Andretti enjoyed success in many racing disciplines including IndyCar, NASCAR and Formula 1, and was the last American to win the F1 world championship in 1978.
Ahead of its 10th Grand Prix this weekend in Austin, COTA announced on Monday that its final corner would be renamed “The Andretti” in honor of Mario’s success.
“The Andretti” is a tight left-hander to close out the lap that takes drivers onto the main straight before climbing into Turn 1, which was renamed “Big Red” in 2020 after one of the co-founders of Track.
A christening ceremony will be held to officially rename Turn 20 to “The Andretti” this Thursday at COTA with Andretti in attendance.
Andretti was the first driver to complete a lap of COTA before his maiden grand prix in 2012, with the track having since become a central feature of the motorsport landscape in the United States.
As well as hosting MotoGP since 2013, the track began hosting NASCAR races last year and has previously hosted IndyCar and IMSA events.
This weekend’s United States Grand Prix is expected to be the busiest race yet at COTA after the track added grandstands to satisfy high levels of demand from American fans.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B, and Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12 prepare to lead the field at the start
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Last year’s race drew 400,000 fans over three days, setting a record for F1 which is set to be broken yet again this weekend. This despite the race being dead rubber for the championship after Max Verstappen clinched the drivers’ title in Japan two weeks ago.
Andretti will travel to COTA for the ceremony after completing his last F1 race at the age of 82 at an event at Laguna Seca this weekend.
Andretti got behind the wheel of a 2013 McLaren MP4-28 at Velocity International after a race was arranged for him by McLaren CEO Zak Brown at the private event which featured a number of McLarens classics.
Andretti enjoyed success in many racing disciplines including IndyCar, NASCAR and Formula 1, and was the last American to win the F1 world championship in 1978.
Ahead of its 10th Grand Prix this weekend in Austin, COTA announced on Monday that its final corner would be renamed “The Andretti” in honor of Mario’s success.
“The Andretti” is a tight left-hander to close out the lap that takes drivers onto the main straight before climbing into Turn 1, which was renamed “Big Red” in 2020 after one of the co-founders of Track.
A christening ceremony will be held to officially rename Turn 20 to “The Andretti” this Thursday at COTA with Andretti in attendance.
Andretti was the first driver to complete a lap of COTA before his maiden grand prix in 2012, with the track having since become a central feature of the motorsport landscape in the United States.
As well as hosting MotoGP since 2013, the track began hosting NASCAR races last year and has previously hosted IndyCar and IMSA events.
This weekend’s United States Grand Prix is expected to be the busiest race yet at COTA after the track added grandstands to satisfy high levels of demand from American fans.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B, and Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12 prepare to lead the field at the start
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Last year’s race drew 400,000 fans over three days, setting a record for F1 which is set to be broken yet again this weekend. This despite the race being dead rubber for the championship after Max Verstappen clinched the drivers’ title in Japan two weeks ago.
Andretti will travel to COTA for the ceremony after completing his last F1 race at the age of 82 at an event at Laguna Seca this weekend.
Andretti got behind the wheel of a 2013 McLaren MP4-28 at Velocity International after a race was arranged for him by McLaren CEO Zak Brown at the private event which featured a number of McLarens classics.