The Rise Of Street Circuits
Street circuits have always played an important role in Formula One. But since F1 increasingly looks to make the race weekends as exciting and enjoyable for the fans as possible, street circuits have become a more frequent fixture on the race calendar.
No fewer than seven Grand Prix weekends are held on street circuits in the current season. In other words: Almost a third of the entire calendar consists of street races.
Therefore, this season has more street circuits than ever before.
The street circuits on which Formula 1 will race this season are:
- Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)
- Albert Park (Australia)
- Baku City (Azerbaijan)
- Miami International Autodrome
- Monaco
- Marina Bay Street Circuit (Singapore)
- Las Vegas Street Circuit
However, the reason for the increasing amount of street races on the F1 calendar is rather simple. While F1 claims the main point is the comfort of the fans and other attendees, it seems that money also contributes a huge part to the evolution. Jeddah and Baku City are proven to be the two tracks on the calendar that pay the highest hosting fees. In addition to that, are the two races in the USA, Las Vegas and Miami, collaborations. Meaning, they do not have to pay a single penny to have a Formula One race on their circuit. That is mainly because F1 is staging the event, so they can take home all the money earned from ticket sales and sponsorship fees themselves.
Besides the extremely high hosting fees, is the showcasing of the cities another positive argument to add more street races to the calendar. The teams and fans who travel to the races have to stay in hotels in the city near the track. Therefore they spend money on local businesses, which provides a good income for the duration of the Grand Prix weekend. Another point is the amount of broadcasting that is done during the whole event. Broadcasting produces media coverage of an area. City venues profit from that because they can showcase their landmarks and attract tourists.
Another point is that Monaco and Miami are the events that attract and include the most influencers and celebrities. With this knowledge, many fans travel to these races specifically, to not only get to meet their favorite drivers but also to see people like Tom Cruise, Shakira or the Jonas Brothers.
While some drivers enjoy racing in the street settings, Max Verstappen claims, “They are the worst experiences” because, according to the Dutchman, circuits like Spa are the ones that make the difference for drivers.
Due to the lack of chances to overtake those circuits, they are often claimed to be rather boring than exciting to watch for the fans. As demonstrated in Monaco, the drivers who do well in Qualifying have the best chances of ending up on the podium at the end of the race. With Red Bull and Max Verstappen already dominating the field, street races do not contribute to the variation of race winners.
Based on that, F1 is risking shooting itself in the foot by providing an overly lengthy calendar with only six to seven exciting races. This leads us to the questions:
Is it time to stop adding street circuits to the F1 calendar?
