David Coulthard kicking up some dust at COTA 2011... before it was finished!

On August 19, 2011, Red Bull Racing visited the construction site of the Circuit of the Americas at Austin, Texas. David Coulthard kicked up some dust, in anticipation of 2012’s inaugural USGP, the first Formula 1 race in the United States since 2007.

About the Circuit of the Americas:

In a news conference on July 27, 2010, Tavo Hellmund announced plans to build the track on about 890 acres (3.6 km2) of undeveloped land in southeastern Travis County. 

On April 12, 2011, the track's name was announced as "Circuit of the Americas" at a press conference, and on December 17, 2010, the circuit homologation design was submitted to the FIA in Geneva for approval. Tilke Engineers & Architects designed the track and Austin Commercial, a subsidiary of Austin Industries, was the general contractor. 

Construction began on December 31, 2010, was finished on September 21, 2012. The track was officially opened on October 21, with Mario Andretti running the ceremonial first laps in a Lotus 79, the car he drove when he became the last American to win the World Drivers' Championship in 1978.

The Grand Plaza, Observation Structure, Tower Amphitheater, and Main Grandstand were designed by Austin-based architectural firm Miró Rivera Architects.

The Circuit is 3.427 mi (5.513 km) long and has twenty turns with an elevation change of 133 feet (41 m). It is run counter-clockwise, and contains more left-hand turns than right-hand ones, placing greater physical demands on the drivers whose bodies, particularly their necks, are more adapted to the lateral g-forces of clockwise circuits.

COURTESY OF Red Bull Racing