The COTA Turn 6 grandstand is the newest addition to premium seating at the Circuit of the Americas. It’s the only grandstand on the circuit infield and gives amazing views of the cars heading directly towards you through the high speed, high downforce ‘esses’.
This article provides a complete guide to spectating at Turn 6, including example views from the grandstand, seating charts, nearby facilities and more.
Contents
What is the Turn 6 grandstand at COTA?
The Turn 6 grandstand at COTA is an infield premium seating area for spectators who have pre-reserved their specific seats.
The grandstand was only added to the circuit in 2022 and was first made available to fans at the F1 race in October of that year. It’s not permanent, however, as for some events such as the 2023 EchoPark Nascar Cup Series race at the Circuit of the Americas this grandstand wasn’t there.
The COTA Turn 6 grandstand is available for the 2023 Formula One US GP.
COTA Turn 6 grandstand Tickets
Tickets for the Turn 6 grandstand at the United States Grand Prix are popular and can sell out quickly.
So I’d recommend buying tickets on StubHub, where there’s hundreds for sale.
I’ve used StubHub for Formula 1 tickets a few times in the last year, including when I went to the F1 race in Vegas, and have always had very good experiences.
Their FanProtect guarantee will also keep your tickets and money protected.
Where is the Turn 6 grandstand?
The grandstand is located on the left hand side of the track on the outside of Turn 6. As it’s on the circuit infield, to get to it you need to cross over the track. The best and nearest place to do this is on the Red Bridge for spectators between turns 2 and 3. Or if you’re parked on the northern side of the circuit you can use Tunnel 2 which goes under the track along the back straight, just before Turn 12.
There is a huge run-off area on the outside of Turn 6, however for the F1 race in 2022 this grandstand was actually brought forwards and placed within the run-off area.
This helped move it closer to the track as initially there were fears it would be too far from the action, but that wasn’t the case.
COTA Turn 6 grandstand view
The view from the Turn 6 grandstand at Circuit of the Americas is pretty spectacular. Due to its position the cars come directly towards you through the incredibly fast ‘esses’ of turns 3, 4, 5 and 6.
Personally I think that being able to watch the cars swerve left and right at over 180mph from a head-on view is much more impressive than seeing them go past side on, as you would in the Turn 4 grandstand at COTA.
You can see the cars as far back as the bridge at the entry to Turn 3. You have a completely unobstructed view of them all the way from there through Turn 6.
Image credit McMike
Then, as you turn your head to the left, you have a clear view of the cars at Turn 7. You lose them out of sight as they run up the hill towards Turn 8 but you can see them again briefly in the middle of Turn 9.
Image credit McMike
As this grandstand is facing outwards, you cannot see any other sections of the track from here. Unless you are sat in the very back row, then you might be able to spin around and see some of the action going on behind you.
The image below shows the areas of the track than can be seen from the COTA Turn 6 grandstand highlighted in green.
The video below provides a great example of how much of the circuit can be seen from this grandstand.
COTA Turn 6 general admission viewing
There is no general admission viewing near the Turn 6 grandstand on the inside of the circuit at COTA. There is, however, a large GA viewing area on the other side of the track on the inside of Turn 6.
See our article on the COTA Turn 4 grandstand for more information on the general admission viewing area on the outside of the track here.
COTA Turn 6 grandstand facilities
- The Turn 6 grandstand at COTA is not covered. It’s completely open to the elements with no shade, so make sure you bring adequate sun protection.
- There is a toilet block a short walk from the grandstand, near Turn 8.
- The large infield general admission entertainment area is just a few paces away from here. In 2022 this was ‘Onederland’ and included axe throwing, eating competitions, tattoo artists, food and drink stalls and a lot more.
- The seats are full chairs with a folding seat base, fixed seat back and cupholders.
- There is a giant screen opposite this grandstand on top of the hill on the inside of Turn 6. Additionally there’s another just to the right of the stand, on the same side of the track, that is also just about visible.
COTA Turn 6 seating chart
Enter your name and email in the boxes below and the hi-res COTA grandstand seating charts will be sent to your inbox. These will include all details of row and seat numbers. The files are too big to host here!
There are 9 different sections in this grand. In sections 1 to 4 the rows go from A at the front to W at the back. In section 5 the front row is L, and in sections 6 – 9 the front row is D. There are no rows I (eye) or O (oh).
Seats are numbered 1 to 8 in sections 1 and 9, and numbered 1 to 20 in sections 2 to 8. The seat numbers are higher the further to the left of the grandstand you sit, as you look at the track.
Is Turn 6 at COTA a good place to sit?
Of all the different places to sit that have a view of the hyper-fast ‘esses’, the COTA Turn 6 grandstand is probably the best. Seeing them head on means you get to witness their downforce at work.
The cars will be absolutely pinned to the ground and the speed at which you’ll see them corner will blow your mind. TV footage doesn’t do it justice.
Whilst there’s rarely any overtaking through the ‘esses’, this grandstand also has a view of the much slower Turn 7. It can be hard for F1 cars to follow each other closely through turns 3, 4, 5 and 6 because of the dirty air they create at high speed, so they’re not always close enough to make a move at Turn 7. But it does happen.
So not only does the Turn 6 grandstand give you a view of the cars at their most impressive, you’re also in with a chance of seeing some action at the next corner. I think this grandstand is great and well worth considering.
If you want to see more overtaking, thing about either the COTA Turn 12 or COTA Turn 15 grandstands that surround the stadium section.
Closest parking lots
If you park to the south of the circuit, parking lot N is the closest as you can cross over the track via the Red Bridge after Turn 2.
If you park to the north parking lot E has the most direct access to Tunnel 2 which goes under the circuit just before Turn 12 and gives access to the infield.
See our guide to COTA parking for more info.
Other COTA grandstands
Below are detailed guides to all other grandstands at COTA:
It looks like the T6 grandstand for normal punters is no more. It’s been replaced by The Terrace, which is US$3000 per person for the 3 days in 2024.
Hi Scott, you’re right, looks like it’s the hospitality option in it’s place. I’ll update the text at the top of this article.