Your View: Which tracks must F1 always run?
December 8, 2009 by SJ Skid
Filed under Parc Fermé, Prime & Option
There will be a British GP at Silverstone for the next 17 years.
That was yesterday’s welcome news, and today there’s news that the track has enjoyed record ticket sales in the 24 hours since the announcement of the deal to keep racing in Great Britain.
That would seem to be good evidence that the classic tracks and traditional locales for Formula 1 are worth keeping.
But we all know that with Bernie Ecclestone, the only thing you can count on is that your worst fears probably aren’t bad enough.
Maybe there will be a snag in Canada. Perhaps Flavio Briatore will refuse to keep his distance from Monaco, and Bernie Ecclestone will use that to squeeze the sport’s “crown jewel” race off the calendar.
Heck, maybe there’s a hidden clause in the Silverstone deal no one has noticed that will put the race back on shaky ground.
With that in mind, are there tracks that you think must always be on the F1 calendar? And are there some that, even though there’s a bit of history and maybe a classic moment or two, you think could drop off without the world ending?
There’s your challenge, and it’s an open forum: What races would have a permanent place on your F1 calendar, and why? And if there’s a race or two you know some people would want to keep (maybe Monaco, which tends to raise mixed feelings) but you’d drop for a long weekend in Russia or India, don’t be afraid to say so.
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Spa, Monaco (yes, I know the racing is poor), and Monza. …oh, and Road America. Hey, a guy can dream, can’t he?
Spa, Monza, Imola, Monza, Monaco, Magney Cours, Inter Lagos. All for tradition and race quality
Watkins Glen, Spa, Silverstone, Monza, the Ring. Yes, Watkins Glen, I dream of past glories. Love Monaco but racing? It’s a parade.
Wouldn’t mind Road America at all – bratwurst and F1 in the green. Yes, lovely. While we’re at it, let’s try Laguna Seca, too — oh, excuse me, Mazda whatever (that naming agreement still in effect?) or ‘Infineon’. What the heck, we can set up a USGP Trifecta, Watkins Glen, Road America, Laguna Seca. We’ll run them in October.
Cheers
In order of preference…
Spa & Suzuka – definitely. Great tracks, great racing.
Silverstone – I’d also say definitely keep but I’m a Brit and biased. Those high speed corners – sheer poetry
Next
Monaco – nine times out of ten it’s a dull race. But the history plus the magic one race out of ten makes it worth keeping.
Montreal – often produces good racing and I love the corner that before the start line: the cars go millimetres from the wall, and sometimes smack into it.
Spa
Suzuka
Monza
Monaco
In no particular order:
Spa, Monza, Suzuka, Interlagos, Montreal, Silverstone, Nurburgring, Monaco.
Spa, Monza, Suzuka, Silverstone (wouldn’t mind Brands Hatch tho), Montreal, Interlagos…
Spa, Monza, Suzuka, Silversone, Interlagos, and Monaco.
How about we throw in Mid-Ohio? :sigh: Would be nice to have a F1 track in driving distance of my house.
Spa, Monza, Montreal, Silverstone, Interlagos, Monaco, Nurburgring, and Laguna Seca/Long Beach Street Course/Infineon (only because those three are within driving distance)
1. Monza
2. Mugello
3. Spa
4. Suzuka
5. Silverstone
6. Long Beach (I can dream can’t I?)
7. Turkey (Come on that track layout is awesome)
9. Australia (back at Adelaide though)
10. The real ‘Ring
Not Monaco, that’s for sure. Its fantastic that its got history and all (and its not like Ferrari history as Ferrari is still relevent in the last 30 years), but when somebody wins BECAUSE they hit a wall, its time for that to go.
Monza should stay even though I’m more a fan of downforce than speed, something at the Nuerburg ring is nice even though its impossible to race the full ring (maybe somebody should put some time and money into thinking how to make that happen instead of failing to ruin the british grand prix maybe?), Interlagos is a real classic, Montreal always provides a good race (even though its all high speeds), Turkey oh wait no, not that at all, but Suzuka is too good to let go (especially after the second failed Fuji experiment). Oh, and bringing back Olde Hockenheim would be a dream only slightly more achieveable (but much less astounding) than a full Ring race. Almost forgot, while I don’t care much for Spa (how can I call myself an F1 fan?) I’m aware that it ought to be around for good.
Some tracks it’d be nice to visit would be Watkens Glen if they ever felt like getting it up to code (way too much money so they wont), Vallelunga http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vallelunga_circuit Circuit is a real fantastic track, Mugello is also a nice one, and Laguna Seca would make a fantastic high downforce track for the F1 guys (plus massive corckscrew carnage).
Theo, you have any good suggestions for a better street circuit than Monaco? Anything jump to your mind that may be a bit more stretched out that could work? Valencia just doesn’t do it for me…too many Jersey walls in the way. :)
I agree with the general trend. Spa for sure. Suzuka and Monza are grand tracks. As far as Monaco, it should definitely stay. I know some fans complain but from a driving perspective, the best analogy is that it’s like driving a shifter kart on an indoor kart GP track, which is one heck of a thrill ride.
One track that I have always enjoyed is the Sepang International Circuit. If it were up to me, I would include it on this list.
I think the tracks that give the most entertainment are:
1. Interlagos
2. Spa
3. Nurburgring
4. Montreal
Then for the view:
5. Singapore
6. Bahrain
7. Fuji
For the walls and concentration:
8. Monaco.
For driving them on the Playstation:
9. Sepang
10. Suzuka
After having been at Silverstone, I think it can go. No overtaking whatsoever and a super chauvinistic crowd. Obviously, we’ll now haev to stick with it for a further 17 years.
Other tracks are very so so: Melbourne, Shanghai, Barcelona, Turkey (sorry, turn 8 does nothing for me), Imola, Magny-Cours, Hockenheim and Abu Dhabi.
Get rid of Hungaroring and Monza.
Just my humble opinion. Sorry if it hurts.
A good list…I might have to humbly suggest Monza for the sheer speed though. Not to mention history. :)
Spa, Interlagos and Monza. Always.
To have a good season you have to have track variability. If not, you end up with something like IRL with cars specialized to run on ovals. That’s why my list a few posts above includes Monza (very high speeds and in Italy), Monaco (very low speeds), Spa (difficult to get the perfect balance right), Suzuka (altitude affects the car), Interlagos (fans actually affect the drivers and left hand turns dominate), Silverstone (fast, and in England), Montreal (near sea level, Wall of Champions, track surface is not as good so tire management is interesting), Nurburgring (how can you stay away from the Ring, even though F1 races at the newer circuit. And it’s in Germany)
I love the way 90% of people put Spa first. So do I.
Spa Franchorchamps
Monza
Silverstone
Monaco
Interlagos
Canada (Gilles Villeneuve)
We need Imola back. Ayrton Senna, perhaps the greatest driver of all time, lost his life there. Out of tribute alone we should go beck. The last two races there saw Schumi and Alonso stage great battles. I was there May 1 1994 and it kills me that The Toad will bend over backwards to go to Dubai and Singapore but not Imola. Pull your head out Bernie..