Formula 1 is preparing for its annual visit to Austin’s Circuit of the Americas (COTA) for the United States Grand Prix, scheduled for Oct. 18-20, 2024. Since 2012, the event has been a fixture on the F1 calendar, with the only interruption being in 2020 due to COVID-19.
This year, both attendees and locals could be at the center of a traffic surge surrounding the city of Austin. Two major sporting events collide on Saturday: the Formula 1 sprint/qualifying and College Football, Texas vs. Georgia match.
Formula 1 and College Football: Historic Crowds
With the flexible scheduling used by the NCAA, the game could kick off anywhere between 11:00 a.m. CDT and 5:00 p.m. CDT, creating a potential overlap with the F1 events. Darrell K. Royal Stadium, which seats over 100,000 fans, could be potentially selling out and breaking attendance records due to the collegial hype around the matchup.
The United States Grand Prix attracts up to 440,000 fans during race weekends. This makes it one of the most attended Formula 1 events globally. Similarly, the stadium has hosted up to 105,213 spectators. The upcoming Texas Longhorns vs. Georgia Bulldogs football game could be another record-breaking event.
With both events just 14 miles apart, Austin faces a busy sports weekend, raising traffic and logistics concerns again.
Again? Yes.
This isn’t the first time Formula 1 and college football share a weekend. In COTA’s inaugural year, the Texas Longhorns avoided scheduling a home game. However, in its following year, both events coincided.
Then President of COTA, Jason Dial, noted uncertainty about the impact of 2013’s overlapping events to Sports Business Journal.
“I’m not sure if it really hurts us or not. We are trying to have a price point that allows people to try us, to try and get to know F1,” he said. “Come out to the Circuit of the Americas!”
And people did. Attendance at COTA has steadily grown, peaking in 2022. The Netflix series Drive to Survive boosted Formula 1’s awareness in the U.S. and its south of the border neighbor, Mexico. Since nearly half a million attended in 2021, the event remains a major attraction, despite new races in Miami and Las Vegas.
COTA’s Annual Attendance
After some research, here’s the annual attendance for the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix from 2012 to 2023:
- • 2012: ~117,429 on race day, 265,499 over the weekend
- • 2013: 250,324 for the weekend
- • 2014: 237,406
- • 2015: 101,667 on race day, 224,011 over the weekend (reduced due to heavy rain)
- • 2016: 269,889
- • 2017: 258,000
- • 2018: 263,160
- • 2019: 268,000
- • 2020: Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic
- • 2021: 400,000 (record-breaking return post-pandemic)
- • 2022: 440,000 (highest attendance for the season)
- • 2023: 432,000
- • 2024: TBD. Another record breaking number?
Sunday’s Grand Prix Unaffected
Despite the dual excitement on Saturday, the main race of the United States Grand Prix weekend will be held the following day, on Sunday, Oct. 20, meaning it won’t directly clash with the football game.
Fans attending either event should keep an eye out for official start times and plan their travel accordingly to avoid the possible congestion.
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