Expect Austin's Formula One Grand Prix To Be Very, Very Wet

Formula One fans, I have some good news and some bad news. Bad news: if you're coming to Austin for the United States Grand Prix, you better pack a poncho and take your best muddin' vehicle to the track. Good news: rain is delicious chaos, and we may finally see wet F1 racing on Circuit of the Americas.

A word of caution: COTA's spectator areas aren't ideally designed for ultra-wet conditions. Many of COTA's walkways and parking lots are made of gravel and dirt, which turns into a huge mess when it's damp. Major paths by the amphitheater, the paddock areas and the main grandstands are paved, but most locations elsewhere are not. The only grandstand with any cover is the main grandstand, and lower seats there will likely be exposed to the wet.

So, bring your best muck-proof hiking boots, bundle up and let's play in the mud. Just don't block the person behind you with an umbrella in the grandstands and we're cool.

That being said, the fact that rain is likely should make this race more interesting, provided that it doesn't become too inundated for the track's drainage system to handle. Unfortunately, that's a real risk — as you'll read below — increasing the chance of yellow or red flags due to too much standing water on the track. However, any green flag periods of racing this weekend should be spectacular, as rain means that the rest of the field has a better chance at catching the ultra-quick Mercedes duo for a change.

"Mother Nature, why have you forsaken us?" you may ask. Mother Nature doesn't really explain herself, so in her place, we've got Dennis Mersereau from The Vane with a full rundown of exactly what kind of weather to expect, what's causing the change in the weather, and how to handle it like a boss.