United States Grand Prix weather: Three-day outlook at the Circuit of The Americas

Jon Wilde
Sergio Perez's Red Bull during the US Grand Prix. Austin October 2021.

Sergio Perez's Red Bull during the United States Grand Prix. Austin October 2021.

After two races in Asia that were delayed by rain, adverse weather is highly unlikely to be an issue at the United States Grand Prix.

The Asian swing of the 2022 Formula 1 season did not go according to plan as both the Singapore and Japanese GPs were subject to delays.

In Singapore, the race began 65 minutes late due to a heavy downpour that drenched the circuit in the build-up to lights-out.

But at least that grand prix almost ran to its entire distance, unlike the event a week later at Suzuka where again torrential rain came down. Starting on time, the race was quickly red-flagged after a series of incidents – and a two-hour hiatus before the action could resume meant the three-hour time limit was reached with only 29 of 53 laps completed.

No such problems are envisaged in Austin, Texas where the sun is forecast to shine for the entirety of the weekend.

On Friday, for free practice, the temperature is expected to rise from around 15 degrees Celsius at daybreak to a high of 30 with sunny skies throughout, only a gentle breeze and never more than a 1% chance of rain.

Saturday, qualifying day, is a similar story and could be even hotter, with a maximum temperature of 32 degrees in mid-late afternoon and only a 2% risk of rain as a worst-case scenario.

Qualifying is scheduled to start at 5pm local time (11pm UK time), just at the end of the hottest part of the day, so grip levels could increase on the Circuit of The Americas as the track surface begins to cool.

Race day could be a degree or so cooler, but still a balmy 31 degrees, and there is a 4% chance of rain for the start at 2pm local time – still negligible, however, compared to the recent conditions experienced in Singapore and Japan.

All of the weather information above is provided by the BBC.

This will be the 10th time the US Grand Prix has been held at COTA, with Lewis Hamilton having won five of the previous nine editions in Austin.

Last year, Max Verstappen held off Hamilton in a thrilling finish and this time the Red Bull driver, already confirmed as a back-to-back World Champion, is aiming to equal the record for the most wins in an F1 season of 13 held by Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher.

Read more: F1 heads Stateside as Red Bull’s cost cap cloud continues to darken Max Verstappen’s title win