saturday jeopardy — Sprint weekends do energize the on-site experience. But if Stefano Domenicali decides to add more Sprints, Austin will shrug and get on with what it already does well.
That includes serving up compelling grands prix. Last year, Ferrari and Charles Leclerc were headline material in Texas, a reminder that COTA’s old-school layout still coaxes drama out of today’s complex cars. The show usually takes care of itself in Austin. Epstein’s job is making sure the week around it does too.
In the end, his stance is refreshingly promoter-first. If Sprints come, great — they’ll be another piece of content in a packed weekend. If they don’t, Austin won’t lose sleep. The campus keeps growing, the fans keep coming, and the United States Grand Prix carries on as one of F1’s most complete events. The rest? Just details.
