It was clear from the very first Grand Prix weekend at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA): Nico H\u00fclkenberg likes the thrilling circuit on the outskirts of Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n
Driving for Force India, H\u00fclkenberg finished eighth at the 2012 Grand Prix debut; in 2013, driving for Sauber, he also finished eighth. This was followed by four years in which Nico retired whilst on course for points \u2013 engine failure in 2014, a collision in 2015, a steering failure in 2016 and engine failure in 2017.<\/p>\n
In 2018, Nico finished sixth here with Renault, and ninth in 2019. After finishing 11th in 2023 (by then driving for Haas), H\u00fclkenberg came eighth in 2024 and eighth again in 2025 (now with Sauber).<\/p>\n
Nico says: \u201cCOTA is my favourite circuit. I can\u2019t wait to get out on the track on Friday, and I want to enjoy every lap. I don\u2019t really know what it is about this circuit. It just clicked right from the very first laps back in 2012. It\u2019s a real love story.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI like the challenges this circuit presents \u2013 the different types of corners, fast bends, slow corners, the way it goes up and down, the brilliant Turn 1 where you can choose completely different lines. This circuit simply has it all, and you can drive here at a really nice rhythm.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAdd to that the passionate fans and this brilliant, vibrant city of Austin. All of that always makes the GP weekend here something special.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Texans have plonked a rather flash VIP building on the hill at Turn 1. Nico remains diplomatic: \u201cIt looks different, that\u2019s for sure. But life is all about change. I\u2019m glad they\u2019ve left that huge flag there. It\u2019s simply part of the scene. And on the right-hand side, there are still those enormous grandstands packed with a sea of fans. That\u2019s always lovely to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
Okay, COTA is a H\u00fclkenberg track. But is COTA also an Audi track? In the COTA paddock, the 39-year-old from Emmerich adds: \u201cI don\u2019t think much will change there compared to previous Grand Prix weekends. We\u2019ve got a good mix of very different corners here; you\u2019re limited in terms of grip. On the other hand, you also need solid engine power here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow competitive we are here will also depend on what improvements our rivals bring to their cars. As far as we\u2019re concerned, we simply want a clean weekend where we get through our programme well and make the most of our potential.\u201d<\/p>\n
This weekend, Kimi Antonelli could become the youngest Formula 1 champion. Nico says: \u201cThat\u2019s certainly very impressive. He\u2019s had a fabulous year, which wasn\u2019t entirely expected after certain difficulties in mid-2025.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just goes to show once again how quickly things can change in our industry. Ultimately, it\u2019s all about the feel of the car, about the confidence you can build in your racing car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have the utmost respect for his achievements; he\u2019s made very few mistakes, which really isn\u2019t something to be taken for granted for a driver of his age, nor for someone in their second year in the top flight. He\u2019s put in some astonishing races.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was clear from the very first Grand Prix weekend at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA): Nico…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":473665,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-473664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=473664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473664\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/473665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=473664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=473664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=473664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}