The United States Grand Prix circuit under construction in Austin, Texas, is behind schedule, according to an experienced engineer familiar with the construction timetable.
Despite organisers insisting the facility will be completed on time for the November 18th race, the so called ‘slack time’ in the schedule has all been eaten up, partially because of poor weather, but also because of the financial problems which plagued the organisers in late-2011 which saw the workers leave site for almost a month.
To ensure the circuit meets the FIA’s inspection deadline of mid-September, founding partner Bobby Epstein revealed he is ready to throw extra funds at the project.
“It’s not so much a matter of whether the circuit will be completed,” he told CultureMap. “It will be completed. It’s really about how much it will cost if we need to accelerate the construction in order to finish.”
The timetable, which has been seen by The F1 Times, reveals just how behind they are. The main grandstand was scheduled for structural completion by January 10th, however work on the structure hasn’t even begun on-site.
Meanwhile, the pit and paddock building should have been watertight by January 20th, but the latest images show that this is far from a reality.
William McAdoo, Senior vice-president of Austin Commercial, the general contractor in charge of the tracks completion, admits they will need a long hot summer to ensure things are completed on-time.
“There’s very little float [or slack] in the schedule,” he confirmed. “We have no time to spare and the weather is factor. We’re hoping for a long, hot summer and we’ll be able to accomplish a lot.”
McAdoo is confident the construction will meet the FIA’s 60-day inspection deadline.
“We will have a significant amount of the items that the FIA needs done by that point in time,” he added. “I’m confident we’ll be able to give them what they need to commission the track and have the race ready to go.
“Theres a high level of confidence that we’ll work through this and a high level of confidence that the race will happen. The race will happen,” he insisted.
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