Traditional Racetracks or Street Circuits, which is best?

By Mark Gero

To some formula one drivers, the high speeds of a racing car might be a thrill to anyone that takes them on, but there a growing popularity that the emerging street circuits are not only increasing but getting dangerous to the point where many are describing them as death traps.

With the 24 circuits on the formula one calendar, there are many varieties that make up for the style of what they are driving on race weekends.

First there are the park circuits, like Montreal and Melbourne, which are tight, but have a smaller amount of room to run off the track, in case of a technical issue or losing control of the car. Saudi Arabia and Las Vegas are two more which are very tight, but they are quick and can be opened by having sweeping corners and fast straights to negotiate on.

But then there are the tough streets circuits, and the one that everyone brings up as being other boring or very dangerous is what the drivers will experience in the next week, and this is the circuit in Monaco, which has not changed much in the many years that it has been run.

So, what makes circuits like this one so tough in comparison to the regular ones like Spa or Austin?

One, which is obvious, is the barriers that are placed very close to the racing line, and this can cause many cars to have accidents, which in this case have no runoff areas to escape. If a car in Monaco crashes or suffers a mechanical issue, the race might have to be stopped, and the area cleared until the race can resume.

Another item that is a problem with street circuits is the ability to set up the car. It is true that all circuits have different ways on how the set-up works, but in Monaco, it is difficult to figure out. Another circuit that has not been mentioned is the street circuit in Azerbaijan, where McLaren driver Oscar Piastri found out what happens when you lose your concentration. The tight areas were not good enough when you lose control and Piastri found this out fast, which prompted him to begin the task of losing his championship to teammate Lando Norris.

Because the street circuits are run on by regular automobiles and are only closed off on race weekends, there is the factor of the grip levels having to get used to, as well as the road being hit in the past by bad weather and urban debris, and this was proven when then Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz struck a open manhole cover in first practice at the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix, that nearly made negative impressions that the race should not be run there. But the situation was solved, and even to this day, there are still some problems like this, because of the traffic that is being run on the same road regularly. But the track officials there have been used to the problems and have solved them quickly so there cannot be any more trouble like there was before.

Finally, there are high-speed corners on most of the street tracks, and this combined with the tight corners, it is a problem for drivers who can make errors more than ever. All these situations can make street tracks more trouble to drivers than if they were racing on regular circuits, and this will be decided next weekend in Monaco whether the race will be dull when Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc won two years ago, or will it be a lottery of who survives probably the toughest chance that a driver can go up against.