Sebastian Vettel hopes practice makes perfect

• Formula One returns to U.S. soil for the first time since 2007 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
• Sebastian Vettel has a 10-point lead on Fernando Alonso coming into the U.S. Grand Prix at Austin
• Vettel, 25, has won 26 races and the last two Formula One championships

Sebastian Vettel saw Circuit of the Americas for the first time Wednesday, but he'd already raced it in his mind.

As Formula One teams and drivers began to arrive to prepare for Sunday's U.S. Grand Prix at Austin, Texas, they already were familiar with the undulating, winding road course through the rolling prairie southeast of the city. Vettel and his Red Bull teammate, Mark Webber, have driven the 3.4-mile course repeatedly on computer simulators — think video games on steroids — to familiarize themselves with the layout and help the team's engineers get a head start on setting up the cars.

The justification of Red Bull's extensive — and expensive — preparation for Austin lies with the importance of what could happen this weekend. Vettel comes into the event 10 points ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. Just one race after Austin — the Brazilian Grand Prix on Nov. 25 — remains. Vettel could clinch the championship in Texas; thus, lap after lap on a simulator before he arrived.

It's also Vettel's 100th F1 race, a remarkable number for a 25-year-old. The native of Heppenheim, Germany, first raced in F1 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2007 — the last time the circuit was on U.S. soil — when he stood in for injured Robert Kubica at BMW. Since then, he has won 26 races and the last two championships.

"I think that more than anything, if you do something that you love, that you enjoy, the time goes by quickly," Vettel told USA TODAY Sports via e-mail. "Now when I'm talking about 2007 when I started to drive a Formula One car for the first time, I still know most of the guys and can recall the places I've been. If you then tell me it's six years ago, it sounds like a big number."

Before Vettel became familiar with the track through simulators, Red Bull engineers were poring over maps and blueprints, carefully noting angles and elevation changes.

"All the teams get a little bit of information in terms of lengths of the straights and calculations of the corners," said Christian Horner, Red Bull's team principal. "And the drivers have been doing simulations, and from that you can work out downforce and other specifics so we'll be able to approach the weekend from a setup standpoint.

"Our drivers have driven several times on the simulator," Horner said. "We know it's a very flowing track with plenty of long straights. It's got the combination of everything — speed, difficult corners and changes in undulation. They've obviously moved an awful lot of earth to build it."

So far, they're pleased with the track, designed by Hermann Tilke, who has created several of the newest tracks on the Formula One schedule.

"The hallmark of the circuit will be the big differences in altitude within a lap as the highest point is expected to be 40 feet higher than the lowest point," Vettel said. "The site has natural elevation changes, which promises a fast course with difficult corners."

Vettel's accomplishments are fitting for the American return of F1, which has tried to secure a permanent niche in the lucrative U.S. market for decades. Formula One failed most recently in Vettel's first race at Indy. The Speedway spent millions to renovate its facilities to accommodate F1's demanding standards, only to see F1 and the track part after eight races.

"It has been a long time since Formula One has been racing in the States," Vettel said. "I did my first race in 2007 in Indianapolis, and that was the last time we've been there. I think it's great that we are traveling to the United States again."

The race has been greeted by a small but enthusiastic American fan base, but Texans seem less than thrilled about the unusual pairing of high-end, Eurocentric auto racing with downhome, occasionally quirky Austin.

"I just think it's an outrage," activist and book editor Ray Reece told the Austin American-Statesman. "Not only has (the track) destroyed thousands of acres, it is also going to trigger more development. It's a monster that's going to give birth to a lot of other little monsters."

Formula One's key corporate players, including Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes and Pirelli, have been pursuing a permanent U.S. Grand Prix since the Indy race fell apart.

"Going to Texas will be a great spectacle," Horner said. "In a perfect world, we'd have a race on the east coast and a race on the west coast. The U.S. is an important market for all teams, but it's also important for Formula One as a whole. ... I think F1 will succeed in the U.S. this time."

So, too, might his driver.

"With age, you get a little bit smarter," Vettel said. "You learn certain things and you get a little more relaxed. But also it's important to stay childish, stay hungry and make mistakes. Otherwise how can you go forward?"