Racing in the USA is always a blast, and the Circuit of the Americas is no different. Home to the US Grand Prix, COTA is a blend of high-speed sections and low-speed tests.
Our F1 23 USA setup will take you to victory in the Lone Star State.
Update: If you're looking for F1 24 setups, you can find the best F1 24 USA setup here.
F1 23 USA setup
The Circuit of the Americas is a modern circuit which has a mix of long straights as well as corners of all speeds. COTA is a love letter to some iconic Formula 1 tracks. The sweeping Suzuka-esque curves, the high-speed continuous corner, and the tricky braking zones all make COTA a serious test.
The track hasn't seen any major changes this year, but F1 23's various updates and patches have changed the way the car drives. Therefore you'll need our updated F1 23 USA setup.
Aerodynamics
We've gone for 38-34 for the aerodynamic setup.
This is the tradeoff between the high-speed straights and the slower corners. The higher downforce front wing will push the car to the ground during the tight T1 hairpin.
Transmission
The transmission sets how the rear wheels rotate in relation to each other. We recommend 52% on-throttle differential and 50% off-throttle differential.
This allows for good rotation both on and off the throttle, perfect for Texas. That said, spinning out on corner exit is a very real possibility, so be careful getting the power down.
Suspension geometry
We suggest a front and rear camber of -2.70 and -1.00 respectively. This helps throw the car more into corners whilst keeping straight-line speed.
The front and rear toe should be set to 0.04 and 0.12 respectively. This will give you loads of grip without impacting your tyre life too much.
Suspension
We’ve gone for 29-8 on the suspension and 7-1 for the anti-roll bar. This gives good turn in flexibility for the medium and high-speed corners, but plenty of stability to get back on the power.
Ride height is set to 34-37. This produces a lot of grip through the corners without creating too much drag down the straights. You'll also fly up the hill into Turn 1.
Brakes
100% brake pressure is still ideal, while 56% brake bias is a good balance between front and rear for the USA.
It is much easier to lock up in F1 23, so if you aren’t using ABS, and find this too much, then reduce the brake pressure. You may also need to move your braking point back a little.
Tyres
We've opted for near the minimum pressures across the board for this setup. So, that's 22.5-20.3 psi on the front/rear.
This will help keep the tyres in good shape through the race, though you may need to do a little more warm-up on an out lap and the formation lap.
Adjustments
These setups are intended for intermediate players who may still be using assists like traction control and ABS. However, if you are looking for an extra edge then you can try a few of these adjustments:
- Decrease the wing levels by 1-3 clicks to improve top speed
- This will make the car less capable on turn-in and less stable in high-speed direction changes
- If the car doesn't feel like it is doing what you want on turn-in then raise the front wing a click or two
- If the car is too loose at low speeds try moving the off-throttle differential up a point or two for more stability
- For a more "pointy" car stiffen the front suspension & anti-roll bar in relation to the rear
- This will make getting traction trickier
- Don't be afraid to move brake bias during the lap. More frontward will give better performance in heavy braking zones, and a rearward for lighter braking zones
- Lockups are easier to achieve in F1 23 than previous games. Front locking is less catastrophic than rear locking, and which way you go from our mark will increase your chances of a lockup in that direction
- Add a click of tyre pressure for short online races to improve tyre warm-up!