Austin Officials in England to Observe F1 Race
Austin officials are in England today to observe how public officials there put on a Formula One race. Photo by Filipa Rodrigues for KUT News.Mayor Lee Leffingwell, City Manager Marc Ott and four other Austin officials left this morning to tour a Formula One racetrack in England.
Circuit of the Americas, the organization responsible for building Austin’s Formula One track and hosting the November race, is covering all costs for Leffingwell and Ott.
Mark Lisheron, the Austin bureau chief of the online news journal Texas Watchdog, doesn’t think the trip is necessary.
“I’m not sure what Mayor Leffingwell is going to come back with that will make the experience out at Circuit of the Americas any better for the people that are going to be paying for the tickets,” Lisheron said.
Ott told the City Council that the trip provides an opportunity to speak directly with officials who have successfully hosted F1 for decades. Lisheron disagrees.
“They can call it what you want, but number one it looks bad and number two it is a waste of taxpayer money.”
The officials will return to Austin early next week.
