F1 Fanatic

The title may be a little misleading, but what i mean by that is that can you think of any modern day race track that was too tight or narrow etc to race on

To get the ball rolling here is one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_International_Streetcircuit

For the inaugeral race at the Beijing street track, a new corner had to be devised overnight because the serise that was racing there (A1GP) was not able to get round a hairpin because it was too tight, once they added another, wider hairpin before the previous hairpin,the cars had to avoid the pit lane entry wall. Also there was loose drain cover and advertising boards, yet the race still went on!!

I’m going to be a bit controversial to get some discussion going… Monaco.

It’s generally accepted that the circuit is not wide enough compared to modern track safety standards.
Access to and removal of cars varies between different parts of the circuit, raising questions on driver and marshal safety. The fact that DRS was banned in the tunnel this year could be interpreted as acceptance that if an accident were to happen in this part of the circuit, the safety standards would not be adequate.
The tunnel has not only poor visibility but can cause cars to lose 20-30% of downforce.
There are bumps, for example the one on the left after Casino Square that the drivers have to actively avoid, that wouldn’t be allowed to remain on a more modern circuit.
Some teams have to adjust their cars’ steering lock especially for Monaco, to enable the drivers to negotiate corners like the Fairmont (/Loews/whatever you want to call it!) Hairpin and to a lesser extent Rascasse.
The accidents suffered by Perez and Petrov in this year’s race showed that even with the safety of modern F1 cars, drivers who suffer accidents have a higher risk of injury than at the majority of other venues.

I’m not sure what the elevation change is and how that compares to the FIA regulations, although it always struck me as being among the greatest – does anyone have any information on that?

If Monaco were to be proposed as a new venue, it would be not be judged suitable for modern F1. Is its “rich heritage” a good enough reason to overlook this fact and perhaps put safety at risk?

Thanks for that Keith, best racing video I’ve seen on there

in terms of dangerous tracks I’ll say the Isle of Man track, theres always fatals there. im not saying its a bad track or they shouldnt go there. I love the track. its just a dangerous one.

Un raceable I’d say Valencia. it should be banned and forever removed ;)

I’ve always wondered what MotoGP would be like racing on street circuits like Monaco. Obviously Monaco is way too dangerous for modern bike racing so we’ll never know, but I imagine it would be a fantastic spectacle

Keith that race is the Omnitel 1000km race in Palanga, Lithuania. I have the track on a pc game and it literally is one half of a motorway with a tyre chicane, a hairpin onto the other set of lanes then another tyre chicane into an uphill slip road with a sharp left onto the road (which that sliproad leaves) and then a 270 degree right down a sliproad under the bridge and then a chicane onto the start /finish lane of the motorway.
it is chaos and the pitlane is ridiculous

Yeah I saw that race on Motors TV also and thelack of safety was really really shocking. It was funny listening to the commentators as they had absolutely no idea about the race but that it was the 12th race that had been held. It was funny to see the cars down the motorway.

How do you find that kind of thing Keith? :P

How do you find that kind of thing Keith?

The wonders of Motors TV!