F1 24 Texas Setups

The Circuit of the Americas is a track that was designed to be the ultimate race track. It combines many corners and sequences from some of the best circuits worldwide. The first sector was heavily influenced by Silverstone, whilst turns 15 and 16 are very similar to the tight left-hand corner at Bahrain.

This trick of combining the best corners from a variety of different tracks leads to a circuit that is incredibly enjoyable to drive but very hard to create a car setup for. There is an incredibly long straight between turns 11 and 12, which limits how much aerodynamics we can factor into our car setup.

I would still veer on the side of a higher downforce car setup compared to focusing entirely on top speed, as the corner sequences are all quite technical and downforce-dependent.

Turns 3 through 11 are medium and high-speed and rely heavily on a responsive car that is willing to change direction easily. Increased front wing aero and a stiff front suspension setup can help with this. The in-field segment between corners 12 and 17 are much slower speed and focus more on good traction and low speed downforce.

Which direction to take when creating a COTA car setup

Optimising your car setup for the twisty corners through sectors 1 and 3 is the best way to find lap time around COTA. You can lose a lot of time through these corner sequences if you opt for a low-downforce car setup. Instead, choose a high but not too high downforce approach.

If you are concerned about straight-line speed, you can lower the rear wing aero a touch and reduce the toe you run in your setup. Less toe will result in less drag and a higher top speed.

Circuit of the Americas race strategy

Tyre wear can be an issue during a race. However, with the right car setup, excess wear can be reduced. Lowering your on-throttle differential, softening your suspension and lowering tyre pressures are all tools that can be implemented to reduce tyre wear during a race.

A race strategy of pitting twice and using the hard and medium tyres is a good option around COTA. If you are competing in a full race distance online or offline in F1 24, opt to use the medium tyres twice, and the hard tyres for the final or middle stint.

Loading the car with more fuel than is needed will let you use extra power down the long back straight to try and force an overtake or to defend against cars behind you.