What are the most overrated and useless circuits in the F1 calendar?

All hype but little racing - Monaco. Spain is a procession as well.

That being said aero adjustments to the formula would be better than circuits. The amount of relative closure needed to execute a pass with the given aero is absurd. I dont like the trend to more street circuits that appear to be the cheaper solution via Liberty.

Make circuits one's where a mistake is paid for. Less paved runoff to start etc.

 

+1 especially on the last point.

I do love Monaco. Like I said in the other thread....it's like watching a rally almost. Scarce overtaking in that too. Now if all tracks where like Monaco, that would be terrible...but it's not. It's about the atmosphere, the parties...and definitely Saturday. I'd hate to lose it. A mistake on Sunday is easily made and can thrown the entire race up. In any case...I found the Spanish GP far worse this year than the Monaco one.

Regarding the run off...My opinion has always been to take an angle grinder to the outer edge of the white line and cut a 2 meter wide gap, fill that with gravel and call it a day. Running wide will be punished, yet the safety of the parking lot run offs will still be in tact. Win win.

 

I don't know if any of these could be called 'overrated,' as I doubt too many rate them, but I would certainly put...

Abu Dhabi
Sochi
Bahrain
Singapore (a decent event/location but a very uninspired layout)
and China
on the chopping block...
'New' Hockenheim is also pretty dreary...I think Nurburgring GP is marginally better...

If were talking about realistic additions (i.e not Brands Hatch or Nordshleife) Imola and Estoril would be 2 excellent immediate and practical editions (both being FIA grade 1 circuits.) Zandvoort, Kyalami also good prospects...

 

I certainly agree with the need for 'running wide to be punished'

But the problem with that particular solution is that:
- the circuit is going to be immediately awash in gravel once anyone so much as puts a wheel off...
- that 2m wide gravel moat is going to be potentially devastating for a sliding motorcycle rider.
- and you still haven't solved the main problem of excessive asphalt runoffs - which in my opinion is the visual eye sore, and the decreased sensation of speed caused by pushing the trackside objects so far back...

I still think a mix of grass, then gravel, and then modern soft barriers (tecpro etc) or tires lining the armco/concrete is still the best and most balanced solution as far as safety and aesthetics.

 

-A gravel littered track....had it in the past, didn't seem to make a huge difference. It's a problem but not a huge one. I guess it could be grass.
-The gravel moat can be made just past the apex. Pretty much all accidents happen in the braking zone, so they won't his said gravel moat. No advantage is made running wide in that part anyhow so it solves both problems.
-Well yeah, obviously I'd much rather have proper gravel everywhere but apparently we can't have that...so the asphalt is there to stay I guess.

 

When the top 6 finish in the same order they qualified in (we just watched the equivalent of a 2 hour 0 to 0 Soccer game). Can it be consider a race if the three dominate superstar teams didn’t accomplish a single pass for the top 6 positions?

 

Yes.

Very much a race, each pushing to beat the other.

A race is defined by the demand of performance.

Monaco is one of the greatest races on the F1 calendar.

The narrow margins between speed and a wheel into a barrier make for a challenge that those who
do not race perhaps can never understand.

It also means that for the winner, it is one of the sweetest victories of the entire year.

My least favourite are the wide perfectly paved tracks, often with lots of passing.

I miss Brazil and its bumps and lumps.

 

Monaco should not be in the discussion just because of its unique nature. People know that it will not be a competitive race, though the drivers, I think, still enjoy the challenge of completing 78 laps without goofing up! It's the atmosphere that will always make it special, and it will continue to be tolerated.

Among other tracks, I always found Hungary to be the most tedious. It was added to the schedule to effectively replace Austria when the Oesterreichring was found wanting. Now that Austria is back on the schedule, I would have no problem with seeing Hungary disappear. I was also not a fan of Magny Cours, and I'm not a fan of either of the available German tracks in their current configurations.

 

Abu Dhabi is my least favorite circuit always a procession and is just too much Six Flags over Abu Dhabi for me.

 

I hate Hungaroring..pretty crappy...except for the 1989 race!

 

oh..spain is crap, boring as hell!

 

I'm surprised no one has chimed in to say "anything Tilke," which has been a recurring theme in these forums...

I used to love watching Monaco and not so much for the overtaking (or lake thereof), but to hear the V10s echoing like crazy in the small city streets. The tunnel sound was just icing on the cake. Must have been crazy in person as it was distinct on TV at least for me.

 

When it comes to Monaco, it's all about the parties. Specifically, the sponsor parties. Whatever it takes to make the sponsors happy. Therefore, Monaco is not going anywhere. Next topic?

 

I find Singapore absolutely dreadful as a circuit. The cars are permanently racing between guardrails, horrible.
I don't know what it's like from the cockpit, but it must be like driving in a tube.
Also, the race is at night.
Far worse than Monaco, I would have thought.

 

When F1 was in Long Beach it was a great race. It was a street course that worked for me. Something must be done to make Monaco a better track...expand it to some wider nearby roads where passing can happen or be forced. Maybe come up with something in Sicily, some of the old Targa plus new roads.

 

Silverstone ,Spa,Monza.

In today's PC cocoon these old school circuits are far too dangerous,i mean they even manage to overtake sometimes,shock horror.

What we need are more city centre street circuits which are far safer,preferably set up in a huge car park,perfect.

 

Silverstone ,Spa,Monza.
Racing on real tracks. Big surprise, racing is dangerous!

 

I think it's Stirling Moss who once said: "If motor racing wasn't dangerous, I wouldn't like to be part of it"

 

Easy to sum it up this way, anything built before 1990 is good, after that snooze time!!!

 

The Red Bull Ring is never exciting to me at all. The Russian GP is one of the worst. Most of the track looks like a prison ward.

 

If they restore the surviving part of the Oesterreichring that they bypassed (which there has been some discussion about doing), the Red Bull Ring will be a much better track. I actually rather like the Sochi layout, with that long carousel curve through the Olympic park, though I admit that some of the surroundings do look typically Russian sterile.

One track which I would like to see back on the schedule, and one of the better newer tracks, is Turkey.

 

Despite some criticism, Hockenheim is not that bad. I just dont understand why they don't put a grandstand at the most exciting corner, the hairpin. I would go there every time - much better entertainment for racers than any start-finish straight or Paddock Club seats.

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I miss the old Hockenheim circuit with its long curves taken flat out. It was very impressive, mostly for the bikes. It was also dangerous when raining as the spay never dispersed because of the tall trees all around the track.
I watched many races in touring cars, F2 and bikes there, and even one GP. It was a circuit for courageous men.
They have completely butchered that circuit, and I don't think the new layout can fit on the F1 calendar anymore.