US Grand Prix Winners at COTA: Every Race Measured
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Every United States Grand Prix winner at COTA, measured: 13 races in Austin, Hamilton five, Verstappen four
Thirteen United States Grands Prix have been held at the Circuit of the Americas since 2012. Lewis Hamilton won five, Max Verstappen four, and pole has won six. Unlike Baku or Singapore, safety cars are rare here. Every winner, grid slot and safety car, measured.
In 2018, Max Verstappen started the United States Grand Prix eighteenth and finished second. Even he had not seen it coming.
It is still the biggest charge in the thirteen races held at the Circuit of the Americas since 2012. Lewis Hamilton has won there five times, more than anyone, and Verstappen four. Pole has won six of the thirteen. And unlike Baku and Singapore, the two street races before it on the calendar, Austin rarely needs a safety car: since 2018 there has been a full one in only two races. The fourteenth is on Sunday 25 October 2026.
Every radio message from the recent races is in our United States Grand Prix radio archive, with the audio and a transcript coloured by who is speaking. The 2018 race, below, is all here.
Every winner
Year
Winner
Team
Started
Pole
2012
Lewis Hamilton
McLaren
2nd
Vettel
2013
Sebastian Vettel
Red Bull
Pole
Vettel
2014
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
2nd
Rosberg
2015
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
2nd
Rosberg
2016
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
Pole
Hamilton
2017
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
Pole
Hamilton
2018
Kimi Raikkonen
Ferrari
2nd
Hamilton
2019
Valtteri Bottas
Mercedes
Pole
Bottas
2021
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
Pole
Verstappen
2022
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
2nd
Sainz
2023
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
6th
Leclerc
2024
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
4th
Norris
2025
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
Pole
Verstappen
No race was held in 2020.
The numbers
Most wins: Hamilton 5 (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017), Verstappen 4 (2021, 2022, 2023, 2025).
6 of 13 races won from pole. Seven winners started second or lower.
Lowest winning grid slot: 6th, Verstappen in 2023.
Biggest recovery: Verstappen, 18th to 2nd in 2018.
A full safety car in 2 of the 8 races since 2018, in 2022 and 2024. Three others had only a virtual safety car.
Fewest finishers: 12 in 2015, a wet race.
The safety cars
Year
Safety cars
Virtual safety cars
2018
0
1
2019
0
0
2021
0
1
2022
2
0
2023
0
0
2024
1
0
2025
0
1
Deployments counted from race control messages, which exist from 2018.
COTA is a purpose-built circuit with wide run-off, so a mistake usually costs a driver time rather than ending against a wall. That is the difference from Baku, where a full safety car has come out in five of nine races, and Singapore, which had one in every race until 2024: both are compared in every Azerbaijan Grand Prix, measured and every Singapore Grand Prix, measured. Why Austin races the way it does is in the COTA circuit explained.
2018: Raikkonen's last win, Verstappen from 18th
Kimi Raikkonen started second, took the lead at the start and held off both Verstappen and Hamilton to win. It was the 21st and last Grand Prix win of his career, and his engineer could not contain himself:
"Grande Kimi! Grande Kimi! Well done!" Behind him, Verstappen had started eighteenth after a suspension failure in qualifying, and finished second:
"bit unexpected, starting 18th. Good race."
2023: two disqualifications
Verstappen won from sixth in 2023, but the result changed after the race. Lewis Hamilton, second on the road, and Charles Leclerc, sixth, were both disqualified because the wooden plank under their cars had worn below the legal thickness. Lando Norris was promoted to second and Carlos Sainz to third. The decisions arrived as stewards' documents hours after the flag, one of dozens the FIA publishes every race weekend.
2024: the penalty that decided third
Charles Leclerc won from fourth in 2024, with Sainz second for a Ferrari one-two. The fight that got the attention was for third. Norris passed Verstappen late in the race by going off the track, and Red Bull knew what would follow:
"Also, Max, Lando has exceeded his track limits, expecting a penalty for that alone, so flat out." Norris was given five seconds and dropped to fourth, and Verstappen kept third.
What 2026 brings
Austin is round 18 of 2026, on 25 October, with the new generation of cars. How the circuit works, sector by sector, is in the COTA circuit explained, and the championship going in is in the 2026 standings.
What this measures, and what it does not
Winners, grid positions, poles and finishers come from Formula 1's official timing data via FastF1, and reflect the final classification after any penalties.
Safety cars and virtual safety cars are counted from race control messages, which are available from 2018 only.
Quotes are taken only from lines where the speaker label and the words agree.
Frequently asked questions
Who has won the most United States Grands Prix at COTA?
Lewis Hamilton, with five: 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. Max Verstappen has four.
Who won the 2025 United States Grand Prix?
Max Verstappen, from pole, for Red Bull. Lando Norris was second and Charles Leclerc third.
How often is there a safety car at COTA?
Rarely. A full safety car came out in two of the eight races from 2018 to 2025, in 2022 and 2024, and three more had only a virtual safety car.
Why were Hamilton and Leclerc disqualified in 2023?
The plank under their cars had worn below the minimum thickness allowed by the technical rules.
Sources
Winners, grid positions, poles, finishers and race control messages from 2018: Formula 1 timing data via FastF1
Every radio message quoted: our own team radio archive
Follow Austin live
At COTA the stewards can decide a podium hours after the flag, and the documents land before the explanation does.
The Formula Dream app collects every FIA document of the weekend as it is published, and plays live driver radio as it is broadcast, transcript beside the audio. There is also a live timing Dashboard, currently in beta.
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Nineteen Chinese Grands Prix have been held in Shanghai since 2004. Lewis Hamilton won six, pole won twelve, and in 2026 Kimi Antonelli took the first win of his career there, at 19, with Hamilton on the podium for Ferrari for the first time. Every winner, grid slot and safety car, measured.
Max VerstappenRed Bull · United States Grand Prix 2018 · Race · 14:53:13 local
EngineerMax, that's P2 mate. How about that? A
Driverbit unexpected, starting 18th. Good race.
EngineerWell done, Max. That was a very, very mature drive. Fantastic. Really, really well done. Great job. You did a mega job with those tyres, mate, to get them that far. Nobody else could do that today. Well, John, enjoy the podium in your cowboy suit.
DriverI will.
EngineerYeah, Max, that is the longest stint of anyone on the Supers. 34 laps. Really, really excellent job looking after that tyre. Honestly, mate, can't commend you enough for that. Awesome.
