F1’s ever changing variety of tracks

Daniel Daykin is a talented, aspiring F1 journalist and has a successful blog. He is very determind and posts a wide range of articles, whether reviews or news. We have known each other through twitter for a while. You may think his name is familiar, that is because i have interviewed him for my website, and he has also written a few guest posts for me.

He is back again, this time debating the fact that F1's circuits are ever changing. He looks at the contrasts of the likes of Spa and Yas Marina and evaluates the variety we currently have.

Take it away Daniel..

In 2012, we will visit 20 different circuits, in 19 different countries. This is the longest calendar ever, and the tracks are changing more and more by the minute. More and more tracks in Asia are appearing, and every now and again, one of the "classic" tracks disappears from the calendar. 





The Formula One calendar is split into distinctly different sections: The classic tracks. The new tracks, usually Asian. The European tracks. Lets start with the classic tracks. Australia, Monaco, Canada, Britain, Belgium, Italy, Japan and Brazil would be the ones which fall into that category. They have been on the calendar for a very long time, and are all very popular amongst the fans. These eight tracks all present a very difficult challenge to the drivers: They are really tough to master, and are all different to each other. Australia is my favourite circuit on the calendar, it is fast and flowing, and there are lots of overtaking places. Monaco is the most unique track on the calendar, with its tightness and incredibly narrow track. 

Canada is all about overtaking and downforce - as we saw in 2011. Britain is the oldest of the lot, and hosted the first ever Formula One race. Belgium is the classic track, who can ignore corners such as Eau Rouge and Blanchimont? Italy is all about straight line speed, and is a truly unique challenge to everyone. Japan decided the 2011 championship and has done so many times, and with corners like Degner, 130R and Spoon, its bound to be a favourite. Brazil is a great track for overtaking, and its unpredictable weather and flowing track means it is a loved one also. These tracks are nearly always popular with fans, for creating exciting races and having overtaking places, or being very hard to get right, they are all popular for some reason. It's no coincidence that six out of the eight tracks here were in my top ten races of the season for 2011. And no-one would want to see these tracks taken off the calendar, as they are so popular, unique and exciting. However, there is a strong possibility that Spa-Francorchamps, the legendary Belgian track, will host a race every other year, alternating with Paul Ricard, from 2013. The fans don't want to see this sort of track leaving the calendar, even if it is only half leaving it. And the main reason why is because of what it would probably be replaced with:

 The 2000s in particular has seen a rapid rise in the number of Asian and Middle Eastern tracks on the calendar. Currently, we have seven tracks (not including Japan as it is on the first category) from Asia and the Middle East on the ever-growing circuit of F1 tracks. Malaysia is the first that appears, and even though it is considered a good track, it's never being my cup of tea, and is actually one of my least favourites. On the face of it China doesn't look a great track, but the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix was one of the greatest races I have ever seen, and 2010 and 2009 were exciting too. The next one is one of the problem ones: Bahrain. After a completely dismal race in 2010, the fans were calling for its axe. It was dropped from 2011, but not because of the track quality, but due to political and unpeaceful protests in Bahrain meaning the Grand Prix was deemed unsafe and didn't go ahead. It returns for 2012 as Race Four, but most fans don't want it back, as it really was a bore in 2010 and has never set the world alight. Singapore is probably the most popular of the Asian tracks, as it is a very challenging circuit, but mainly because it is raced at night, with fantastic photography and beautiful scenes at the Marina Bay Circuit. Korea was introduced in 2010, and only just made it on the calendar, after delays in the building of the circuit. However the 2010 race was a thriller, but the 2011 wasn't as good, and some people want to see it off the calendar. I disagree though, I think that Korea is a good circuit, and is very different to some of the other tracks on the calendar. India is the most recent addition to the calendar, and its debut race in 2011 wasn't a great race, but the track was well recieved amongst most drivers. Abu Dhabi is the final Asian track, and it may be a spectacular setting, with its twilight race, but it is not a good track. It was virtually impossible to overtake in 2009 and 2010, as Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber found out the hard way in the 2010 race. 

So the problems with these Asian races seem to be the lack of overtaking, and that the tracks are very similar. All of these tracks were designed by Hermann Tilke, who seems to be quite unpopular amongst the fans, due to the very similar and uninspiring tracks. For example, I've always thought that Malaysia and China are very similar tracks. Lots of people complain about so many of these tracks containing long straights, and I don't mind long straights, but they are ruined when there are silly little hairpins before them and after them, which make overtaking even more difficult. The best example of this is Korea, which has the 2nd longest straight on the calendar. In 2011, the DRS Zone was placed along that straight, and largely due to the corners before and after the straight, it was difficult to make an overtake stick.

Then there's another small group of tracks, which consist of Spain, Europe, Germany, Hungary and 2012's new track in the USA. Spain has never been a popular track, with the Barcelona race proving dull time after time. The 2011 race there was the best for a long time, but still wasn't good by any means. The European Grand Prix is held at Valencia, and is generally considered to be the worst race on the calendar. The track offers virtually no scope for overtaking, and doesn't really present a challenge to the drivers. It is a measure of the track's low quality when the 2011 race was easily the best at Valencia, but still the worst of the season. In my opinion Germany and Hungary are good tracks, but neither are the most popular in the world.

So the calendar is changing more and more every minute. More tracks are coming in all the time, and they are seeming too similar. I personally quite like some of the Asian tracks, but they all seem to have a similar structure. I don't think it's good for F1 that so many tracks are away from Europe, which is where the sport's main following is, particularly when the majority of the sport's best tracks are in the continent.



It's not about where the tracks are, but how good they are, and I'm not so sure that some of the more recent additions are up to the calibre of the others. I'm specifically meaning Malaysia, Bahrain, Spain, Europe and Abu Dhabi, but I'm not saying I want to see them axed. Little changes to the design could make these tracks so much better. For example, the KERS, DRS and Pirelli tyres made the Spanish Grand Prix quite enjoyable in 2011. I'd like to at least see the track developers try and make some changes to some of the least popular tracks, because for example with Abu Dhabi, the first sector is really good, but the track significantly goes down from there. With just a few changes, the track could all be at this level. Valencia and Korea have two of my favourite third sectors on the whole calendars.

So, little changes can make a big difference. Lets leave the classics alone, and make a few modifications to the new additions.

Thanks Dan. Very Interesting debate there, sharing some of his own personal views too.

You can visit his blog here and follow him on twitter here.