F1
Take the racing line at some of the most illustrious race tracks around the world with our racing stars and Carrera's slot cars.
Join the Formula One stars Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz, Daniil Kvyat and Pierre Gasly as they take you on a guided tour of some of Formula One’s most iconic race tracks.
Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, France, with Pierre Gasly
Despite its longevity, the French Grand Prix has moved to 16 different venues over the past 100 years, and now, after a decade away, Formula One has returned to France for the eighth round of the 2018 Formula 1 World Championship. Watch Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly explain our re-creation of the French circuit, which uses Carrera slot cars, track and accessories.
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium with Max Verstappen
Built in a rain cloud nestling in the pine-clad Ardennes mountains in Belgium, Spa is the longest track on the Formula One circuit and one of the most challenging. This undulating track is packed with legendary features such as Kemmel straight, and corners like Blanchimont, Pouhon and the famous Eau Rouge. This is where world champions like Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna Jim Clark and Kimi Raïkkönen prove their mettle. Throw in the unpredictable weather and you have a true test of skill and courage. It's also the home track of Belgian-born Max Verstappen...
Silverstone in the UK with Daniel Ricciardo
Silverstone is a true great among F1 circuits. Fast, flowing, vast and major test of outright speed and skills. It hosted the first ever Formula One Grand Prix championship race back in 1950 and has been the scene of many legendary moments since. With so many teams based in the UK, it's also the official home grand prix of Williams, McLaren and Force India, and unofficial home race for Mercedes, Renault and Red Bull Racing. It's also the race where Daniel Ricciardo made his F1 debut...
Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria, with Daniel Ricciardo
Home of of the Austrian Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing's home grand prix, the Red Bull Ring is a fan favourite thanks to its festival atmosphere and thrilling races on track. Watch out for a trail of references to The Sound of Music hidden in the track guide.
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada, with Daniel Ricciardo
Named after one of Canada's favourite sons, the circuit is home to the most famous wall in the history of Formula One - the 'wall of champions'. It's also the scene of many first victories in F1, not least that of your host Daniel Ricciardo...
Circuit de Monaco in Monte Carlo, Monaco, with Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen
The crown jewel of Formula One, Monaco is the glamour race of the F1 calendar: a glitz blitz up around the casino, past the fancy hotels and back along the spectacular harbour in Monte Carlo. With the F1 drivers strutting the catwalk, celebrities lining the grid and the Red Bull Energy Station floating in the harbour, it's the party capital of the calendar. Oh, and there's also a Formula One race. Monaco also happens to be home to a number of F1 drivers, making it another home grand prix for Daniel and Max.
Albert Park Street Circuit in Melbourne, Australia, with Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen
Having been moved from the end of the season to the start, the Australian Grand Prix is often the curtain-raiser to a new Formula One season. It's easy to see why: with its wealth of great restaurants, hotels and bars, friendly atmosphere and enthusiastic fans, it's the perfect spot to kick off a new year of racing. It's also the home race of Daniel Ricciardo, so take it away Daniel...
Suzuka International Racing Course in Ino, Suzuka City, Japan, with Max Verstappen
The Japanese circuit has been the setting for some iconic races over the years, including the championship-deciding duels between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna in 1989 and 1990, which we re-enact here using Carrera model cars. There's also Super Mario and a giant radioactive lizard because we take these things seriously...
Autódromo José Carlos Pace (aka Interlagos) in São Paulo, Brazil, with Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat
The South American circuit in the heart of Sao Paulo has witnessed some of the most intense championship deciders in recent times, including the last-lap cliffhanger during the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix as well as a scene of championship triumph for Kimi Raïkkönen and Sebastian Vettel.
Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Monza, Italy, with Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz
The cathedral of speed, Monza is the fastest Formula One track on the calendar. Built in beautiful parkland on the outskirts of Milan, Monza is a legend of Formula One. A test of pure speed, the cars have a unique set-up to exploit the track. The tifosi are famous for their devotion to motor sport and for the home team Ferrari. But Monza is also home of Toro Rosso, who scored a memorable win there in the wet in 2008.
Le Mans in France with Mark Webber
Part of the famous Triple Crown of Motor Racing, the Le Mans 24-Hour is one of the great events on the motor racing calendar. It's a test of speed but also endurance with the winner decided by a gruelling race around the clock. Here's our resident WEC champions Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard taking you through the 13.62km long Circuit de la Sarthe with a little help from Le Mans winner Richard Atwood.
Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico, with Carlos Sainz
Before Carlos Sainz left to join Renault, he recorded a track guide to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City. Carlos was the first F1 driver to do a lap of the famous track after it was brought up to speed for the modern era of F1, but when Carlos first drove around the track, half of the surface was still in the cement mixer and he had an on-track/off-road experience of the circuit. But now it’s one of the jewels of Formula One, winding around the former Olympic park and a baseball stadium in Mexico’s sporting hub.
So join Carlos on a hot lap of the circuit and a short tour of Mexican culture, including the super spicy food and the famous Dia de Muertos celebrations that coincide with the race at the end of October.
Circuit of the Americas in Austin, USA, with Daniil Kvyat
Hit the trail to the Circuit of the Americas, the home of US motorsport located deep in the heart of Texas. Daniil Kvyat is in the saddle steering his Toro Rosso STR12 around the circuit and making some cultural references to our hosts including cowboys and spacemen. Not so much Woody and Buzz Lightyear as the famous longhorn Texan cattle and the amazing Apollo spaceships that were guided to the moon and back from mission control in nearby Houston. In honour of Toro Rosso’s Italian home, watch out for references to Spaghetti Westerns.
Austin itself is famed as the live music capital of the USA and home of the amazing SXSW festival. The US Grand Prix always features a selection of music concerts to make sure the weekend goes with a bang. So tune in on Austin and the US Grand Prix with Daniil Kvyat.
Shanghai International Circuit in China with Daniel Ricciardo
Built on swampland previously used as rice paddy fields, the location of the Chinese F1 Grand Prix is a remarkable feat of engineering and logistics.
It took 3,000 workers 18 months to complete the Shanghai International Circuit which has been in use since 2004 and has a capacity of 200,000.
Take a tour with Daniel Ricciardo - and watch out for the snails!
Hockenheimring in Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, with Max Verstappen
The Hockenheimring in south-west Germany looks very different now to the circuit that hosted its first German Grand Prix in 1970.
To make the track safer, and ensure spectators witness as much of the race action as possible, the circuit was rerouted out of dense woodland in 2002. The circuit does, however, retain an almighty hairpin bend that, says Max Verstappen, is one of the most important in the sport.
Find out more as the Red Bull Racing driver evades a scary fairytale wolf to take a tour of the Hockenheimring.
Hungaroring in Mogyoród, Hungary, with Max Verstappen
Since being built in 1986, the dusty, 4.381km-long Hungaroring circuit, which is located in a valley in the centre of the country, has become the third most visited destination in Hungary. And that's thanks to motorsport fans keen to witness drivers tackling the circuit's many twists and turns. So challenging is the track that F1 fans have dubbed it, “like Monaco without buildings”.
Below, Max Verstappen walks the track while referencing famous Hungarians responsible for the invention of the ballpoint pen and Rubik’s Cube, a legendary football player and perhaps the best-known illusionist of all time.
Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore with Daniel Ricciardo
The Singapore Grand Prix is one of F1's most spectacular races. Not only is it the competition's sole night race, with drivers going pedal to the metal under the bright (artificial) lights of Marina Bay, it's also one of the trickiest on the calendar.
As Daniel Ricciardo explains in the video below, there are corners everywhere and even the straights aren't all that straight. Throw in a narrow bridge section and an underground segment below the main grandstand, and you have a recipe for thrills and spills. In fact, the safety car has been deployed at least once in every F1 race here.
