Apple Maps Gets a Ticket to Austin for the F1 Grand Prix

If you’re headed to Austin, Texas, for next week’s Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, you won’t want to miss the city’s other highlights – if nothing else, you’ll need to find good barbecue. Apple is adding another dimension to the Texas capital by applying its Detailed City Experience treatment in Apple Maps, including the Circuit of the Americas track where the race is held each year.

Apple enhanced Maps’ Austin layout with detailed 3D day and night renderings of landmarks such as The Paramount Theater, Sixth Street, the Texas State Capitol building and Terry Black’s BBQ. Navigation improvements include streets with lanes (including bus and bike lanes) marked and more accurate elevation.

The race venue marks the track’s turns, shows 3D versions of the grandstands and pit building, as well as the admission entry points. It also includes flourishes such as the stars-and-stripes design of the runoff areas. (But not the World’s Largest Cowboy Hat, alas, which is still being constructed for the event.)

Apple, which is the official US broadcaster for F1 races on Apple TV, previously applied the Detailed City Experience glow-up to Monaco, which hosts one of the most storied F1 races of the entire tournament (several top racers call Monaco home), as well as the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne.

The improvements to Apple Maps aren’t solely visual additions – the app on the iPhone is also an invaluable guide for getting directions and finding places of interest.

For instance, those attending the F1 race can get directions to COTA and see where roads have been temporarily closed or redirected for the event. But it will also guide you to the section where you’re seated and help you find race-specific areas such as bathrooms and first aid areas.

Although the F1 race is a big reason for visiting Austin, it’s just one of many things to do in the state’s capitol. For that weekend and the rest of the year, Apple has created a new curated guide by country music singer-songwriter Dylan Gossett. You’ll find the race track (where Gossett once worked), as well as his favorite bar, the Armadillo Den, and his favorite guitar store, Moon Music Pro.

The Austin improvements to Apple Maps are available now on Apple devices and on the web.