United States Grand Prix East
| Circuit of the Americas | |
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| Race information | |
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| Number of times held | 46 |
| First held | 1908 |
| Most wins (drivers) |  Michael Schumacher (5) Lewis Hamilton (5) |
| Most wins (constructors) |  Ferrari (9) |
| Circuit length | 5.516 km (3.427 mi) |
| Race length | 308.896 km (191.939 mi) |
| Laps | 56 |
| Last race (2016) | |
| Pole position | |
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| Podium | |
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| Fastest lap | |
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The United States Grand Prix is a motor race which has been held in the U.S. on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The race later became part of the Formula One World Championship. Over 44 editions of the race have taken place at 10 locations in total. Since 2012, it has been held at the Circuit of the Americas in Elroy, Texas (12 miles (19 km) south of Austin).
Inspired by the Gordon Bennett Cup and Circuit des Ardennes races he had competed in, William Kissam Vanderbilt founded a series of road races in the United States to showcase American road racing to the world. The Vanderbilt Cup soon became an institution on New York's Long Island, attracting American and European competitors alike. However, the race was plagued by crowd control problems, which led to spectator deaths and injuries, and the cancellation of the 1907 event. Upon its return for 1908, the American Automobile Association did not adopt the new Grand Prix regulations agreed upon by the Association Internationale des Automobiles Clubs Reconnus (AIACR). This led the rival Automobile Club of America, an enthusiasts group with strong ties to Europe, to sponsor the American Grand Prize, using the Grand Prix rules. The Savannah Automobile Club of Savannah, Georgia about 2 hours north of Jacksonville, Florida had staged a successful stock car race in the spring, won the rights to stage the event.
The Savannah Automobile Club laid out a lengthened version of their stock car course, totaling 25.13 mi (40.44 km). Georgia Governor M. Hoke Smith authorized the use of convict labor to construct the circuit of oiled gravel. The Governor also sent state militia troops to augment local police patrols in keeping the crowd in check, hoping to avoid the pitfalls of the Vanderbilt Cup races. The entry for the inaugural race featured 14 European and six American entries, including factory teams from Benz, Fiat, and Renault. In the race, held on Thanksgiving Day, Ralph DePalma led early in his Fiat, before falling back with lubrication and tire problems. The race came down to a three-way battle between the Benz of Victor Hémery and the Fiats of Louis Wagner and Felice Nazzaro. Wagner won the race by the close margin of 56 seconds.
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