High-tech Formula 1 cars rev engines toward Houston for unique event

lights out and away we go

A championship-winning Formula 1 car is on track to speed through downtown Houston in two months. Photo courtesy of Red Bull

Houstonians with a passion for Formula 1 racing have to drive to Austin — and spend a lot of money — to get up close to the innovative cars that reach speeds over 200 miles per hour. That’s all going to change in September.

The Bayou City will be the next host of a Red Bull Showrun. Held on Saturday, September 7 at Discovery Green in downtown Houston, the free event will feature one of Red Bull’s championship-winning RB7 car flying down the streets around the park.

Best of all, it’s completely free to attend. Of course, those who want a great view of the action may purchase $50 grandstand tickets that went on sale this morning.

Held previously in other cities without F1 races such as New York, Dallas, and Washington, D.C., Red Bull uses the Showrun to bring the sport to new fans. Although the sport traces its history to the ‘50s, it has seen a boost in popularity thanks to Formula 1: Drive to Survive, a Netflix show that offers a behind-the-scenes look at key people on each of the 10 teams.

Red Bull’s Formula 1 team is riding particularly high at the moment, having won the Constructors Championship in both 2022 and 2023 on the strength of its car and driver Max Verstappen, who has won three consecutive Drivers’ Championship titles and currently leads the championship this year, too.

"The best part about any Red Bull Showrun is being able to bring Formula One to some fans that have already seen it, but more importantly to some who have never seen Formula One before," David Coulthard, a former Red Bull Racing Grand Prix driver who won 13 races during his 15-year career, said in a statement.

Held from noon to 2 pm, the RB7 car will make a number of trips on the streets, doing doughnuts and burnouts and generally being very fast and loud. In between those runs, the Showrun will feature appearances by other Red Bull athletes and a DJ battle between local legends DJ Mr. Rogers and Chase B, who is the longtime DJ for hip hop star Travis Scott. A complete lineup of appearances will be released at a later date, according to a release.

Fans will also have access to a fan zone with food vendors, F1 racing simulators, Oracle Red Bull Racing merchandise, and other free activities.

For more information, including how to purchase grandstand tickets, visit the event’s website.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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Tesla's robotaxi service 'tentatively' to launch in Austin in June, Musk says

Tesla Talk

Elon Musk says Tesla is “tentatively” set to begin providing robotaxi service in Austin on June 22.

In a post on his X social media platform, Musk said the date could change because Tesla is “being super paranoid about safety.”

Investors, Wall Street analysts and Tesla enthusiasts have been anticipating the rollout of the driverless cabs since Musk said earlier this year that the service would launch in Austin sometime in June.

Last month, Musk told CNBC that the taxis will be remotely monitored at first and “geofenced” to certain areas of the city deemed the safest to navigate. He said he expected to initially run 10 or so taxis, increase that number rapidly and start offering the service in Los Angeles, San Antonio, San Francisco and other cities.

Musk has been promising fully autonomous, self-driving vehicles “next year” for a decade, but the pressure is on now as Tesla actually begins to operate a self-driving taxi service.

Sales of Tesla’s electric vehicles have sagged due to increased competition, the retooling of its most popular car, the Model Y, and the fallout from Musk’s turn to politics.

The Austin rollout also comes after Musk had a public blowup with President Donald Trump over the administration’s tax bill. Some analysts have expressed concern that Trump could retaliate by encouraging federal safety regulators to to step in at any sign of trouble for the robotaxis.

Houston falls in new ranking of world's best startup ecosystems

growth report

Houston fell out of the top 50 in this year’s ranking of the cities with the world’s best startup ecosystems.

In the 2025 Global Startup Ecosystem Index, published by economic research platform StartupBlink, Houston lands at No. 52 among the world’s top cities for startup ecosystems. That’s down four places from its No. 48 showing in 2024.

In the U.S., Houston’s startup ecosystem ranks 18th, up one spot from 2024.

According to the StartupBlink index, Houston’s startup ecosystem notched an annual growth rate of 13.4 percent. StartupBlink’s sample database contains 899 Houston startups.

Regardless of Houston’s ecosystem ranking, the Greater Houston Partnership touts the city’s startup scene.

“Houston’s innovation ecosystem is a dynamic hub that nurtures startups across diverse industries,” says the partnership. “With a strategic location, robust infrastructure, and a supportive community, Houston offers unparalleled opportunities for entrepreneurial success.”

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin ranks 16th in the world (up from No. 17 last year) and Dallas ranks 27th (down from No. 25 last year). Nationally, Austin appears at No. 6 (up from No. 7 last year) and Dallas appears at No. 10 (unchanged from last year).

StartupBlink says that between 2021 and 2025, Austin, Paris, Singapore, Tokyo, Shenzhen and Seoul emerged as long-run winners in the global top 20. Austin recorded an annual ecosystem growth rate of 24.1 percent.

San Francisco topped this year’s global list, followed by New York City, London, Los Angeles, and Beijing.

“Successful startups and unicorns often emerge from the top startup ecosystems as these cities offer dozens of advantages, including access to investors, high-quality clients, potential co-founders and team members, reliable suppliers, and a vast knowledge base,” says StartupBlink.

Overall, StartupBlink analyzed 1,473 cities. The index judges cities based on data in three categories:

  • Quantity, measuring an ecosystem’s level of activity.
  • Quality, gauging an ecosystem’s impact and success.
  • Business environment, evaluating overall support of startup growth.

“The ecosystem in which your startup operates matters,” StartupBlink says. “If you find yourself in an underperforming ecosystem that lacks the necessary resources and support, you are faced with a choice: either relocate to an overperforming location or lead it.”

New report deems Houston's I-45 expansion a "freeway without a future"

Houston Highways

A national nonprofit organization advocating for the removal of freeways across the country has named the Interstate 45 expansion in Houston on its 2025 list of "freeways without futures."

The latest report from Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) included nine U.S. freeways where the infrastructure is "nearing the end of its functional life." The report also highlights local efforts and campaigns offering an alternative solution that reconnects and prioritizes local communities while addressing environmental and ecological damage.

Currently in the initial stages of construction, the I-45 expansion project, dubbed the North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP), aims at reconstructing I-45N between downtown and the north Sam Houston Tollway, as well as segments of connecting freeways.

Promised improvement areas include I-45 from Beltway 8 to I-10 and I-45 through downtown along I-10 and US 59/I-69. Portions of I-10 and US 59/I-69 will be improved as well, per TxDOT. Most notably, the project will remove the Pierce Elevated portion in downtown Houston and reroute I-45 to run parallel to I-10 and Highway 59, resulting in the demolition of existing properties between the freeway and St Emmanuel St.

The CNU report states that the construction of I-45 in the 1950s and 1960s brought significant changes to the local communities around it. Highway construction led to the demolition of many homes and local businesses, thus displacing area residents and dividing their neighborhoods.

The report also mentioned significant environmental consequences, like air and noise pollution, that have plagued the areas surrounding the freeway.

"For decades, residents in areas like Near Northside, Fifth Ward, and Independence Heights have faced elevated levels of air pollution from vehicle emissions, contributing to higher rates of asthma and respiratory illnesses," the report said.

Additionally, the report claims that worsening stormwater runoff from the concrete infrastructure has also led to significant flooding issues due to a lack of natural drainage.

"Increased concrete and impermeable surfaces prevent natural drainage, leading to localized flooding, which threatens homes and public health — especially for those who lack resources for flood mitigation," the report said.

CNU claims further expansion of Houston's highway system could eventually lead to the loss of the city's bayous, while also diminishing the remaining flood-absorbing land. Other repercussions like air pollution and heat island effects may also worsen, the report argues, and these ramifications would most likely harm the predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods near the freeway.

A grassroots campaign against Houston's highway expansion

CNU referenced a key alternative to Houston's highway expansion, Stop TxDOT I-45, which has garnered a small but vocal group of local activists who want to see the city re-envision its highway infrastructure.

The campaign demands that the North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP) stop expanding I-45 and instead seek "solutions that prioritize people, protect [the] environment, and build true resilience." Namely, it proposes the redirection of NHHIP funds toward "people-centered investments" to improve and transform public transit access, while also restoring green spaces and thus creating healthier neighborhoods throughout Houston.

Environmentally conscious Houstonians aren't the only fans of these measures: The report says Stop TxDOT I-45 may have also had an influence on late former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, although he signed a Memorandum of Understanding with TxDOT that allowed the project to proceed.

"During his time as Mayor of Houston, the late Congressman Sylvester Turner proposed Vision C — an alternative to NHHIP that embraced equitable public transit and environmental sustainability," the report said. "But TxDOT never took the proposal seriously, and today there is no political will to pursue it."

Other "freeways without futures":

The only other Texas highway included in CNU's 2025 report is I-35 in Austin, which has been included in every "Freeways without Futures" report as far back as 2019.

Other U.S. freeways mentioned in the report include:

  • NY State Routes 33 and 198 in Buffalo, New York
  • Interstate I-980 in Oakland, California
  • Interstate 175 in Saint Petersburg, Florida
  • IL 137/Amstutz Expressway/Bobby Thompson Expressway in Waukegan and North Chicago, Illinois
  • DuSable Lake Shore Drive (US 41) in Chicago, Illinois
  • US-101 in San Mateo County, California
  • US-35 in Dayton, Ohio
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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

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