Formula E: Ticket sales reveal Austin circuit layout - Gen4 cars set to race on NASCAR configuration

The circuit layout for the 2027 Austin E-Prix appears to have been revealed ahead of schedule. As part of the ticket sales process, Formula E has published a circuit map showing 16 numbered corners. According to the graphic, the new Gen4 cars are set to race on the shorter NASCAR configuration of the Circuit of The Americas. An official presentation of the layout has yet to take place.

Formula E will make its debut at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Austin on 6 February 2027. As e-Formula.news exclusively reported in September, the championship plans to race in Austin until at least 2031. Until now, Formula E had only confirmed the venue, without revealing any details of the circuit configuration. However, the championship appears to have provided the answer itself: a detailed circuit map has been published on its official website as part of the ticket sales process.

The map shows a circuit with 16 numbered corners that appears to match the so-called National Course. NASCAR has used this shorter configuration of the Circuit of The Americas since 2025, having previously raced on the full Grand Prix layout also used by Formula 1.

NASCAR shortcut eliminates the long back straight

The National Course differs significantly from the 5.513-kilometre Grand Prix circuit, particularly in the middle sector. After the steep climb to Turn 1 and the subsequent high-speed changes of direction, the circuit takes a shortcut. Instead of continuing through Turns 7 to 11 of the Formula 1 layout, drivers turn onto a short connecting section after Turn 6. Two additional left-hand corners then take them back onto the Grand Prix circuit before Turn 12, bypassing the long back straight entirely.

The circuit then continues through the familiar tight corners near the Germania Insurance Amphitheater before heading into the final sector and eventually returning to the start-finish straight. The NASCAR configuration measures 3.862 kilometres, making it around 1.65 kilometres shorter than the full Grand Prix layout. However, neither the FIA nor Formula E has officially confirmed the final circuit length for the Austin E-Prix.

There is also an interesting discrepancy in the corner numbering: While NASCAR officially lists 17 corners for the National Course, only 16 are numbered on Formula E's circuit map. A closer look reveals that the number 5 is positioned on a straight after the corresponding corner. The subsequent numbering also appears to be shifted: The corner marked as Turn 6 would actually be Turn 7 if the corners were counted consecutively. This may simply be a labelling error on the map.

Why the NASCAR layout could suit Gen4

There are several reasons why choosing the National Course would make sense. The shortcut eliminates some of the faster sections of the Grand Prix circuit, most notably the long back straight. At the same time, the layout retains a varied combination of high-speed direction changes, tight corners and several heavy braking zones.

The latter are particularly important for the new Gen4 cars, as energy regeneration remains a central element of Formula E racing. While an additional chicane is planned in Mexico City and three modifications are proposed for Brands Hatch, the National Course in Austin may already offer enough heavy braking zones to make further changes unnecessary.

Rather than developing an entirely new circuit configuration, Formula E could also make use of a layout that has already been proven in competitive racing. Whether minor modifications will nevertheless be required to accommodate the electric championship remains unknown.

The Austin E-Prix will be the fourth round of the 2026/27 Formula E World Championship. Three weeks earlier, the championship will race in Mexico City, before heading to Miami for its second US race of the season on 20 February. It remains to be seen whether the FIA will homologate the newly published circuit configuration in its current form.