F1 races into COTA for U.S. Grand Prix this weekend

Central Texans are in for a big weekend full of events in Austin. While the Texas Longhorns prepare to take on the Georgia Bulldogs in one of the biggest games of the college football season, Formula 1 will be racing back to the Circuit of the Americas for a massive celebration with notable concerts .

The 2024 Pirelli U.S. Grand Prix begins Friday, October 18, and runs through Sunday, October 20. This three-day event features high-performance races, epic musical acts and exclusive parties in Austin you won't want to miss.

Last year Red Bull's Max Verstappen beat out McLaren-Mercedes' Lando Norris and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, Jr. on his third straight Formula 1 world championship. Now the current world leader will be looking for his fourth straight victory in Austin.

Here's everything you need to know about this year's U.S. Grand Prix this weekend:

When are the 2024 U.S. Grand Prix races?

The 56-lap Grand Prix races starts at 2 p.m. on Sunday at COTA. Over three days, F1 Sprint Sessions will set the tone for the Grand Prix beginning Friday starting with a practice session at 12:30 p.m. then a Spring Qualifying session at 4:30 and another Sprint at 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 19. There will also be another Qualifying session at 7 p.m. Saturday, according to the McLaren website .

The Sprint weekend gives fans the chance to meet drivers, see F1 cars during practice sessions and compete in smaller races (sprints) where racers try to gain points for the main event on Sunday. The entire three-day schedule can be viewed on the Formula 1 website .

Who are the racers competing at the 2024 U.S. Grand Prix?

This will be the same group of racers who competed in last year's Grand Prix, according to Motorsport . ESPN predicts this year's top teams will be Red Bull and McLaren. For the last 10 races, McLaren has had the most consistent performance among the top four teams, making Lando Norris a favorite to win in Austin, according to ESPN.

Here's the 2024 F1 driver line-up:

Alpine - Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon

Aston Martin - Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll

Ferrari - Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz

Haas - Nico Hulkenberg, Kevin Magnussen

McLaren - Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri

Mercedes - Lewis Hamilton, George Russell

Red Bull - Sergio Perez, Max Verstappen

Sauber (Alfa Romeo) - Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu

VCARB (AlphaTauri) - Daniel Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda

Williams - Alex Albon, Logan Sargeant

Who is performing at Formula 1 Austin 2024?

Eminem and Sting are headlining the 2024 U.S. Grand Prix at the Germania Insurance Theater on Saturday. There will also be several F1 events around Austin throughout the week and parties featuring rapper, Quavo on Saturday and DJ Diplo on Sunday at Mayfair nightclub.