sequences inspired by "the very best circuits" in the world. On November 15, 2011, it was reported that construction of the circuit had been temporarily halted as the owners had not yet been awarded the contract to stage the race in 2012, following reports that Bernie Ecclestone had cast doubt on the race taking place. After Tavo Hellmund's contract was found in breach by Ecclestone and a new contract was entered into between Formula 1 and the original track investors, Red McCombs and Bobby Epstein, the US Grand Prix was confirmed to be held at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin on the original scheduled date in 2012. Reigning champion Sebastian Vettel took pole for the first race at the Texas circuit but it was 2007 winner Lewis Hamilton who kept his unbeaten run in the US as the two finished almost 40 seconds ahead of third. On November 11, 2015, the Texas government cut nearly $6 million of the required $25 million in funding to host the event. Attendance numbers had dropped to 224,011 in October 2015, for the 2015 United States Grand Prix event, after heavy rain from a quickly dissipating Hurricane Patricia. On March 9, 2016, it was confirmed the race would continue to run in Austin, despite the funding cuts. 2016 turned out to be the best-attended Grand Prix in Austin: boosted by a heated World Drivers' Championship battle between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, good weather, and the allure of a Saturday night concert from pop singer Taylor Swift, nearly 270,000 people went through the turnstiles during the race weekend. On October 22, 2017, Lewis Hamilton won the race. Former US president Bill Clinton awarded the winning trophy. Justin Timberlake's concert helped boost the Grand Prix attendance by 40,000 over the previous year. In 2018, Britney Spears and Bruno Mars performed. The originally planned 2020 race at COTA was cancelled due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The race returned in 2021. COTA is due to host Formula One until 2026. Other Grands Prix in the United States The United States Grand Prix is the longest-running Formula One World Championship event held in the United States. Previously, however, there were four other separate F1 events in the US From until , the Long Beach circuit hosted a newly created United States Grand Prix West, which ran in the same