The Spanish Grand Prix will have a slightly different look to it this weekend. After 16 races run with a slow, awkward chicane in the final sector, the original pair of fast right hand sweepers have been returned to their original glory.
The loss of the slow chicane has been greeted with delight by drivers – many of whom have openly admitted their dislike of the old chicane and are relishing the return of two fast corners taking their place.So with one of the most unpopular sections of any circuit on the F1 calendar seemingly gone for good, what are the other corners or segments of tracks that RaceFans’ regular writers want to see get similar treatment?
Silverstone’s botched update
I thought about the Hungaroring, which can be tedious in parts, and also Mexico City where spectators get to see so much of the track but the action in the opening corners tends to just involve collisions due to how the track goes from being incredibly wide to incredibly narrow. But I settled on Silverstone.
The amount of character that was lost with those two changes made Silverstone a totally different place to watch races at and to work from, particularly in the high-level series where they had no choice but to use the new layout and facilities. Thankfully European and national motorsport has continued to use the old paddock facilities between Woodcote and Copse, and club racers love using the National layout of the track that turns Maggotts into a hairpin that connects to the Wellington Straight.
Given Silverstone used to be an airfield, the area which the Arena loop was built on is primarily flat and therefore it would not be too challenging to change it again. I would propose that Village, the third corner of the lap in F1 races and a right-hander, should be changed so it turns left onto the Wellington Straight and cuts out the tediously slow ‘Loop’ and Aintree corners.
Ida Wood
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Monza’s messy chicane
Who was responsible for the ill-tempered and contentious collision between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix that raised the temperature of their championship duel well past boiling point?
It was not Hamilton. It wasn’t even Verstappen – no matter what the stewards said. In fact, the person to blame for the drama that unfolded that day was actually whoever it was who designed the abomination that is the Rettifilo chicane.
When drivers inevitably have to bail out of the corner, they either must slalom through a maze of polystyrene or clatter over an ugly assortment of speed bumps and sausage kerbs. The previous double-chicane design was not the greatest overtaking opportunity as it demanded less braking than the current version, but it was honestly better than what we currently have.
It also doesn’t help that modern F1 cars have outgrown the narrow kink and made the prospect of two cars making it around the right and left side-by-side near impossible. And whether it’s Formula 2, FIA F3, or Italian F4, send any pack of eager and inexperienced junior series drivers down to the Rettifilo to start a race and it’s not a question of if any will crash, but how many will.
Whether the answer lies in simply making the chicane wider or shallower or in a new, modern approach to a bus stop style chicane is one only actual track design experts can and should say. But simracing has already provided the perfect solution, just like the ‘no chicane’ variant in Gran Turismo and many other games. Just get rid and let them fly into Curva Grande like the heroes of old used to…
Will Wood
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Monaco’s impossible confines
When discussing a track that needs improving for better racing, look no further than the most recent venue. The Circuit de Monaco has struggled to put on a good show in recent years. The track has undergone various changes throughout its long history but without some changes, it could be axed.
Last year the circuit organisers got a big wake-up call and fought hard to keep the “jewel in the F1 crown” on the calendar. Eventually finding common ground, the race remained – but it felt like a stark warning from F1 to shake up the racing.
Some of the changes have been very minor, like Mirabeau and the Fairmont Hotel hairpin which remain pretty much untouched, bar some on-track logistics like kerbs to keep in line with the FIA’s track safety terms and conditions,
Essentially the problem with Monaco is the lack of overtaking opportunities during the race, and more often than not, qualifying is the more exciting of the two.
Speaking at the weekend to Nyck de Vries, he compared racing a Formula 1 car to a Formula E car, and his main gripe as to why F1 struggles in Monte-Carlo was the size of the cars in comparison to its narrow streets. There are so few, if any, overtaking opportunities – the race becomes stagnant pretty quickly.
Various ideas have been thrown around, including extending the circuit and additional DRS zones, which could encourage more overtaking opportunities. It would still require the track to be widened to give these big modern F1 cars a chance to fight side-by-side. A single DRS zone on the main straight could be where Monaco is really struggling to deliver action, but some significant changes to the track could make this jewel pick up some shine again. The problem, as Red Bull’s Christian Horner pointed out after Sunday’s race, is finding room in the tiny principality to do it.
Claire Cottingham
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COTA’s go-slow no-no
Circuits have improved or removed quite a few of the worst corners on the F1 calendar in recent years. Case in point: The dire Sochi Autodrom, which barely had a single corner worthy of the name. It was already heading for the chop before F1 cancelled its contract with the promoter last year.
So where is there still room for improvement on the F1 calendar? A few clumsy chicanes remain, notably the one which concludes a lap of the otherwise majestic Spa-Francorchamps. Granted, there’s not much room to insert a better solution, but like Will says about the Rettifilo you do think they could have come up with something more elegant and less painfully slow. The Foro Sol complex in Mexico is another example: If F1 can’t race around the classic Peraltada any more, at least put on a spectacle for the fans.
For me chicanes like this can be tolerated if they allow a classic venue to meet modern safety standards and continue hosting grands prix. They’re a necessary evil. What I find infuriating is when new circuits are designed incorporating slow corner complexes which aren’t necessary.
The one which irritates me is at the Circuit of the Americas. I had the great fortune to drive this circuit in a McLaren MP4-12C a few years ago and it is undoubtedly a modern classic.
But what is the point of turns 13 to 15? One hairpin does not need to be followed by two more. From the air it looks as if the engineers bought more asphalt than they needed and created a tight little knot of corners to use it all up. It ruins the flow of the lap.
I don’t believe corner sequences like this are exciting to spectate at, nor do they offer much challenge to the drivers. I say this with some confidence as it was the only point on the track I felt I coped with well, unlike the daunting triple-right which follows it or the sinuous opening sector where I struggled to spot the apexes much less hit them.
But as I say, this is an otherwise terrific circuit spoiled by a few duff corners. It’s incomparably better than the likes of Sochi or Valencia. And I don’t have high hopes for this weekend’s new IndyCar venue either…
Keith Collantine
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2023 F1 season
- Hawkins completes first Formula 1 test for Aston Martin in Hungary
- McLaren can beat Aston Martin to fourth in championship – Norris
- 2023 Japanese Grand Prix weekend F1 driver ratings
- Sainz was “laughing in the car” as Mercedes pair copied his DRS tactics at Suzuka
- Piastri “just wasn’t quick enough at certain points” despite breakthrough podium
Biskit Boy (@sean-p-newmanlive-co-uk)
1st June 2023, 11:36
Catalunya
It’s not fixed
Proesterchen (@proesterchen)
1st June 2023, 11:42
I agree, especially when the changes to T10/T11 made things actively worse for car racing. (much like the bike-inspired Silverstone changes, as well as those in Sepang)
Biskit Boy (@sean-p-newmanlive-co-uk)
1st June 2023, 11:37
Fix the cars first
Proesterchen (@proesterchen)
1st June 2023, 11:49
Rather than singling out any one specific circuit, I’d like to put forward that Formula 1 is big enough not to have the circuits it’s racing on mangled by bike-specific changes.
I wouldn’t mind giving the circuits currently under contract a chance to fix their tracks, but giving new contracts to hosts like the Circuito de Barcelona who have a history of decades of terrible races and chose to also make things worse in recent years shouldn’t be the norm moving forward.
David BR (@david-br)
1st June 2023, 12:07
All good choices. As Will says, Monza has the worse first corner in F1 at an otherwise brilliant circuit. Chicanes are generally awful. Hairpins are only fun if they allow for ‘spillage’ like Canada mid-lap or Spa’s own first corner with plenty of room for alternate lines or cars to be pushed wide without pile-ups. Also agree about COTA’s lap being spoiled needlessly at the end.
Question: is Interlagos the only ‘perfect’ track? Can’t think of a single bit of the circuit that could be ‘improved.’
David BR (@david-br)
1st June 2023, 12:08
(OK so Spa’s first corner is strictly a hairpin, just very tight)
Pete
1st June 2023, 12:36
Big chicanes (like the one at Paul Richard on the straight) seem to work reasonably well – it’s the little tight ones where there is only 1 line that just don’t work with F1 cars.
ECWDanSelby (@ecwdanselby)
1st June 2023, 12:14
Gotta disagree completely with Ida – I think the Silverstone upgrades have been spot on for F1. The quality of racing at Silverstone is night and day vs. the 2009 layout! Plenty of overtaking in the opening sector, lots of bold moves in to Brooklands. I’m a big fan.
davidhunter13 (@davidhunter13)
1st June 2023, 14:03
Yeah the racing really has been marvellous in recent years. My only issue with the first third of the lap is just the seeming lack of any trackside scenery or grandstands. It all looks a bit barren on the tv and wish they filled it in more and let more fans view over that part of the track.
Craig
1st June 2023, 14:18
While I do miss the bridge section I think Silverstone’s changes have ultimately been very good without losing much of the original track.
sumedh
2nd June 2023, 6:46
Agree. Don’t think Silverstone needs any changes.
Plus, I love the crane cameras used in Silverstone. You get the same camera following cars for such a long duration, brilliant to look at on TV. Leclerc’s defence in 2022, Lewis vs Max on Lap 1 of 2021 are absolutely part of the most memorable wheel to wheel battles
RandomMallard
1st June 2023, 12:16
I’m not sure I agree with many of these, Monza perhaps being the exception.
Silverstone: When the changes were made, they were done, if I understand correctly, because they wanted to tempt the bikes back from Donnington, and the FIM weren’t happy with the proximity of the bridge at Bridge corner, forcing them to bypass it, creating what we now have. At the time those changes were announced, I believe Silverstone thought they weren’t going to be hosting F1 races, which themselves were set to move to Donnington, and only the result of that falling through kept the GP at Silverstone. Therefore, I think it makes sense that the changes weren’t really made with F1 in mind. However, I really don’t mind the new layout that much. Admittedly, I wasn’t a fan at the time to remember the old layout, but I find the new version alright, and it has proven it can provide good racing. However, I can see Ida’s logic for bypassing the loop, which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad change imo.
Monza: Yeah I think I can agree with this one. Either remove the chicane entirely, if it’s deemed safe, or at the very least open it out into something modern cars can traverse and overtake through. But please don’t move the chicane into the middle of Curva Grande like there were some plans to do a few years back!
Monaco: Not really sure what can be done to the track. Formula E has proven that the track can feature overtaking, if the cars are suitable for it. I don’t think F1 should be trying to copy FE everywhere, but I just don’t think there’s much that can be changed at Monaco.
COTA: A terrific track, but I don’t think T13-15 are a bad section. It encourages some good to-and-fro battles in my opinion, and can provide a good opportunity for some pass-repass kind of moments, before giving a nice run into the triple right hander. The Magnussen and Vettel battle last year was good, and it was a key part of the fantastic LMP1 battle there a few years ago.
It’s a very interesting debate topic though!
drmouse (@drmouse)
1st June 2023, 14:18
Very much agree. There just isn’t really space to do enough to make it suitable for F1 cars as they are now. The only real option would be modifying the cars…
Museo
1st June 2023, 18:07
Even if the cars were shorter and thinner I don’t think it would do that much, is not like 90s/00s Monaco got tons of overtakes, the speed is also a problem, the cars are just too fast, the streets are too short to make a move, the car ahead can always close the door in time, even F2/F3 has outgrown the track, both races were a procession, especially on sprint races which has no pit stops, far more boring than the F1 race.
Track is just too small for F1, I find it fun and Qualy is usually great but the race not so much, unless it rains.
ECWDanSelby (@ecwdanselby)
1st June 2023, 12:18
“But what is the point of turns 13 to 15? One hairpin does not need to be followed by two more. From the air it looks as if the engineers bought more asphalt than they needed and created a tight little knot of corners to use it all up. It ruins the flow of the lap.” – Keith on COTA
Again, I have to completely disagree – Tilke did an incredible job of creating a ton of action in a ‘stadium’ section, giving the fans plenty to watch. The sequence doesn’t rely on DRS passes, and passes are made using mechanical grip without the reliance on aero due to the lower speeds, and differing racing lines using ‘fake apexes’ – it’s super smart imo!
notagrumpyfan
1st June 2023, 13:42
“One hairpin does not need to be followed by two more.” is a solid statement I cannot disagree with.
But those turns at COTA aren’t hairpins, but rather an interesting succession of slow corners.
asd
1st June 2023, 12:30
Monza’s current chicane has always seemed like a big improvement over the double-chicane layout it used to have.
The solution for Monaco that I keep repeating is simple: make a regulation to use steel (or worse) brake discs that would lengthen the braking distances. It would make a hell of a difference as seen with 70s and 80s F1 car racing in the Historic Monaco GP.
Yes (@come-on-kubica)
1st June 2023, 12:31
Get rid of the the dull as dishwater Street circuits.
asd
1st June 2023, 16:45
You mean the close-barrier circuits which have nothing to do with actual streets.
Jere (@jerejj)
1st June 2023, 12:32
I’m generally happy with all current corners or corner combinations in their present forms, including the ones in this article.
The only one I’d alter is the Foro Sol portion by making the T13 left-hander entirely 90 degrees, followed by a straight line into what is T16.
This way, that portion would be more enjoyable to drive, but spectators within that space would still get enough car viewing time, so a win-win situation for both aspects.
Red Andy (@red-andy)
1st June 2023, 12:44
I would bin off the entire Silverstone redevelopment and go back to the pre-2010 layout. Bridge was one of the most spectacular and challenging corners on the calendar, and it’s a travesty that they ever got rid of it.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
1st June 2023, 22:52
@red-andy I loved Bridge when they first built it, but after they put a chicane in at Abbey it didn’t have much drama any more. I watched the grand prix there one year and wished I’d got a seat somewhere else.
Edvaldo
1st June 2023, 12:57
Paul Ricard. It could be fixed If F1 quit racing there.
Jere (@jerejj)
1st June 2023, 12:58
That indeed happened.
Antz (@antznz)
1st June 2023, 21:19
I didn’t want to say it but yeah, there are circuits that need far more than a corner changed. Replacement is easier.
Ciaran (@ciaran)
2nd June 2023, 1:58
If only ;)
Jonathan Parkin
1st June 2023, 13:13
The problem with Monaco that hasn’t been discussed yet is the challenge of the circuit has been slowly neutered as the years have gone on.
We’ve lost adverse cambers from some corners, there isn’t as many trees around the circuit as there was in years gone by, and since 2003 the Grover statue at St Devote is removed every year. There has also been a proliferation of extra kerbs too. The middle sector from 2001 gained three kerbs next to barriers; 1) Just before Mirebeau, 2) Just before the tunnel where Ayrton crashed in 88 and 3) Just before the chicane
Also every year the track is resurfaced in places presumably to remove bumps, but this also removes the white lines as well
It’s true that the cars have outgrown the circuit, but the challenge has also gone and that has been the case for the last twenty years
jhg103 (@joshgeake)
2nd June 2023, 8:25
I used to enjoy the impossibly tight pitlane and pit entry, the tight entry/exit into T1, the tight chicane at the end of the tunnel etc but it’s all been neutered over the years.
F1 frog (@f1frog)
1st June 2023, 13:13
This was a nice article, and this round table feature has definitely been a good addition to racefans; the articles where you express your own opinions are generally the most interesting to read.
I think the first corner at Monza is definitely the change I would agree most with. I think the cars are probably safe enough that the track layout could be reverted a bit more towards the old version where they didn’t have the chicanes, and if the barrier on the outside of the Curva Grande was made very safe then it would be a lot more exciting to watch the cars go straight into that corner without needing the chicane before it. The other two chicanes could probably go as well without being particularly dangerous, although the barriers on the outside of the Lesmos would also have to be made very safe, and then the entire track would be almost flat out with just a few proper corners, and something similar to the old slipstreaming races could return. For one race a season, I think this would be a great change and make Monza a particularly special and unique race, just like it used to be (although Reims used to provide similar races on occasion).
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
1st June 2023, 13:30
I am really not sure this idea would work though with modern F1 cars. I think you might just find them all following each other with an insurmountable gap between most cars, unless you have a major speed difference e.g. Red Bull compared to almost anyone.
drmouse (@drmouse)
1st June 2023, 14:34
I do wonder, as others have mentioned, if it’s the cars which are the problem rather than the tracks. They have grown wider and longer, increasing the turning circle and reducing the space available for overtaking. Even with the weight of them, the brakes are so good that the braking zones are shorter than ever, reducing the opportunities for outbraking. They are all reliable, so we see fewer problems/retirements. We see fewer people qualify out-of-position now than we used to. Even with the newer aero, following close enough to pass is still much more difficult than it was in years gone by. And, with DRS available, fewer people are willing to risk a move outside the DRS zones.
All that said, maybe the problem is even simpler than that: F1 has changed, and we shouldn’t expect the same racing as we previously had. Maybe the problem is not with the sport, but with the previous generation of fans (myself included) expecting things to be as they were (and often looking back with rose-tinted specs).
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
1st June 2023, 13:21
The first chicane at Monza is one of the few overtaking opportunities there is on the circuit. I have been fortunate enough to be there and see it in action. So I don’t think it can be just got rid of in favour of a sweep into the Curva Grande.
There is a need I think for cars to have a firm braking zone there but maybe the answer is to just remodel it so that it is a bit wider and looks like a proper part of the circuit (it does have a kind of temporary look about it). So at least there could more a battle there with two cars being able to go through it side by side.
I too recall there was some plan to remove the chicane there and put it at bit later towards the middle of the curve. Always struck me as a strange solution.
pastaman
1st June 2023, 13:25
Disagree about COTA, that section provides lots of opportunities for over/under passing, and they way T15 opens up encourages many different lines through the apex. One of the few places on the calendar where regular non-DRS passing happens. I sit in the T15 grandstands when I attend the race and there is always plenty of action happening through that sequence of corners, especially in the support races.
someone or something
1st June 2023, 13:28
Seeing the new Silverstone layout mentioned so prominently makes me happy. I feel the same way, the redesign has all the flaws that are usually attributed to Tilke tracks (soulless corners that not only look like someone ran an algorithm to tick off a few boxes, but also so poorly designed that the fastest, most natural line tends to be outside of the track’s boundaries, which only exist as a painted white line, arbitrarily and awkwardly painted on a sea of asphalt), while adding precious little in return (okay, the main overtaking spot is now in the new section). However, that was never a very popular opinion.
Also, a big thank you to Will Wood for insinuating that the Verstappen-Hamilton crash at Monza should’ve been treated as a racing incident. I wholeheartedly agree, but again, I don’t remember this being an opinion that was shared a lot. It’s good to read such opinions outside of this site’s mainstream, a much-needed sprinkle of diversity.
ECWDanSelby (@ecwdanselby)
1st June 2023, 20:56
Tilke didn’t design the Silverstone changes, btw
someone or something
1st June 2023, 21:49
I know, and in a way, that’s precisely my point. The slur ‘Tilke track’ has, for a while at least, been so over-used that the concept (a track that has all or most of the unfavourable aspects mentioned above) became inseparably attached to its eponym. The fact that Silverstone was redesigned by someone else than Tilke seemed to affect the vocal majority’s perception of the redesign’s quality. It wasn’t a Tilke track, so how could it be a ‘Tilke track’, or even a track that has all the defining characteristics, minus one?
StephenH
1st June 2023, 14:21
If you want to look at someone who has some good ideas about track modifications, have a look at Fun With Tracks on Youtube … https://www.youtube.com/@funwithsometracks
HUHHII (@huhhii)
1st June 2023, 14:32
T13-T15 is the only good part of COTA, with rest of the track being filled with corners copied from elsewhere (okay, T1 is pretty cool and unique too).
Really agree with Silverstone bit. They took the best part of the circuit away from us.
Adrian Hancox (@ahxshades)
1st June 2023, 14:40
I agree with a couple of the posters above – can we focus on fixing the lumbering behemoths on 4 wheels that we ca race-cars instead?
faulty (@faulty)
1st June 2023, 15:20
What Tilke did to the Hermanos Rodriguez’s Lake Esses is a crime against racing.
If anything needs to be fixed, they need to reverted to decreasing radius turns.
StephenH
1st June 2023, 15:39
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKfiwyJgdH8
faulty (@faulty)
1st June 2023, 21:46
not sure about that chicane in the middle of the main straight, but all the rest of it looks good.
KaIIe (@kaiie)
1st June 2023, 15:31
While COTA’s stadium section is incredibly slow, it usually enables some kind of overtaking (usually due to tyre differences). It would be nice to have a layout that bypasses that section somehow, though.
My wishlist:
– Remove Miami from the calendar.
– Move Monaco’s Nouvelle chicane further up the road (to where it was in circa 1972).
– Do something with Silverstone’s Arena.
– Remove the top chicane at Hungaroring, extend the runoff in the following corner if necessary.
– Redesign the chicane at Spa, same with Monza’s T1.
– No changes to Singapore, as they’ve gotten rid of the endless combination of 90 degree turns for this year’s race.
– Major changes to Mexico City: return the Esses to their previous configuration. If the stadium section has to stay, make it faster (a single left-hander inside the stadium?), if it can be bypassed, add a flowing chicane before Peraltada.
– Yas Marina: I’d alter the one remaining chicane and turn it into some kind of left-right-left-right-left esses combination.
faulty (@faulty)
1st June 2023, 15:45
faster on exit, i meant.
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
1st June 2023, 15:47
The COTA opinion is truly bad. The racing – cutting back ahead, switching, over under, following, setting up the next series of corners – through that little set of slow corners is usually epic. Imagine changing that to something that knits into the the faster next corners. I really don’t get it.
Museo
1st June 2023, 16:26
Monza: Remove the chicane for fun or make the chicane wider for overtaking and side by side action.
Monaco: Go left at La rascasse to Quai Antoine 1er, take the tunnel later on and go back to the regular track through Av. de la Quarantaine, it would give Monaco two extra straights one with a DRS section and another tunnel, I don’t know how much better the track would be but would be fun at least to try.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
1st June 2023, 17:46
It may not make me shout at the telly like the Spa chicane, but with better walls etc like Barcelona, can’t we get rid of the Villeneuve chicane at Imola?
It’ll bring back Tosa as a big passing place (provided team-mates don’t think they’ve agreed on team orders, which is where the trouble started with Villeneuve, Pironi, Prost and Senna…) and surely almost 30 years on, improving the racing wouldn’t be an insult to the memory of Roland Ratzenberger.
AJ
1st June 2023, 18:28
silverstone. 1992 spec was the zenith of that circuit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIA4I5HXf0o
spa. old bus stop was infinitely more enjoyable to watch.
Hockenheim. no explanation needed.
Niefer (@niefer)
1st June 2023, 20:36
Silverstone: I’d tweak Ida’s idea making both the Loop and Aintree round to build speed into Wellington, then making Brooklands a hairpin.
My ideal proposal, however, would be back with Abbey’s fast bend.
Monza: I share Will’s view on Rettifilo, but if there’s a chicane that makes even less sense is Ascari. What a pointless chicane! I’d remove that out 1st order of business.
Monaco: There is plenty space ahead to move Nouvelle chicane. To me, it solves the overtaking problem. All the rest is up to the cars’ reg.
COTA: A sort of parable exit through 12 to 16 could be interesting.
Now, my personal changes:
1- Imola: back with either Tamburello or Villeneuve on softwalls.
2- Austria: back with Westschleife, period.
3- Spa: remove T19-20. There’s plenty of run-off at La Source.
4- Singapore: extend the straight way beyond T7, bring T10 Sling back, keep T15 to T20 straight.
5- Mexico: close it for good.
6- Interlagos: back with the classic configuration, banking both T3 and Sargento.
7- Las Vegas: refund tickets and cancel the race.
8- Abu Dhabi: close it for good.
9- Hockenheimring: make a straight from T6 hairpin till T11, disassembly Mercedes-Arena, clean the ground and sprinkle coarse salt.
Niefer (@niefer)
1st June 2023, 20:38
How annoying and clueless those filters are. 😒️
Jack (@jackisthestig)
1st June 2023, 20:46
I know its as unlikely to happen as Max being demoted back to Alpha Tauri but I’d like to see Tamburello and Villeneuve curves at Imola returned to their pre-1995 glory. Barrier technology and car safety has come a long way since the events of 1994 and the run down to Tosa was a fantastic overtaking opportunity.
ECWDanSelby (@ecwdanselby)
1st June 2023, 21:09
I think this is a pretty excellent shout.
Just look at the modern faux street circuits (Valencia, Sochi, Miami, Jeddah, Baku) – there’s definitely precedence for it. They could likely make both all asphalt run-offs with either Tecpro or a SAFER barrier.
These changes would need to respect the existing chicanes, though (for the bikes).
Chris Horton
1st June 2023, 22:38
Interesting to hear criticism of the modern Silverstone layout, I’ve never liked it and thought I was pretty much alone.
Losing Bridge corner was an utter travesty.
MichaelN
2nd June 2023, 0:28
Nice article!
Definitely agree with the criticism of Monza’s first corner. There are far more elegant ways to limit speeds into the Curva Grande, and as mentioned it invites incidents because it’s just too small. I’m actually a bit surprised none of the new tracks have incorporated the ‘chicanes’ at Magny-Cours (the ones named for the Nürburgring and Imola). These were fairly fast, had elevation changes, and made the cars squirm a bit while taking speed out of them but not so much that it turned into one of those boring 2nd or 3rd corners that are so ubiquitous on more recent tracks.
I don’t get the love for COTA. The whole thing feels like a compromised version of better corners at other tracks, and the environment is a wasteland. I doubt it’d be seen as positive by many if it wasn’t in the USA. But those slow corners have probably produced more back and forth racing than the rest of the track combined, so it’d seem an odd choice to want to remove them.
Ciaran (@ciaran)
2nd June 2023, 2:17
I’d somewhat agree on Silverstone – merging Village and the Loop into one slow/medium corner might make it feel a bit better, rather than having two separate slow corners. Though I don’t understand the animosity towards moving the pit facilities? If memory serves, Bernie Ecclestone’s threat of moving the race to Donnington Park from 2009 onwards was partially based on a lack of modern facilities in Silverstone that were desperately needed.
Also agreed that Monza’s chicane is messy, but it’s always been poor. Removing it entirely to allow Curva Grande fully earn its name is a great idea, though Varienta della Roggia (second chicane) would likely need to be widened. I’m not sure if changes were made after that marshal was killed in 2001 but it’s got the same issues as the first chicane – punishingly tight and forces cars onto those silly sausage kerbs.
Monaco… I think it’s the same argument it’s always been for the past 30-40 years. Yes it’s a Saturday spectacle for the fans and a Sunday spectacle for the drivers, and too many changes would be needed to “fix” that. Its uniqueness, even with all its downsides, is just fine.
I think Mexico badly needs some improvement. The cars going through the stadium is very cool, and therefore speed needs to be medium at best, but the current layout feels awful. If Turn 12 (or whatever it’s called) could be sped up, and Turns 14/15/16 melded into something a bit more fluid, that could be a nice change.
Qatar is a good track but doesn’t feel right for racing. Removing one of the complex corner sequences with a small straight might be beneficial for racing there, rather than just one DRS straight to enable racing.
Qeki (@qeki)
2nd June 2023, 6:53
Quite a strong arguments from what I have seen.
Changes wherever they are will cause anxious. It was better back in the days etc.
Actually I don’t mind F1 changing its tracks but I hate the hailbales for WRC in a straight line even though they are meant for safety.