Formula 1: Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, Sebastian Vettel look ahead to U.S. Grand Prix, 2014

[Image Sources:  Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel].

Red Bull drivers in Formula 1 are looking forward to the upcoming United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.  The race takes place at the Circuit of the Americas racetrack, a track purpose-built to bring Formula 1 back to the U.S. and one that has so far only hosted two previous Grands Prix.

About his return, now as a member of Red Bull and not Toro Rosso, Daniel Ricciardo said in a promotional release from Infiniti-Red Bull Racing:

"Hand on heart, this is probably the date on the calendar I look forward to the most. I�ve loved every minute of being in Austin: when they picked this place for the US Grand Prix, they absolutely nailed it. The city is awesome. I love listening to live music and this is a great place for that, plus Texas feels like real America, and that�s something I�ve really enjoyed just sinking into the last two seasons. And then, there�s the important bit. The Circuit of the Americas, in my opinion, is the best of the new breed of circuits. The nature of the corners is interesting. It�s also a very busy track where you don�t get much respite. The first sector is very special and that first turn, blind up the big hill is like nothing else in F1. It�s also a good example of the excitement a late-apex can create: you can have a really good lunge there. They�ve done a very good job."

In the same release, four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel had this to say about the venue:

"Austin is a fun city where you get a real feel for the Texan lifestyle and traditions and get to race on a great track. The Circuit of the Americas is a track I like a lot; it has 20 corners and we drive it anti-clockwise. The start/finish straight has a steep incline up to the first corner and is the trademark of the track. For us that means the braking starts uphill, which is not easy and locking the front tyres could be a problem. A lot of the corner combinations remind me of other famous circuits on the race calendar. For example the fast combination during the first part of the track feels like Silverstone and Suzuka. The famous Maggotts and Becketts passages were used as a model for this part of the track and the drivers enjoy the extremely fast turns, when the car is balanced right. Also corners 12 and 15, this section was taken from the Motodrom in Hockenheim. It is a slower part of the track, and is designed to create more of a stadium atmosphere. The long bend also reminds of the famous turn 8 in Istanbul."

The 2014 U.S. Grand Prix takes place over Halloween weekend in the States, October 31-November 2. 

It has not yet been announced whether reserve driver, American Alexander Rossi, will race for Marussia's injured driver, Jules Bianchi, who remains hospitalized following a head injury suffered in a crash at the Japanese Grand Prix.