Longest straight in F1
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Does anyone know what track has the longest straight on the current F1 calendar? I’ve asked everyone I can think of and they’ve all gave conflicting answers! Any help would be great thanks :)
it was in the chinese gp preview I think, according to mercedes
edit: here it is http://mercedes-benz-blog.blogspot.com/2011/04/f1-shanghai-race-preview-feature-engine.html
this is taken from Formula1.com website
“Q: How long is the back straight in Shanghai and how does it compare to other circuits?
A: The back straight at Shanghai International Circuit covers 1170m, equivalent to 21.4 percent of the total lap distance. This is the longest straight encountered during the Formula One season, closely followed by Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina (1140m), Italy’s Monza (1120m) and Korea’s Yeongam (1050m)”
which backs that up,
Still think its Korea though ;-)
I think it’s Shanghai, but it doesn’t seem as long because you enter it pretty fast.
What’s the longest straight ever in F1?
F1.com says the back-straight at Abu Dhabi is the longest, though I still believe it’s the back-straight at China. The longest ever straight must be at AVUS, Fuji’s start/finish straight was the longest straight in F1 whilst it was on the calendar.
EDIT: I’ve looked into it a bit more, apparentely Yas Marina’s back-straight is three metres longer than Shanghai’s. Ratboy has found one article which says that Abu Dhabi’s straight is 1140m, the one I’ve found says the same straight is 1173m. I’m surprised this needs to be debated, there really should be a concrete answer.
It is ridiculous that this is a question which needs answered, someone really should know!
To throw another into the mix, I’m pretty sure it was Fuji (when it was on the calendar mind!)
When is a straight a straight? You could argue the back straight at Abu Dhabi should be disqualified because it has a teeny little kink at the end of it… but that would be nitpicking!
To answer a question that hasn’t actually been asked, because I think it’s quite relevant, the longest flat out section in F1 is almost certainly from La Source to Les Combes at Spa. Obviously that’s not a straight in the geometrical sense of the word, because it has a big Eau Rouge shaped wiggle in the middle, but since when has anyone ever cared about flat out corners? Look at Monaco for example, I bet the longest straight line section on that track is barely 100 metres, but we certainly don’t refer to their being a Start- Finish curve!
How long is the straight at Fuji Speedway?
I always thought that was the longest ever used for an F1 race.
EDIT: I found it to be 1497m long, almost 1.5km! Compared with Shanghai’s 1.2km!
Oooh that is a very good point Ned. I suspect that in terms of measuring a geometric “straight” i.e. a straight line with no kings or curves in the acceleration zone, you would use the centreline and take it from the point immediately after the preceding corner and then to the point immediately before the following corner. Obviously you would measure to the transition curve arc rather than the actual arc of the corner where applicable.
And what you said there reminds me of the Mulsanne straight at Le Mans, it has a kink in it because someone’s (FIA perhaps?) rules state that a straight can only be 2km long. I think. Correct me if I’m wrong. Actually come to think of it I’m 89% sure that an F1 “straight” (whatever that actually means!) can only be 2km long. I think…
Don’t mean to jump on the “bash Hermann Tilke” train again…but all the circuits mentioned here (other than Monza) were designed by him. I think when he designs a track he just draws a big straight line on his sheet of paper when he gets sick of stringing 90 degree turns and silly chicanes together.
And why should circuits boast about having the longest straight in F1? Is this drag racing or F1? Surely if a straight is your cicruit’s most impressive feature you have done something wrong!
I thought the longest straight now was in Korea because they found whichever the longest straight was and apparently added three metres to theirs ‘because they could’
I’d like to throw in that the straight on the Pescara circuit may have been the longest seen in F1. At a rough estimate on google maps, it appears to have been about 4600 meters (2.8 miles) long. Even longer before they added the bus stop chicane before the pits, but that was before F1 raced there.
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