(Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team)
Formula One is Austin for the today's United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas which is set to be an extremely exciting affair with the Mercedes duo of Nico Rosberg locking out the front row for the tenth time this season as the sport builds up to what is set to be a fascinating race in the US. The race in Austin is set to be a sell out on Sunday as the city of Austin has embraced Formula One.
The race in the Lone Star State is round 17 of the 19 round championship with Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team's Lewis Hamilton 17 points ahead of team mate Nico Rosberg in the race for the championship.
Formula One has come in for a lot of criticism as the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas takes place on the same day and in the same state as NASCAR's Sprint Cup race the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motorsport Speed in Fort Worth.
The criticism of Formula One being in Texas on the same day as NASCAR America's premier racing category is completely unfair as Formula One has a completely different fan base to that of NASCAR. The second thing is that the F1 race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin Texas is 220 miles away from the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
The main thing is that the United States Grand Prix in Austin takes place at 2PM local time while the NASCAR event in Fort Worth gets underway from 3PM local time so the Formula One race will be well and truly finished well before the action really gets underway in Forth Worth.
The Circuit of the Americas can not and should not be blamed for the timing of the race as they are given the date of the race and and they do not get to decide when the race will take place.
The United States is by far the biggest market for Formula One and as the sport is targeted at a completely different audience to NASCAR it should not be accused of trying to divert attention away from the event at Texas Motor Speedway.
© Ben Johnston 2014
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