The ‘backwards’ Indianapolis configuration revealed

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This is the planned revised configuration for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course that Formula 1 may visit in the near future.

Among the changes the F1 cars will race the circuit in the opposite direction to present use. This would mean them circulating anti-clockwise, as the cars in the annual Indianapolis 500 do on the full oval circuit.

Although the tweaked layout would scrap the highly criticised double hairpin in the infield, it would also end the use of the banked final corner, ‘turn 13’, which was at the centre of the controversial 2005 race that saw only six drivers compete. This is because the circuit is to be used for Moto GP races and motorcycle riders cannot run on the banked turn.

It’s also questionable whether the changed layout would prove quite as conducive to overtaking as the current configuration does. But would it be enough to guarantee F1’s future in the United States for the foreseeable future?

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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11 comments on “The ‘backwards’ Indianapolis configuration revealed”

  1. The new configuration is terrible.
    Let’s be serious… Who came up with this cluster of a “New Configuration”?

    If the banking in the final corner is such of a concern (after 8 years? C’mon!) then who’s brainstorm was it to replace (the dreaded) turn #13 with a section that would involve crossing the banking 3 times and bottoming out twice?

    Moto GP and the riders who compete race on higher banking and track changes than that. Laguna?.. Daytona?.. Ring any bells?

    Sorry, but if the circut should change they should extend the track through the infield with some “S” turns after the back straight which would lead them to the backstretch of the Indy oval.

    The “backwards” configuration shown above is a step back rather than an improvement.

  2. 2 things that I don’t approve of, what is the point of that layout? and why does F1 have to use that layout? It’s just a pointless circuit if F1 doesn’t use the banking.

  3. I’m all for losing the chicane at least the one we have now but, I’m not sure dropping the banked turn is going to impress an American audience much more than running of field of 6 cars did.

    If MotoGP is the real concern, let them run the cut out course and keep the banked turn for F1. How difficult could that possibly be? Or is Bridgestone afraid they may lose face if they produce an inadequate tire?

  4. run the oval … lets bring technology back to the oval, the spec race irl sucks …

  5. The reconfiguration is terrible. F1 needs to stop bitching about the tight infield and the banked corner at Indy. These are supposed to be the best teams and drivers in the world and they can’t figure out a way around it? The fact is it provides great high speed sections with tight close corners…the best of both worlds. Oh and there’s more passing here than probably any other course on the schedule. A very unique course at the greatest race track in the world.

  6. i could design something better that that. and if f1 does race there in the new idea they sould remane it indianapolis slow speedway

  7. F1 needs to return to the states but this reconfiguration is not the key.  It’s about time F1 ran on the full oval.  The fans want it, the sponsors want it and the drivers want it.  If F1 is to be the pinnacle of all motor sport, then a super speedway we must have.  Along with the night races and the street races.  This isn’t difficult, so what’s stopping it from happening? Anyone??

  8. i think they should start anti-clockwise, but on the oval part of the track. Then they should go into the infeild section, and add a long straight-away on the back-stretch of the oval somewhere into the ‘configuration’. finally, they should add an ‘s’ somewhere on the track, like after the banked turn going into the infield or after the back-stretch of the oval. I think this would give some more overtaking oppurtunities for the drivers and excitement for the fans. I also think they should have Red Bull sponsor the race. They have 2 teams in formula1 now, and they sponsor the moto gp races in the US, so it would be perfect.

  9. Come on – F1 on an oval – BORING!!! That’s what IRL is for.

  10. F1 can’t run on an oval without a rule change. The rules require that all circuits must have left and right hand corners.

  11. The cars are not designed to run on ovals, so they wouldn’t be safe (remember Ralf Schumacher’s crash?). And actually, a number of the drivers think oval racing is insane/too dangerous.

    The Speedway would not want F1 on the oval because they would be faster than the Indy Cars.

    Spa generally produces a good bit more passing than Indy ever did. The same could probably also be said of Interlagos, Montreal, and the old Hockenheim.

    I totally agree though that this (MotoGP) configuration is utter cow’s dung compared to the F1 layout.

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