F1 will return to the United States for the first time in 4 years in 2012, and Austin, Texas will serve as the host city of the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix through to 2021.

There had been talk about the Grand Prix heading to New York or New Jersey, but a purpose built facility in Texas will hold the Grand Prix, as Bernie Ecclestone explained:

“For the first time in the history of Formula One in the United States, a world-class facility will be purpose-built to host the event. Lewis Hamilton won the last Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in 2007, signalling the end to eight years at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This however, will be the first time a facility is constructed from the ground up specifically for Formula One in the US.”

There is no further information as to who will design the circuit but you’d be brave to bet against it being Hermann Tilke…unfortunately.

This has to be great news for F1 and the USA. With the failure of USF1 it seemed unbelievably that Formula 1 was never going to conquer America, but now it has. Presumably this greatly bolsters the chance of a team from across the pond lining up on the grid in the near future.