The greatest F1 track in the world.....EVER

 

Ripley was not a fan of the track

What do you mean you don't recognize this track?

It is the most iconic and well known circuit loved by fans and drivers alike.

Still no clue?

OK, let me back up a little here and let you all catch up.

There has been a lot written over recent weeks about the increase in street circuits, the "money over tradition" debate, and what really gives us the best racing.  This all kicked into gear again this week when the F1 2023 calendar was published and all of a sudden Vegas was being ridiculed despite not a single wheel rolling around that track yet.

This got us thinking over at the Dirty Side...

What would the perfect track look like if we made it from a blend of fans & drivers favorite sections from tracks currently on the calendar.

After a huge amount of scientific research we present to you the greatest F1 track in the world!

It's assembled from the top 10 tracks based on a blended view of drivers & fans enjoyment all calculated via the Dirty Side Super Computer using a top secret algorithm.

Let's break it down piece by piece.

Start/Finish Line: Italy, Monza

Just floor it!!!

We start off on the Monza straight, accelerating hard until we reach our first real braking zone.  However, this is not the chicane we know from Monza but our first corner which is...

Section 1: Belgium, Spa - Bus Stop 

You wait ages for one to come...

Yes, that's right.  We head into the Spa bus stop and move towards our second main part of the track

Section 2: Belgium, Spa - First corner to Kemmel

Oh a spa.  I'll get my nails done

Here we take the first corner of Spa all the way through Eau Rouge and along the Kemmel Straight.

Waiting for us there is not Les Combes corner but instead another iconic braking zone.

Section 3: Monaco, Hotel hairpin

Anyone know a good hotel?

OK, Monaco does not serve up great races but there is no doubting it's iconic status on the calendar.  Therefore we had to squeeze a section in and opted for this.

After moving through the hairpin we will accelerate into none other than...

Section 4: Netherlands, Zandvoort - banked corner (corner 3)

Is there an ATM here?

Yes, after the near walking pace of the Monaco hairpin we accelerate and take this fantastic banked corner from Zandvoort.  Could have easily been the other banked complex but the Super Computer chose this one and who are we to argue?

From here we leave the Netherlands and head into a sequence of corners rated highly by the drivers (and actually fans as well due to the superb view of racing here).

Section 5: USA, Circuit of the Americas - corners 12 to 15

Is it warm or will I need to wear a COTA?

There is a lot of love for COTA and it's often seen great races.  The drivers love it and there is always a unique Austin atmosphere.  We could have taken the first corner but our track design needed a corner complex so we took this one.

Exiting this sequence sees us accelerate along a long sweeping section.

Section 6: Italy, Imola corners 1-6

We cut a long sweeping section from Imola taking in corners 1 through 6 which see us take in both the Variante Tamburello and Variante Villeneuve.  Rather than then arrive at the corner 7 hairpin, instead we pick up a section of another iconic circuit.

Section 7: UK, Silverstone - Hangar Straight to Club

Join the Club!

Rather than slow for the Imola hairpin, we accelerate up the Hangar straight and take in Stowe, Vale (great name), and Club corner before moving to the next part of our amazing track.  

To be honest I think we could have added all of Silverstone but then that might be my British bias coming out (yup, Rob on the keyboard)

Anyway, where was I?  Oh yes, the section we move into after Club corner...

Section 8: Japan, Suzuka - 130R complex

Isn't 130R a tire size?

Quite often lauded as the best, most challenging, and adrenalin infusing corners in F1.  Think we should probably put the fairground in the background on this section as well!

After all this speed we are in need of a heavy braking zone.  Now where could we find one?

Section 9: Canada, Montreal -  L'Epingle

Looks so easy...

One of the most iconic hairpins on the calendar featuring a 180 degree, full-lock situation and many lines to take.  

The corner has witnessed many a great battle has been seen here in both the wet and the dry. The grip and drive out of this corner sets up the attack on the straight.  

However the straight here is not the Canadian one that leads to the wall of champions.  No, we have another straight in mind.

Section 10: Brazil, Interlagos - Main straight plus Senna S

Senna putting the S in Brasil

Yes, the straight that is not really straight sees us power up the famous Brazilian start/finish section but dropping downhill into the Senna S complex.  This has to be one of the best sights in F1 as they drop down the hillside here.

From the base of the hill we then power our way along to the final corner.

Section 11: Italy, Monza - Parabolica

Think I have an album by Parabolica

I said Monza was gonna show up twice as we fling ourselves around the Parabolica corner and scream down the start/finish straight to complete our first lap.

I think you will agree that this would simply be the greatest track ever made.

Trackside decoration would draw from each of the featured venues so it would also be quite the spectacle.

The only drawback?

We created this trying to use circuit maps that were to scale.  This means that even by only using small sections of each of our 10 featured circuits, we have a lap length of around 8.2 miles so nearly twice as long as Spa.

That would mean something like only 22 laps if Spa usually runs 44!

However, pretty sure that this would be epic as making a great track that delivers a superb racing spectacle is easy right...right?

Disclaimer - There is not really a Super Computer.  I am that sad that I created this manually. Therefore the observant among you may have noticed two issues here.

The first is cosmetic and born from pure laziness.  I started numbering corners but then felt it made more sense to do a write up per track I was stealing a section from.  I could not be bothered to redraw the icons on the image hence Belgium has 2 sections!

The second is that this was much harder than I thought and there is a small chance that maybe some of the sections would need to be driver in the reverse direction.  Pretty sure Imola is and the same might be true of other sections.

Anyway, was also quite a bit of fun so take it that way and enjoy.

What would your ideal F1 track look like?