F1 Fanatic

This was done here four years ago but a few have disappeared since then:

Top ten… Corners in Formula 1

What about corners that are not a part of any circuit ever raced in Formula 1?

I think my personal vote would have to go to the “GMC Flip-Flops” in Canberra. Canberra was an agonising circuit used in the V8 Supercars; it was tight, narrow, slow and loaded to the brim with chicanes. But in the middle of it all was a tiny little gem called the flip-flops: a pair of chicanes in the first sector that were much faster than they looked. It was a quick right-left that dropped down onto a different surface, then a short straight followed by a mirror image left and blind right that went back up onto the roadway. The corners were perfectly aligned with one another that the entire section was treated as one corner, with the drivers riding the kerbs the whole way through. It would be entirely too slow for Formula 1 cars, an maybe it was just a question of perception, but the V8 Supercars always seemed to go flying through it.

I honestly think Eau Rouge is no longer worthy of a palce on the list. Yes, it was awesome – once. But in the era of aerodynamics, it no longer poses a challenge. The drivers just power through it. Pouhon is a much better corner.

In the same vein, Bridge on the old Silverstone is no longer challenging. I heard and saw a lot of people bemoaning the death of Silverstone when the new configuration was built because it removed Bridge, but like Eau Rouge, that corner no longer provides any real challenge.

In no particular oder, just one corner per track, from the past and present:
- Pouhon, Spa. I agree about Eau Rouge being just a straight (especially in F1), so Pouhon it is. Blanchimont goes to the same category, it hasn’t been a challenge for about a decade.
- Turn 8, Istanbul Park. Tilke’s best corner. He likes long corners, but 90% them are so slow.
- Stowe, Silverstone, 1991-1993. Probably my favourite corner in all of the PC games and sims I’ve raced. Goes on and on and on, and you have to get the line absolutely right, or you’re in trouble due to the high kerbs.
- Flugplatz, Nürburgring. With 170+ corners, what to choose? Well, this one does it for me. Jump over the crest, wait a beat, and blast through the double right hander.
- Turns 12 & 13, Caesar’s Palace. Yeah, the track sucks, but seeing those ground effect monsters through these corners was fantastic. Bit like a mini version of Turkey’s T8 – 30 years ago!
- Peraltada, Mexico City. Do I need to explain this?
- 130R, Suzuka, before the modifications. Shame that such a corner was destroyed.
- Bosch-Kurve, Österreichring. Hard to choose, as all the corners on this track were pretty amazing.
- Ascari, Buenos Aires, 1995-1998. The track was mickey mouse, but this right hander at the end of back straight is one of my first memories of F1. The bumps, the speed, everything just comes together.
- Courbe de Pouas, Dijon-Prenois. Another ground effect & turbo era classic. Modern F1 cars would be easily flat here.

Almost no corner poses that kind of challenge anymore though PM, high speed and high-skill.

If they could get it right in Formula 1, it would be an epic corner. When the drivers went into the first half of the sequence, they reported they’d just lose all feeling of being planted on the race track – not easy in a one-ton tin-top – as the road dropped away right as the surface changed, and even if it was only for a moment, the car was beyond their control and they had to fight their instincts to back off.

Here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr2G1wZcwT4

It’s turns three to seven; you can see it around the one-minute mark.

You’re also still travelling at 160mph with your feet pointed towards the sky. Then again that’s not Eau Rouge, that’s Raidillon;-)

1. Eau Rouge, spa
2. Esses, suzuka
3. Swimming pool Section, monaco
4. Turn 8, Turkey
5. Maggots – Beckets, silverstone
6. Blanchimont, spa
7. Parabolica, estoril
8. Imola, Magny Cours
9. Senna Chicane, Hockenheim
10. Turn 13, Indianapolis