Welcome to Wednesday’s edition of the RaceFans round-up.
Comment of the day
This weekend’s race is likely to be the last for Imola as a new street circuit in Madrid joins the 2026 F1 calendar. Is the championship getting the right balance between road circuits and temporary venues?
Some of us like permanent classic racing circuits, with grass, gravel, a interesting layout, elevation changes, beautiful scenery, history, and little overtaking is not a problem vs your DRS assisted “lots of overtaking” street circuit, not even on the actual city streets but in a permanent “street” circuit in a car parking lot full of walls everywhere.
I see the sport making more cash, I understand that, but F1 is increasingly going more and more to this street not actual streets circuits and throwing out the old and busted according to ‘actual fans of the sport’ classic circuit, look at Miami being renewed up to 2041 a 16 years extension, meanwhile tracks like Suzuka get a five year, a bit more historic ones like Silverstone can get a 10 year, but track made in a parking lot who has only been held four times? 16 years baby.
And even Europe is taking part in the fun of the parking lot street circuit, Madrid’s 10 year deal for a parking lot track full of walls, if we’re going to have another street circuit can they at least make it take place in the actual city? I don’t want to see a future when people celebrate that Silverstone is finally out of the calendar replaced by the new London parking lot street circuit.
Alonslow
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Hyoko and Jen Campbell!
On this day in motorsport
- 25 years ago today Michael Andretti won the CART IndyCar round at the Motegi oval in Japan, which was delayed by a day due to rain the previous day
- 65 years ago today Innes Ireland won the non-championship BRDC International Trophy for Lotus, just under two seconds ahead of Jack Brabham in a Cooper, after 50 laps of Silverstone
- 30 years ago today Michael Schumacher led a one-two for Benetton with team mate Johnny Herbert, while Nigel Mansell ended his F1 career
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
AlexS
14th May 2025, 0:32
I call them prison race tracks, because it is basically asphalt/cement, walls and nets.
Ferdi
15th May 2025, 7:26
That is a good one and indeed what they are: prison race tracks
An Sionnach
14th May 2025, 0:36
The AI.lonso reading the Newey interview is a bit weird.
Rick Gomez (@rgomez13)
14th May 2025, 1:34
I live so close to the Miami Car Park GP but I can’t get myself to go there. I saw the track in person during a recent tennis match I attended. It’s even worse in person than on TV. Give Spa, Monza and Suzuka and any of the beautiful tracks. Crap like Miami is profitable but it’s ruining the sport.
Jack (@jt1234)
14th May 2025, 2:32
100% agree.
Ferdi
15th May 2025, 7:29
+1
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
14th May 2025, 5:57
“Vowles vows…”
Wow.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
14th May 2025, 6:02
Love that Toyota tribute. But it does show a problem: look at the regular livery. Who on their right mind would do a tribute of that hideous, boring thing in 30 years time?
They could go anywhere they wanted with something cool yet every team, in almost every discipline, continuously paint cars with such boring designs. I can’t believe they are not even using it as a marketing tool, as it should be. What happened in the late 2000s that made everything so plain and minimalistic?
MichaelN
14th May 2025, 9:00
So true. Why don’t they just run that the whole time? Is so Toyota, so Japan. Who thought having the car in black was a good idea? It’s awful.
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
14th May 2025, 7:34
I don’t mean this as a dig at Zak Brown, but I am genuinely a little surprised he fits in an F1 car. When you see F1 drivers in casual clothes they’re very slinky people, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Button or Di Resta not wearing a belt. There’s a big difference between Yuki and say Mark Webber, but it’s not their width.
Anyway, happy for those at Monza that they’ll get to see and hear that machine again.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
14th May 2025, 8:01
Meow! It is a little surprising isn’t it. Maybe Zak’s on a diet?
George
14th May 2025, 8:42
Above a certain temperature the fat becomes more fluid. McLaren knows how to maintain a perfect temperature :)
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
14th May 2025, 9:22
That might get him in, but can they get him out?
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
14th May 2025, 22:14
He’d probably fit into the McLaren that’s marking its 30th anniversary (widened to fit Mansell, and named the Big Mac) – if it hasn’t been crushed. Not Woking’s finest hour.
BasCB (@bascb)
14th May 2025, 9:39
Just look at the pictures. They didn’t put in the head protection stuff, which makes that cockpit about double (or more) the width it has when they are on track!
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
14th May 2025, 8:18
Of eggs and steak?
*I must stress I’m not having a go at Zak, so long as people are happy and healthy, I don’t care what shape or form that comes in. I just think F1 designers are probably worse than whomever designs economy seats on airlines when it comes to comfort.
Kringle
14th May 2025, 9:15
I swear that I’m starting to see horns protruding through the hair of MBS…
BasCB (@bascb)
14th May 2025, 9:39
:-)
barryged (@barryged)
14th May 2025, 10:30
MBS is a scared little dictator, CS Snr would be a much better choice for motorsport overall
MichaelN
14th May 2025, 10:34
Because? Sainz doesn’t even have a platform yet.
He might be the better choice, he might not. Impossible to say for now. I suppose we’ll see.
Importantly, whoever is the FIA president still need the support of the members. Not just F1, and not just motorsport more generally.
Ben Sulayem has a strong platform, but these reported, not confirmed or approved mind you, suggestions aren’t doing him any favours.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
14th May 2025, 10:52
I don’t recall the biased media expressing nearly this level of outrage over former FIA presidents like Jean Todt, Max Mosley, or Jean-Marie Balestre and none of whom were paragons of democracy either. The reality is that many global sporting organizations like the FIA, FIFA, UEFA… are run more like self-preserving oligarchies than transparent democracies.
The presence of elections does not constitute a functioning democracy. These institutions often cloak themselves in democratic processes while maintaining structures that allow their leaders to stay in power, largely unchallenged, for as long as the rules allow.
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
14th May 2025, 11:51
FIFA with its one vote per ‘Member Association’ policy looks great on paper. But when you see that small islands in Caribbean have the same voting power as everyone in China or Germany, briefcases with cash start moving about.
FIFA recognises a lot more territories / countries than the UN. Archipelagos hold way more sway than North America does, regardless of population.
anon
14th May 2025, 13:12
Given your attitude, you will have written off any previous statements about any of those other figures that weren’t written by an Italian author as being biased and therefore ignored it, irrespective of what it said.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
15th May 2025, 15:53
anon,
Your assumption is entirely off the mark. First, I’ve been critical of all FIA presidents, especially MBS, on this very forum. Secondly, I’ve also been critical of the Italian press, both on their own platforms and across various Italian motorsport forums. And finally, just to clarify: even though I’m fluent in Italian (and other 4 languages), I’m not Italian :) Unfortunately, you can’t play the nationalistic card in this case.
MichaelN
14th May 2025, 13:53
The FIA isn’t just a sporting organisation, which makes it even more complex. Some countries have more than one member organisation. Even a small country like Kosovo has four.
A lot of people also have such a monarchical view of things that they confuse Ben Sulayem being the public figurehead of the FIA with him micromanaging every little thing the FIA does. He doesn’t, and there are people like Tombazis for single seater racing, and vice presidents for Sport generally.
Dan Rooke (@geekzilla9000)
14th May 2025, 10:47
COTD makes a great point about classic/legacy tracks and the beauty of them.
I love the Austrian Grand Prix, and even if it was a processional race the sheer beauty of the track panorama make it a joy to watch. There’s a lot to be said for ‘character’ – and some of these tracks have loads of it.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
14th May 2025, 11:05
Yes but what’s that compared to lots of concrete walls and mega $$$$.
Craig
14th May 2025, 11:49
As usual it’ll be money in the short term and problems in the long term as people grow sick of interchangeable boring “street” tracks that next to no one buys tickets for.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
14th May 2025, 13:52
The Austrian GP is like finding a kinder egg inside your Faberge egg. The scenery is breathtaking but its got one good corner< Rindt, and although they've opened up the infield, theres no good positions to watch it.Plus gallingly you get taken by kiddies choo choo train round the old part of the circuit to your seats.
StefMeister (@stefmeister)
14th May 2025, 16:25
I agree with COTD.
I’ve said this before I think but I honestly enjoy watching a race at a track like Imola, Suzuka, Red Bull Ring etc… which may feature less action/overtaking far more than I do races on the more modern temporary circuits like Miami, Jeddah, Las Vegas etc…. even if those races feature a lot more action/overtaking because they just don’t have the visual spectacle, character or atmosphere as those classic venues do.
Circuits like Imola, Spa, Silverstone, Suzuka, Red Bull Ring etc… are remembered fondly not always because of the racing action they produce but because they are thrilling to watch cars driving around and have a character and atmosphere that make them feel special.
Circuits like Jeddah, Miami, Las Vegas will like Valencia and Sochi before them be very quickly forgotten if they fall off the calender because as circuits they just aren’t especially interesting to look at, Don’t have any character and just in general to me they feel very sterile, very corporate and just don’t excite in the same was as the more classic venues (Or even newer ones like COTA) do.
Ferdi
15th May 2025, 7:36
I can’t tell a corner from the other on these street circuits. It’s all fences, fences and concrete. Might be at the same venue every single week instead of traveling around the world, I wouldn’t notice at all. And then these F1 questionnaires keep asking whether you would be more or less inclined to visit the country the race was held or recommend it to a friend: NO, for the 1000 time; no.. they are all soulless and I wouldn’t recommend to visit it ever or it’s hosting country. But hey, has anyone ever seen a result of these surveys? Or any feedback? Bit hard for Liberty to publish the results if they state street circuits are rubbish as well as Sprint races… that is inconvenient to their revenue objective. What a terrible situation in which a company can just ruin a sport for money.