Video: First onboard lap simulation of Miami’s new track for 2022 F1 season

2022 F1 season

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The promoters of the Miami Grand Prix, which will hold its first race during the 2022 F1 season, have revealed a simulated onboard lap of the new Hard Rock Stadium circuit.

The 5.41 kilometre course, created by Apex Circuit Designs, will be laid out in the car park around the sports stadium which is home to the Miami Dolphins NFL team. The anti-clockwise layout features 19 corners.

F1 intends to position up to three DRS zones on the track, which will allow top speeds of around 320kph (199mph).

The track will hold the Miami Grand Prix in the second quarter of next year, Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said last week.

Miami Grand Prix managing partner Tom Garfinkel said their first priority when designing the track was “creating a great racing circuit for the drivers, for fans [with] multiple passing opportunities.”

The track will also offer superb opportunities, said Garfinkel. “There’s going to be vistas really from the stadium which sits at the centre of the circuit,” he added. “You could walk around the top deck of the stadium and see every turn in the racetrack. That’s a pretty unique opportunity.”

Miami Gardens Hard Rock Stadium onboard lap simulation

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Miami Gardens Hard Rock Stadium track map

Miami Gardens grand prix circuit
Miami Gardens grand prix circuit

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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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86 comments on “Video: First onboard lap simulation of Miami’s new track for 2022 F1 season”

  1. Looks about as awful as I was expecting.

    Place has no character, Its just another boring tilke style street circuit in a car park.

    And the talk of designing the track with 3 DRS zones is disappointing given how that awful artificial gimmick is meant to finally be gone next year.

    1. Although there is the irony that, for all Tilke is lambasted, this particular venue has nothing to do with Tilke – it’s Apex Circuit Design that’s working on this venue.

      1. I know this isn’t a Tilke circuit but it often feels like all modern circuits take many of the Tilke design characteristics which just makes most new circuits seem like Tilke circuits.

        Hence why I said ‘Tilke style’.

    2. Well aren’t you just a bundle of optimism. Not one constructive critique in your comment.

      Whinge whinge whinge

      1. Ridiculous isnt it!
        All of this bashing of Tilke is just a perfect example of people taking a press release comment and repeating it ad hominem until it becomes a definitive truth in their minds. Tilke seems to get the blame for all of F1s problems and has become a pariah for mindless “fans” and “experts”. A new noun has even been created (“TILKEDROME”) in a further attempt to place all of F1s ills at his door. There is a reason F1 continually uses Tilke for F1 circuit design. He is actually rather good at it!! And can provide an all encompassing service. And besides all of that
        .. this track has nothing to do with Tilke, yet he is being castigated yet again. Crazy!!

        1. someone or something
          23rd April 2021, 10:11

          While I mostly agree with your comment, you may want to consult a dictionary on “repeating it ad hominem”. ;-)

    3. @roger-ayles I have to admit my heart sank when I read about the 3 DRS zones. Why are they talking about DRS zones on a 2022 track at all? Same as you, I thought they were to be heading towards the removal of DRS. I have advocated for the absolute necessity of that if they are at all serious about making for a better racing product on the track with the new cars. I have hated DRS from minute one.

      But that said, I just had a heart lifting moment when I remembered some things Domenicali spoke of about the future of F1. And when it comes to DRS, what he spoke of was using it as a tool simply to reduce drag on straightaways in the ever forward searching goal of reducing fuel consumption and ecological footprint as they make F1 more and more green. Why do they need all that drag from downforce on straights anyway? They only need the downforce and the inherent drag for cornering.

      What I am envisioning to be F1’s intention going forward is that DRS will exist, but it will no longer be used as a tool to promote passing for a trailing car that is within a certain time margin. It will be used by all cars in all designated zones on a track and will be independent of any time margin to a leading car. The spacing of the cars will have nothing to do with it. It will simply be a fair-to-all tool for them to all reduce their drag and fuel consumption on select main straightaways.

      And if I’m right and that is going to be a completely different usage of the previously much-hated DRS, frankly I wouldn’t care if they opened up the front wing too. As long as it is absolutely fair and equal for all teams, with them all reducing their drag in the DRS zones every time they’re in them, that to me is night and day different to the current usage of DRS that makes the leading car defenceless such is the speed advantage of the trailing car as we have witnessed to our dismay.

      If I’m right and they completely change the philosophy of it’s usage, there will no longer be that unfair advantage for trailing car, as the leading driver will have had his wing open too. Just as we have seen when a leading car now has his wing open when he too has been close enough to a car in front of him, and the third car back from the front guy can’t make gains on the second guy who also has his wing open. It also happens when a race leader comes up on a backmarker, which gives him the opportunity to open his wing, which then causes the trailing driver going for a pass and a win to be less advantaged by DRS, or more to say his DRS gets nullified.

      Another point. I have thought, until Domenicali’s comments about the future, that Brawn wanted to retain DRS as a safety net in case teams found loopholes towards still making too much wake, or still making cars too sensitive in dirty air, but now I am starting to wonder if Brawn has been that forward thinking starting two or three years ago that it has been more about drag reduction for all, on every lap, for the fuel saving. And if that is the case, all I can say is…wow! Genius.

      1. Coventry Climax
        24th April 2021, 0:13

        @Robbie: See my comment, below @d0senbrot‘s post and the (mine and your) comments on that.

      2. @robbie the trouble with the “DRS for all”, is that it actually negates any normal slipstream. Reduced drag for the car in front reduces the effectiveness for a normal slipstream, which would make it much harder to pass on the straights than no-DRS at all.

        But if the driver is able to follow closely out of corners, maybe that won’t matter. Time will tell I guess.

        1. @justrhysism That’s a fair point, I think. Not sure how the physics would work on that. It might be that you simply have two cars, let’s say, one behind the other down a straightaway, virtually equivalent in downforce and drag, neither with an artificial advantage, but the leading car is inherently punching the hole in the air for the trailing car no matter the relative drag.

          For me the key thing is the two cars having virtually equivalent everything, performance and driver differences aside of course. As in, let the better car and/or driver not be sat handcuffed in dirty air, and just let it be more organic. That’s why Brawn has termed it a more driver vs driver series. Not entirely of course as there is always gong to be better and worse teams, and different tire states, and umpteen other things going on, but…let’s just get them out of such a dire dirty air effect…as they are doing for next year onwards. And yeah the slipstream effect will be an interesting thing to see too, for whatever there is or isn’t of that.

          1. @robbie yes, but the slipstream effect is much greater behind draggy cars. The DRS reduces the drag (literally its name) which reduces the advantage of a slipstream in turn making it harder to pass on the straights.

            So on that, I’d prefer no DRS at all (once cars can follow through corners).

    4. I agree Roger, it looks awful in its sameness.

      Modern circuit are not good, they are mostly the same. Notice you don’t talk about a high speed Monza Tilke. Plus the corners are all pretty much designed the same way.

      The only good recent track is Texas.

  2. Hm, I guess we’ll have to see how it turns out. From that video, I get more Sochi/Korea and a bit of Baku vibes than I get the Spa/Singapore/Monaco thrill.

    Will be important to see how it looks in the real world – especially with fans in those grandstands.

    1. someone or something
      22nd April 2021, 23:20

      The only Singapore-y element I saw was that rumbly chicane that looked like the triple chicane that was removed a few years ago.

    2. In fact… Based on that video game like video, I’m personally not put out by the layout itself. We’ll have to see in real life, but it could be decent. It’s more the surrounding that is disappointing. Not sure to see where the Miami “vibe” will be, as other said it “this could be anywhere”. Was hoping for a bit of seaside and palm tree surrounded by glass skyscrapers , I suppose ;-)

  3. Looks like a giant DRS zone which means plenty of boring races surely to come.

    1. Especially because a slower car usually can’t pass a faster one even with DRS, while it makes it almost impossible to defend from the likes of Mercedes. Before DRS slower cars could defend for many laps and even finish in front, now they can’t, at least when there are no issues with cars etc.

  4. Hmmm. The animation, looks like Sochi. To be honest it could be anywhere. I really wanted to be positive about this, but well, it looks terrible. I don’t really blame the circuit designers, in so much as what do you do in a flat car park around a stadium? Baku at least has some unique characteristics to it, but this, not so much.

    Also, when they release these videos surely they must think to themselves, should we really release this?

    1. At least it has some elevation unlike Sochi. Baku has something other street circuits probably never had.

  5. My first impression is that it looks really narrow and that overtaking will be difficult

  6. That chicane at turns 14/15 might be one of the worst F1 chicanes ever designed, I don’t think that’s too much of an overstatement.

    1. I’d hazard a guess it had to be put there due to the changes in elevation.

  7. Great Indy car track. Horrible F1 track

  8. Nice concrete tunnel

  9. Wow, this looks really unique. Can’t wait!

    1. I like the look of it myself. I could imagine a couple of places it could be thrown down the inside. Flowing sections that need to be strung together to get a good run onto the straight are one of my favourite characteristics (like the 4-8 complex).

      Less so t16 where it’s just one corner and then you hammer out but that’s a nice healthy straight that should make for a good DRS zone.

      Other than that it’s a bit bland. Don’t know why they’re bothering with 11-15. That’s the exact kind of worthless chicanery Albert Park is getting rid of.

      1. Coventry Climax
        23rd April 2021, 9:35

        As far as I can tell from the animation, the flowing sectors you talk about do not present any specific challenge, and no special ‘stringing them together’ correctly, unlike the Silverstone S’ses.
        And hey, there is no such thing as a ‘good DRS zone’.

        1. Coventry Climax See my comment above re: DRS. I agree with you that as we know the usage of DRS to currently be, there is no such thing as a good DRS zone. However, what if DRS was used completely differently, and it was no longer about being behind a leading car by a certain time margin, with the leading car disallowed from using his DRS, thus creating a huge speed differential and an easy pass for the trailing car on a defenceless leading car? What if they all got to use DRS at all times every time they are in a DRS zone, nothing to do with being within a certain time margin of a car in front? Why have it at all then? Get rid of it then? Ok but Domenicali has talked about using it simply as a measure to reduce everyone’s drag and therefore fuel economy on straightaways, when they don’t need the downforce anyway. See my comment above.

          1. Coventry Climax
            24th April 2021, 0:02

            If indeed they, the drivers, will/would be able to use the DRS-system to their own liking and ability (which, when over-estimating their ability, will result in immediate time-loss, spin or crash), and without any interference from the FIA, I would welcome it, as I have said many times before. Then DRS would become a driver tool, similar to brake-balance, diff, etc. The problem however is, that if that were the case, and indeed the idea, right from the start, as you so want to believe, there would not be any necessity at all to DESIGN a track for DRS zones. Mind: ZONES. If its use were indeed free, there’s no such thing as zones. Zones inherently mean FIA interference in the process of racing, which I absolutely condemn. I -personally- have no faith at all in neither the FIA nor Liberty.

          2. Coventry Climax No you’re not getting it. You should read what Domenicali was talking about. As I have already said this would be simply a tool to free up drag on straightaways for the purpose of saving fuel. They don’t need downforce for straights anyway. They would still of course be resorting to closing the wings for corners. You are making it sound like it would be a free for all for them to use at every part of the track hence your ‘spins and crashes’ remark. Not at all. Only in the DRS zones, which would be the ones as usual when it would be safest and most appropriate to have the rear wing open, would they all do so every time, so that it is fair for all, simply to reduce fuel consumption. This is a different type of use altogether for DRS that SD has hinted at. It would no longer be a tool to enable passing, for the large lessening of clean air dependence will be taking care of that.

          3. Coventry Climax
            26th April 2021, 0:31

            No Robbie, it is you who is not getting it. Read my reply again, and at least, for a change, try to understand someone elses point of view.
            I understand all to well what you’re saying, but I doubt very much that this was the intention right from the start, and even if it was, (which, for some infathomable reason, you now seem to be sure of already, even if in your comment above it is still ‘if I’m right’) I still do not agree to the concept of ‘zones’, whatever for.
            You now seem to acknowledge that Brawn has said something in the order of ‘we may still need DRS’, which you seemed to have forgotten and we had discussions about before, yet somehow refuse to let that register for what it is and instead invent strokes of genius with the FIA. That in itself is already a laugh, to my opinion.

  10. someone or something
    22nd April 2021, 23:22

    A bit like Sochi, Valencia, and Mexico’s middle sector had a child.

  11. Mark in Florida
    22nd April 2021, 23:42

    Well one thing about it being a car park they can keep changing the layout as needed. They aren’t going to get it right the first time I’m sure they are taking the experts recommendations. I’m planning on going next year. Miami is a beautiful city and there is a lot to do and see.

  12. I got lost

    1. Don’t worry, just keep going forward down the concrete-tunnel-thing, sometimes you’ll think ‘have I been here before?’ (you have), but if you do it 61 times they’ll eventually let you out the car park, in fact if you do it faster than anyone else, you get a trophy and 25 world championship points.

  13. Quite unforgiving, barriers around all the time. I like that.

  14. It looks like your typical modern car-park circuit & I just can’t get that excited about any of them TBH.

    It just highlights the issue I have with most of the more modern circuits, They all follow the same blueprints so all have the same sort of characteristics & therefore all end up having a very similar feel & there’s just nothing about this track that I find interesting or exciting because of that.

    One of the things that made the last year so interesting for me was the addition of Imola, Portimou, Mugello, The Bahrain Outer circuit & to a lesser extent Istanbul. Circuits that feel different to others on the calender, That were fun to watch cars lapping because of the character those circuits bring & how much fun the drivers were obviously having driving them.

    1. One last thing.

      I remember when Sepang was added to the F1 calender in 1999. I was excited for that new circuit because the track at the time was offering fresh ideas & was very different to others on the calender at the time. It was a lot wider than others, The slow corner/long straight/slow corner setup wasn’t something that was that common & neither were some of the off-camber corners that were thrown in to try & catch drivers out.

      Yet move forward a few years & every subsequent new circuit followed those design concepts. For instance every new circuit has to have a very, very long straight with slow corners at either end & you also have the slow ‘stadium’ type section which often has those off-cambers corners added in.

      And while some of these circuits have been very good, The fact that every new circuit tends to follow that same setup as well as having the sea of tarmac with flat kerbing that offers no deterrent or punishment for running wide just makes me get less & less excited over potential new circuits because you know they are going to follow the usual formula.

      1. someone or something
        23rd April 2021, 1:04

        Ah, stop it. You’re making me realise how much I miss Sepang. :-(

        1. And being held in March instead of September/October…

  15. That track looks atrocious. A ton of acceleration zones masquerading as corners that present no challenge whatsoever (other than to neck muscles), loads of Mickey Mouse 2nd & 3rd gear tight, sharp apexes, a clumsy chicane and then unnecessarily long, boring straights. Plus it’s in Miami and yet looks like it could be anywhere in the world with palm trees. Bet it’ll be smooth as a billiard table, too. Massive, Valencia-and-Sochi-esque yawn.

    1. It’s so boring isn’t it.

    2. @newfangled I haven’t had my morning coffee yet, but I did actually feel myself dozing off again on that straight.

      1. someone or something
        23rd April 2021, 14:30

        @david-br
        Bah, that’s your impression after just one lap. I’m sure your mind will be changed if you multiply that by 57, fill it with inaction and a complete lack of landmarks to tell you where you are (the stadium’s to the left, that much is certain) … I forgot where I was going with that.

    3. This prtetty much sums it up.

  16. I like the feel of turns 2 to 10 (barely any raking involved) and brakes are going to be extremely cold as drivers brake for turn 11 which would result in good action there.

    11 to 16 need to be simplified. Too many short turns one after the other. Either straight-lining 12 or eliminating 15 could be an option.

    Overall ok. Can be good. Lot of us had negative reactions to Baku but look how awesome it is now.

  17. it looks like the russian gp
    yuck

    bottas will like it tho

    1. someone or something
      23rd April 2021, 14:35

      Too few 90° ‘point and squirt’ ¹ corners.

      ¹ (SHE [2021, p. 1 ff.])

  18. Probably played too many video games but I think tracks should show some of the local geography/features to make the track unique to that place, sadly this track has none of that. Should have went to long beach instead.

  19. Not too bad. The only thing I don’t like is the Abu Dhabi style sector 3 between turns 11 and 16.

    It looks like it will have a long pit time too. And it is good that it feeds back in turn 2.

  20. A person somewhere
    23rd April 2021, 7:57

    Not track related (track looks better than I expected from the map, but not a new classic in the making that’s for sure) but, man, those weird 2022 winglets over the front wheels are going to take some getting used to!

  21. I predict a lot of Safety Car deployments during races on this track.

    1. That was my first thought too.

  22. In one sense it is quite unique, being the second track after Saudi Arabia to have a quick street circuit with lots of walls. As for the flow of the track though… I like the proper corner followed quickly by two semi corners (which are almost a chicane) thing but how many times does that trick need doing in one lap? Also, there is not much on offer beyond those type of corners. I suppose another positive is the lack of 90 degree left or right handers. Overall, not terrible but nothing to get excited about either.

  23. Quite interesting. The lap flow looks decent. Some Valencia street circuit and even Sochi Autodrom similarities in parts.
    Three DRS zones: I suppose, the longest straight, S/F, and out of 10 into 11.
    Can we get rid of 15 or the curbing? Otherwise, my initial impression is pretty good.

  24. Looks terrible, no character whatsoever.
    After watching the cars blazing in Imola, this track make my eyes hurt.
    Horrendous.

  25. I have (possibly) radical idea. Make a circuit, where doing a pit stop takes about the same amount of time as normally going around. Basically a shortcut on the track. I bet we would see much more pit stops and drivers would be able to actually push instead of saving tires. Also, it would add strategic element to racing – undercut will be much more powerful. Car park track like this is ideal to test such an idea.

    1. It’s a good idea – They essentially did it at Silverstone. I’m not sure how much of an effect it had on strategy vs. the old pitlane, though.

      1. I accidently reported your comment… Sorry about that!

        The thing with Silverstone is that they messed up the pitlane and now we have a speed limit of 60 km/h and one of the longest pit stop deltas of the calendar which is a real shame

  26. Monaco works because you can get a sense that it is really racing on the streets and you can see the city around the cars. The problem with the modern street tracks is the concrete walls and fences, they kill everything. Valencia looked so good on paper but what a joy that turned out to be. Miami I fear is just Valencia with Palm Trees, just as Sochi is Valencia with even more concrete and Saudi Arabia looks little better. The only good one is Singapore, but that is at night so you can’t see the race in the city context anyway oh yes and Baku which is an amazing track but seems to be devoid of any atmosphere and the cities people – who I presume have been rounded up and sent away in case they protest.

  27. There’s literally nothing exciting about this. Nothing.

  28. DarkSchneider
    23rd April 2021, 11:23

    Bring back old tracks.
    There’s no feeling on this one, it’s kind of artificial stuff on the curves.
    Yes, it’s technical driving, some tricks here and there, but there’s no feeling, no passion.
    Learn from the one that designed Suzuka !
    This is a track !!

    The miami one, well … not, not the kind of thrack i would lie to race on it

  29. Better than I expected, only because the other new circuits we have been graced with set such a low bar. Hopefully the real version has a bit more trackside scenery, every section looks the same like Valencia. And I nearly fell asleep down the back straight. With no DRS it could be ok.

  30. The track looks OK to me, I can see a few overtaking spots in big braking areas which with the new regulations I would hope can be completed without DRS, eventually. There’s a little Abu Dhabi final sector in there, and I’m not sure why as it seems to be going through car park at this point, but overall I think it could make for some good racing. I don’t expect there is a great deal of Miami’s character to be taken from racing around the stadium but for those bashing the video representation, it’s obviously not going to be as dead and flat as that. Throw a few palm trees up, get some colourful Miami graphics around the place and some well framed camera angels and I’m sure it’ll feel a bit more lively than Valencia ever did.

  31. It’s funny how the argument for tearing up the old Hockenheim was that multiple long straights into slow chicanes was a boring layout. Yet now every new circuit features very long straights into very tight corners…. Just without any of the character that Hockenheim had.

    1. someone or something
      23rd April 2021, 15:13

      @gt-racer
      Was that really the reason? I thought the main reason was the track’s length and the resulting struggle to find enough marshalls to man all the posts.
      Whatever the case, they turned a very unique track into a soulless, run-of-the-mill mediocrity that no one really misses when it’s not on the calendar.

      1. The original Hockenheimring was also rather unpopular and written off as a dull and soulless venue too – the old layout seems to be far more popular now than it ever was during use, where it was, if anything, considered a bit rubbish.

        You are right that there were big problems with marshalling the track and being unable to access the far side of the track due to access roads being poor or sometimes absent entirely. If there was a major accident on the far side of the track, there could have been major problems with getting to a driver quickly.

        1. someone or something
          23rd April 2021, 16:15

          The original Hockenheimring was also rather unpopular and written off as a dull and soulless venue too

          I’ve heard that from a few drivers, but I was never under the impression that this was consensus.
          I particularly liked the Motodrom section, which was a nice challenge for cars set up for minimum air resistance. These days, it’s just a sequence of medium-speed corners that do no stand out from the rest of the circuit.
          Also, the forest gave it a unique atmosphere.

        2. Thanks anon

        3. The old Hockenheimring was definitely boring for drivers but its uniqueness was what made it attractive for spectators. Lots of places to pass, and a lot of good races happened there. I agree with “someone or something” in that the forest also gave it a unique atmosphere.

      2. Sorry I hit report comment by accident. I wanted to say that old Hockenheim was great. I really miss it. Barrichello 2000 was epic!

  32. Those in favour only going on about how there are a few overtaking zones just further highlights my view that there is far too much focus put on that element now.

    What good is having a lot of overtakes if they aren’t that interesting to watch just to been rendered far too straightforward with all the long straights.
    What good is having ‘good racing’ if the visual spectacle of watching the cars race simply isn’t there because of how dull, bland & characterless the circuit they are racing on is?

    It shouldn’t just be about how many overtakes there are & circuits shouldn’t be designed around simply generating tons of overtaking. You need circuits that do have potential overtaking spots but are also fun to drive & a great spectacle to watch been driven. If the visual spectacle & also the overall challenge isn’t there then the racing can feel worse & the periods with less close racing/overtaking can also feel way more dull.

    This is what is wrong with the sport now, Everyone is focussing only on the wrong things which is why we have had to put up with the DRS gimmick creating horrendously boring highway passing for 10 years and why so many of the new circuits follow the exact same design blueprint so all look/feel exactly the same. If your designing circuits around only 1 thing your just going to end up with a season of samey circuits creating tons of uninteresting highway passing that are quickly forgotten & all blend together.

    1. @roger-ayles See my response to you at the top re DRS and what I think is it’s future, but I would also add that we should see what the new cars are going to be like once they are in a pack racing in anger come race one of next year, and let’s see if all the tracks will present themselves to be more exciting, with closer racing cars. My opinion is that people’s opinions on the tracks, particularly the ‘boring’ ones, may well change once the new cars can be utilized differently by the drivers, which might create some passing places on some tracks that currently do not exist.

  33. Concrete tunnel again. Really sick of these Formula E style circuits.

  34. Not enough run off for Mazepin

    1. Expect a crash compilation video in the style of the Maldonator video.

  35. Apart from the fact that the walls are really close in some places, it looks like another cookie cutter track. I love the fact that Miami is represented on the calendar, but with so many great road course racetracks in the United States, they have to come to pathetic Formula E-type circuits. Laguna Seca, Road America, Barber, Watkins Glen, etc. won’t see the light of day as F1 venues because of the high standards expected of their facilities. Instead we get these pathetic… But we can at least expect some crashes.

    1. some F1 fan
      11th May 2021, 4:38

      There are other problems with some specific legendary tracks in the US, like Watkins Glen, Sebring and VIR apart from the fact that they lack pit and safety facilities: they are very isolated, and none of those tracks have enough accomodation nearby for the teams, corporate sponsors and fans. Watkins Glen suffers worst from this: there are little to no hotels around there, and it is 2 1/2 hours from Buffalo, and 5 hours from the restaurants and swanky hotels of New York City, Philadelphia, Toronto AND Montreal. Sebring is the same: 1 1/2 hours from Tampa, Orlando and West Palm Beach and 3 hours from Miami and very limited accomodations. VIR, although close to the northern belt of mid-sized cities in North Carolina is 4 1/2 hours from Washington DC and 2 1/2 hours from Charlotte.

      1. some F1 fan
        11th May 2021, 4:46

        Other tracks like Laguna Seca (which in its current layout is too short for an F1 race), Sonoma, Road America, Daytona, Barber (also too short for an F1 race), Fontana, Road Atlanta, Mid-Ohio, Utah Motorsports Campus, and this new Circuit of the Northwest near Seattle although are only an hour away from a major city (San Francisco, San Jose, Milwaukee, Orlando, Birmingham Alabama, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Cleveland, Salt Lake City and Seattle) could be used for an F1 race but those tracks- most of which are great tracks would probably be butchered. It’s the same with Mosport Park in Canada: it’s an hour from Toronto but the track would be butchered.

    2. In addition to lacking pit and safety facilities, some of those tracks are too isolated and do not have nearly enough nearby accomodations.

      1. They would also be butchered. Watkins Glen suffers worst: that track is literally in the middle of nowhere and there are little to no accomodations there. Virginia International Raceway and Sebring also suffer from bad isolation: Sebring is probably the most unglamorous place I’ve been to for a motor race- which is why the sportscar races in March are such a great experience. Laguna Seca (which in its current layout is too short for an F1 race), Sonoma, Road America and Road Atlanta aren’t too far from a major city, but there are amazing resorts and accomodations near Laguna Seca and Sonoma, so that you don’t have to stay in San Francisco or San Jose.

  36. Magnus Rubensson (@)
    25th April 2021, 16:32

    Here’s an old school simulator – Grand Prix Legends 1967.
    Spa Francorchamps lap record by Robert Fleurke, Lotus 49:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlpZWjbzz-A

  37. The comparisons of this track to Sochi- the worst F1 track ever (yes, worse than 2nd placed Caesars Palace and 3rd placed Abu Dhabi) are not only unfair but way wrong. I am not a fan of car park tracks but this one doesn’t look all that bad- again, we’ve seen far worse.

    1. Also to those who have not been to Florida, as evidenced by Daytona and Sebring that the Floridian Peninsula is completely flat: Florida’s highest point, which is on the Panhandle is 345 feet (105 m).

  38. For a flat street-style course this isn’t bad…..nice long straightaways…often times street courses have short little straightaways and are bumpy and all corners….the layout of this is more like a dedicated road course. So, an improvement over other street courses, but a street course is never going to be as nice as a dedicated road course.

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