COTA boss outlines main 'advantage' over other US circuits

Circuit of the Americas Chairman Bobby Epstein believes the track has an "advantage" over the other two US venues on the Formula 1 calendar.

The track sits alongside both the Miami and Las Vegas races, with the latter making its debut in November, leading to concerns that it could impact ticket sales for the United States Grand Prix.

Tickets have seen a price increase year-on-year at the Austin event, with main grandstand tickets setting back spectators $875.

But speaking to media including RacingNews365.com, Epstein explained: "We have an advantage in that we can offer a lower price ticket, because we can fit more people in and you can spread the costs out differently.

"By virtue of being a permanent circuit, our costs to operate are less. It's not so much of 'Can the fan afford the other tickets?' as it is 'Can the promoters afford to lower their price and still be okay?' - that's the tough part."

Epstein: We want more people to come in

Epstein expects to draw more crowds in the next couple of years as the circuit offers more ticket options, whilst an improvement to the facilities can enable better traffic flow in and out of the circuit.

"What we're doing is selling a limited number of tickets at $300 to give the fans a chance for those who said 'I'd come if the price were lower' - Okay, here's your chance to show me that you would come if the price is lower," he explained.

"If you didn't, and you didn't jump on it early when the price goes back to what it should be, you can't say 'if the price was lower'. So let's give them a chance.

"We do want more people to come in, we want to hit bigger numbers. The campus can hold the people, it's getting them in and out and we'll go for much bigger numbers then keep our prices really low."

With both Las Vegas and Miami looking to cater more to the glamour that races like Monaco offer, Epstein believes COTA has its place on the calendar for regular fans.

"People will taste each race and decide which one suits them best, which flavour they liked the most. Hopefully, they'll appreciate what we give them more," said Epstein.

"I think there's a lot more overlap between the Las Vegas and the Miami crowds.

"While we have plenty of celebrities and glamour, we don't come close to Miami or Vegas on the on the glamour scale.

"It helps in that it keeps the attention on F1 in the country more times per year, it's like a commercial for us. So it's a net positive."