COTA builds world's largest cowboy hat — a 75-foot bar — for the United States Grand Prix

Circuit of the Americas is attempting to claim a Guinness World Record at the United States Grand Prix with a 75-foot fibreglass cowboy hat — complete with a bar inside — built in the circuit’s Lone Star Land fan zone, with an official inspection scheduled for the Thursday before the race weekend.

COTA president Bobby Epstein confirmed the dimensions and ambition behind the structure. Standing roughly 23 metres tall and constructed from fibreglass, the hat will house a Western-themed bar accessible from Lone Star Land, the circuit’s ranch-themed spectator area. Epstein told The Athletic that he wanted a permanent landmark recognisable even when Formula 1 is not in town.

“I thought the circuit should have a tourist attraction with some kind of Guinness World Record,” Epstein said. “Instead of a regular tent, why not build a 75-foot cowboy hat?”

No existing Guinness World Record category covers the largest cowboy hat, which means COTA could effectively create the category if Guinness verifies the attempt. Epstein expects the structure to remain at the venue year-round rather than serve as a temporary race-weekend installation.

To put the scale in context, Fox San Antonio reports that the largest cowboy boot sculpture in the state — located in San Antonio — stands 10.74 metres tall. COTA’s hat would stand at roughly double that height. Guinness has also recorded 39,013 people simultaneously wearing cowboy hats at Angel Stadium in Anaheim in 2012, a crowd-participation record the circuit’s grandstands could theoretically challenge.

Lone Star Land has become one of COTA’s signature features since the circuit leaned into Texas’s Western identity. The fan zone regularly hosts line dancing, rope demonstrations, and country music performances alongside the Formula 1 race weekend programme.

The construction of the hat is understood to be close to completion ahead of the Guinness inspection. The United States Grand Prix weekend will also see Williams display its Marvel-themed show car in the fan zone, and Kimi Antonelli could secure a championship title in Austin depending on results.