F1 in Austin: the best free fan zones and pop-ups

The Formula 1 United States Grand Prix is taking over Austin this weekend, with the race itself at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) from 22 to 25 October. It's the 18th round of the 2026 season, and the city has filled in around it with a spread of fan zones and pop-ups that you can drop into without a grandstand ticket. Most of them are free, so they're easy to work around whatever race-day plans you've already made.

Down on Congress Avenue, two teams have set up within a few blocks of each other. The Atlassian Williams F1 Team Fan Zone at 800 Congress runs through 26 October, with hours that shift from 11:00-19:00 on weekdays to 10:00-19:00 on Thursday through Saturday. Entry is free, though it asks for a free Williams ID, which you get by downloading the team app and registering. Inside there's a full-scale FW48 show car in a special Marvel's Doomsday livery, wind tunnel tests, racing simulators, a Reaction Ring, and a simulator experience driving Ayao Komatsu's truck, plus a line of Austin-edition merchandise and the Williams x Marvel comic. A few blocks away at 400 Congress, the Mercedes F1 Team Fan Hub runs 22 to 25 October, with hours that stretch late into the evening on Friday and Saturday. It's also free, though registering interest doesn't guarantee priority entry — everyone joins the same queue on arrival. There's a pit-stop test in a real F1 car, simulators, a 'Trackside with Meta AI' activation, historic team memorabilia, a photo op with the 2026 show car, daily giveaways, official team merchandise, Texan food from local vendors, and local music concerts.

Over on San Jacinto Boulevard, Lando's Original Service Dept. at 1500 San Jacinto turns a vintage 1970s-style gas station into a pop-up garage for Lando Norris's brand, LN4, from 21 to 25 October, open 9:00-19:00 Thursday through Sunday. It's free to walk in, with a patch-making station, a photo booth postcard, exclusive Lando Norris merchandise, a helmets display, and custom postcard and patch-making stations built with Google Gemini. At 1500 E. 4th Street, Enchanté x Ford Racing takes over Distribution Hall from 22 to 25 October, open 11:00-19:00 Thursday through Saturday and 11:00-17:00 on Sunday, first-come, first-served and free. It's a pop-up from former F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo's fashion brand, Enchanté, in collaboration with Ford Racing, with a hoodie at $130, a two-tone hat at $50, a Racing America's Race Team tee at $55, and a racing hat at $50. Ricciardo, a Ford Racing ambassador, drove in from Lake Havasu, Arizona — about 1,200 miles — for the event.

For the evening crowd, Oracle Red Bull Racing and Visa Cash App Racing Bulls are running Austin Race Nights at Rivière Austin (Big Texas) at 1501 E. 7th Street, 16:00 to 22:00 daily from 22 to 25 October. It's free with pre-registration, and while all ages are welcome until 20:00, it goes 18-plus after that, with simulators, a pit-stop challenge, a replica garage, and the chance of driver appearances. If you're after something more low-key, the COTA Grand PrixView at the circuit opens 22 October for around $20, with F1 Academy on track, fan villages, and a pit lane walk from 14:00 to 16:00, plus Maroon 5 on Friday, Post Malone on Saturday, and Alesso on Sunday.