The F1 world championship now sees teams, the media and fans travel all over the world. Whether it be at the historic track of Monza or the newest track on the calendar in the USA, we all have tracks that we look forward to seeing the cars racing on.
With new tracks being developed and built, it seems as though the calendar is ever expanding and having a proposed 21 races on the calendar for next season increases the amount of miles everybody involved has to travel. The desire within F1 to stage races further away from Europe affects the sport in both negative and positive ways, but it also gives us fans the opportunity to discover some amazing race tracks and atmospheres.
It can be tough to choose a favourite race track on the calendar and this is why I have decided to share my top 5. For some, it can be the memories or heritage of the track which makes it special for me or just because I love the design of the circuit. Either way, my favourite races consist of some classic, some street circuits and some of the oldest tracks on the F1 calendar.
Track Name: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
GP Held: Belgium GP
This racetrack is certainly a popular favourite amongst fans and drivers themselves. For me, it is my favourite track of the season because of the challenges it brings the teams and drivers because of it's twisty and hilly nature. I also love that the weather can be unpredictable and this usually shakes up qualifying and the race.
My favourite part of the track is the legendary Eau Rouge, where drivers can exceed 300km/h and so I would really love to personally go to the circuit and see Grand Prix in the future held there.
One of the stand out moments in recent F1 history whilst racing at Spa was in 2012 when Jenson Button took his first pole for McLaren and went to subsequently win the race. However this race also stood out because of the horrific crash at the beginning of the race, caused by the French driver Romain Grosjean.
Track Name: Silverstone Circuit
GP Held: British GP
Being a British supporter, I always look forward to watching the British GP when the cars are in the same country as me. Even watching from the TV, you can see the brilliant atmosphere which fills the stands throughout the weekend and the support for the British drivers and teams is overwhelming. When I think of Silverstone, I always think of the dedicated fans, who often camp even in the pouring rain, just to catch a glimpse of their F1 heroes.
The British GP was first hosted at Silverstone in 1948 and has since then undergone developments, whilst still maintaining the legendary corners such as Stowe, Club, Maggotts and Becketts Corner as well as the Wellington Straight.
One memorable moment from Silverstone in recent history is the 2012 race. Mark Webber hunted down Fernando Alonso and took victory that afternoon, but I will always remember this race because I contributed towards it, like many other followers of the sport.
A few months before the race, Red Bull gave thousands of people the chance to be on their car. For me, this was an amazing opportunity and soon sent in a photo of myself to be added to the car. Although in the end the photos were so small and I have no idea where I was on that car, it was great to know that I essentially won the British GP!
More importantly though, the campaign run by Red Bull raised so much money for the Wings For Life Spinal Cord Research Foundation, as each person involved with the scheme donated a mere 15 euros and it was a brilliant way to both raise awareness and money to continue their research. I don't think this actually received as much coverage as it deserved throughout the weekend of the GP, but from sitting at home both I and all the other people that donated to the cause knew that we had helped make a difference.
Track Name: Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
GP Held: Canadian GP
The circuit formally known as the Circuit Ile Notre Dame is another circuit that I look forward to seeing the world of F1 visit. The 4.361km circuit has claimed many victims at the famous final corner named the Wall Of Champions, but one of my favourite parts of the circuit is the L'Epingle hairpin because I love seeing the cars passing through this particular part of the circuit. Michael Schumacher still remains the most successful driver at this circuit, picking up 7 wins, but it was the 2011 race which will be my most memorable.
The 2011 race currently holds the record for the longest race in F1 history, lasting an astounding 4 hours 4 minutes 39.537 seconds because of the delays caused by the rainstorms that day. It also holds the record for the most times the safety car was deployed during a race (6.) I even joked and tweeted at the time that the winner of the Canadian GP was the safety car.
It was an amazing day for Jenson Button. Although by the time the race was red flagged at lap 41 he had collided with his then team mate Lewis Hamilton, been through the pits about 6 times I think and ended up at the back of the grid. When the race was finally restarted a few hours later we watched as Jenson amazingly made his way back through the field, overtaking car after car. When we reached the last lap of the race, he only had Sebastian Vettel in front of him. Half way through that lap Vettel made a mistake and Button grabbed a brilliant victory. It was really for me one of those moments we will look back on in the future and I can say I was watching all that unfold!
Track Name: Autodromo Nazionale Monza
GP Held: Italian GP
The fastest and oldest track on the F1 calendar is always a special race for drivers, especially those who are driving the Ferraris. The first race was held in 1922 and similarly to Silverstone and other iconic tracks it has undergone development in the years gone by. However, there are still iconic parts of the circuit such as Ascari and Parabolica which are some of the most popular and well known parts of the circuit.
Similarly to Silverstone, the passion and atmosphere at the Italian Grand Prix is amazing to see. After every race held there the Tifosi and other fans are seen flooding the start finish straight and there is just a sea of red to pay homage to Ferrari. In the past few years we've seen Ferrari driver Alonso on the podium and one highlight from this track was this year when he stood on the podium and took a photo of himself and the thousands of supporters below him. To me this just reiterated the passion and love of the sport in all aspects, from the driver to the fans to the history of the track and sport.
Track Name: Marina Bay Street Circuit
GP Held: Singapore GP
Although F1 has been racing in Singapore since 1966, 2008 was the first year that we travelled to the Marina Bay Street Circuit. I am not typically a fan of street circuits and you can probably tell my heart is in the classic race circuits, but there is just something I like about the Marina Bay circuit. This may be because of the stark contrast between Monza and this circuit as F1 usually travels here immediately after the Italian GP. Unlike Monza which is fast and requires low downforce setups, Marina Bay requires higher downforce and is not as fast.
Another aspect about this track that I like is that it is held at night time, which makes the circuit different from the other races we experience throughout the season. It is something about the floodlights which reminds me of a karting track for some reason and it reminds me of when I went karting.
Whether you are a fan of F1, a driver, a race engineer, a journalist or even a marshal, there will be tracks which you will always look forward to visiting within the season. There may be tracks which you have grown to love or ones that hold special memories or even just tracks that you have always loved. It may be an old track or even a new track, but one thing that is for sure is that every track is special in some way.
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