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Which are the best street Formula One circuits?
The F1 season is on a run of street circuits right now that pose unique challenges for the drivers. But what makes them so tricky? Let’s take a look at the best street races…
The official Formula One drivers' world championship started out on a traditional track at Silverstone in the UK back in 1950, but drivers have been racing cars around places like Monte Carlo's Circuit de Monaco since the 1920s.
Let’s find out what makes street circuits so special and challenging for drivers before taking a look at some of the most famous street circuits around the world...
What is a street circuit?
Formula One has visited different types of circuits since its inception in 1950. From road courses and ovals to more traditional, permanent circuits. Then there are also street circuits. The term is self-explanatory: the circuit consists of (temporarily closed) streets that are not specifically intended for racing. It is not easy to create a successful street circuit; the circuit must be able to produce an exciting race while showcasing the unique charm of the city. Fitting the bill as well as anywhere is Monte Carlo and the Monaco Grand Prix has been on the Formula One calendar since 1950.
The iconic Circuit de Monaco
© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
What makes street circuits so challenging for drivers?
Street circuits pose a special challenge for Formula One drivers. The main reason for this has to do with run-off lanes, or rather a lack thereof. There is hardly any margin for the drivers; one mistake and you're in the wall. Precision and concentration are highly necessary, but it is also a test of self-confidence. Those who dare to go to the extreme will gain more time and go faster than the rest. While traditional courses are often perfectly maintained, it is not unusual to encounter bumps, unevenness, manhole covers and slippery and/or different types of asphalt on a street circuit.
The history of street circuits in Formula One
Street circuits are inextricably linked to Formula One. The second Grand Prix ever took place on the streets of Monaco. Since 1955, the iconic circuit has been a permanent fixture on the calendar, with the exception being 2020. In the first years of the championship the streets of Barcelona, Lisbon and Porto among others hosted races. In the 1970s and 1980s, Formula One tried to gain a foothold in the United States and street circuits were set up in cities such as Dallas, Las Vegas, Long Beach and Phoenix. However, these circuits often disappeared as quickly as they appeared. Meanwhile, the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne and the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal are still on the calendar. These types of tracks are in fact a kind of hybrid, or semi-street circuit, where the characteristics of a permanent course are combined with those of a street circuit.
Liam Lawson on the streets of Singapore
© Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
The evolution of street circuits
The success of a new wave of street circuits in the 1980s and 1990s paved the way for further evolution. In the past two decades, considerably more street circuits have appeared on the calendar. They may not have much in common with old-fashioned asphalt ribbons like Monaco with circuits such as Miami, Jeddah and Las Vegas so well-polished that they are street circuits by loose definition, even though the backdrops suggests otherwise.
The future of street circuits
The 2024 Formula One calendar has no fewer than eight street circuits with racers out to beat the traffic in Saudi Arabia, Australia, Miami, Monaco, Canada, Azerbaijan, Singapore and Las Vegas. And that's not all. In 2026, Formula One will say goodbye to Barcelona after more than 30 years and move to a suburb of Madrid where it will race around the IFEMA expo.
01
Las Vegas Strip Street Circuit
Sergio Pérez at the Las Vegas Grand Prix Launch Party in November 2022
© Garth Milan / Red Bull Content Pool
- Track length: 6.12km
- Fastest lap: 1:35.490 – Oscar Piastri in 2023
- Turns: 17
- Time in F1: 2023 to present
Glamour, celebrities, luxury hotels, casinos, F1 and Las Vegas seem like a match made in heaven but the first attempt in the 80s was more like a match made in a late night Elvis-themed wedding chapel. In 1981 and ’82, F1 raced around the Caesars Palace car park, bringing the curtain down on the F1 season. It at least saw two drivers crowned champion (Nelson Piquet and Keke Rosberg) thanks to fifth placed finishes.
But F1 returns in much finer style with the promise of cars racing around the hotels and casinos of the fabulous Las Vegas Strip – at night. It will be a game changer. The track is from the pen of Carsten Tilke and makes its debut in November as the penultimate race of the season.
Raced anti-clockwise, highlights include the cars racing around the MSG Sphere Arena, a half-mile straight along Koval Lane in the heart of Las Vegas and the cars flying past the famous casinos of Treasure Island, The Mirage, Caesar’s Palace and the Bellagio Fountains and down a 1.9km back straight where they’ll top 340kph.
8 min
Pérez's Nevada night out
What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas. Relive an epic night with Formula One driver Sergio Pérez.
02
Marina Bay Street Circuit
Night racing at Singapore
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
- Track length: 5.06km
- Fastest lap: 1:41.905 – Kevin Magnussen in 2018
- Turns: 23
- Time in F1: 1969 to 1975
These tracks may all be street circuits, but that doesn't mean they're similar. On the contrary, they all offer hugely different experiences and Singapore's Marina Bay Street Circuit is no exception. Marina Bay stands out by virtue of being the only night race in this collection, with drivers lapping the streets of Singapore under incredibly bright overhead lights, and the result is a spectacle to behold.
Being a night race isn't the only thing that marks this circuit out as something special. It's also the only track to offer a floating grandstand, where cars actually pass underneath spectators. The track's bumpy finish straight adds to the event, delivering huge showers of sparks reminiscent of the 1980s, and it remains one of the most demanding circuits for drivers to navigate.
03
Albert Park
Action packed Albert Park
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
- Track length: 5.28km
- Turns: 14
- Fastest lap: 1:20.235 – Sergio Pérez in 2023
- Time in F1: 1996 to present
Take the tram from central Melbourne, glide past the MCC and Rod Laver Arena, home of the Australian Open, get out at Albert Park and walk across the temporary pontoons over the lake and into the paddock. The Australian Grand Prix is one of the most convivial destinations on the F1 calendar.
The new Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit is 23 metres shorter and has two fewer corners, but the widened and newly resurfaced track offers more opportunity for overtaking and wheel-to-wheel racing – all set against the stunning Melbourne skyline. The track itself is bumpy – shaking newly built cars apart – and narrow which makes it tough to pass, yet the cars hit speeds of 235kph. All that means is that Safety Cars are a common sight at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit.
04
Baku City Circuit
Into the medieval city of Baku
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- Track length: 6.00km
- Turns: 20
- Fastest lap: 1:43.009 – Charles Leclerc in 2019
- Time in F1: 2016 to present
Even though it boasts eight 90 degree corners, Azerbaijan's Baku City Circuit is a super fast circuit with a massive start/finish straight that gives drivers lots of opportunity to pass in front of the grandstands. The unofficial fastest speed here is 378kph, set by Valtteri Bottas in a Williams in free practice for the 2016 European Grand Prix on the Baku City Circuit, running an ultra-low downforce configuration – probably the fastest speed reached by an F1 car on a race weekend.
The track stands out from other circuits for a number of reasons, not least for the stunning location, which loops around the ancient city of Baku. While the backdrop may be serene, the racing has proved anything but, with a top speed of around 360kph making Baku one of the fastest of any current city circuit.
05
Jeddah Corniche Circuit
Spectacular Jeddah in Saudi Arabia
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- Track length: 6.17km
- Turns: 27
- Fastest lap: 1:30.734 – Lewis Hamilton in 2021
- Time in F1: 2021 to present
When it first burst on to the F1 calendar in 2021, no one was expecting the new Jeddah Corniche Circuit to be so breathtakingly quick and tight. Designed by Carsten Tilke, son of legendary F1 track designer Hermann Tilke, it’s a roller-coaster of a race track that takes F1 cars along the shores of the Red Sea at 250kph – making it currently the fastest F1 street circuit. But the circuit is also narrow, demanding absolute precision from the drivers and nerve. At 6.17km, it’s the second-longest circuit in F1, behind only the mighty 7km Spa-Francorchamps, home of the Belgian GP.
The host city is also stunning, combing traditional Arabian architecture with modern hotels and galleries. Known as the Pilgrim Port, Jeddah hosts millions of visitors every year who pass through on the way to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
06
Long Beach
- Track length: 3.27km
- Turns: 11
- Fastest lap: 1:28.330 – Niki Lauda in 1983
- Time in F1: 1976 to 1983
Are there any other circuits where a cruiseliner forms an essential part of the background? At California's Long Beach, the Queen Mary magisterially presides over the action, having been converted into a floating hotel after arriving there in 1967. Less than 10 years later, Formula One arrived as well, in 1976. The track was like nowhere else, consisting of a series of 90-degree corners and a long straight that led to a wide hairpin.
Its Formula One career ended in 1983 with a remarkable record: in an era where mega-horsepower turbo engines were rife, a turbocharged F1 car never won at Long Beach. Since then, it's become a favourite part of the IndyCar championship.
07
Macau (Guia Circuit)
The tight streets of Macau
© Dutch Photo Agency/Red Bull Content Pool
- Track length: 6.11km
- Turns: 24
- Fastest lap: 2:06.317 – Jüri Vips in 2019
They’ve been racing cars around the streets of Macau since 1954 with the Grand Prix weekend now hosting races in Formula Three, World Superbikes, GT and World Touring Car Championship. At just 7m wide at points, the Guia Circuit is much too narrow for F1 cars and so the amazing Macau Grand Prix has never made it on to the F1 schedule but it remains an important rite of passage for young drivers aspiring to line up on the F1 grid.
There aren't many places that make Monaco look easy, but Macau is one of them. The 6.12km track is incredibly unforgiving, thanks to an insidious cocktail of high speeds, a slippery surface and crash barriers close to the track that form immovable objects to meet irresistible forces. It's probably the most epic street circuit currently in use, but with no room for error, things can go quite wrong quite quickly.
Race winners here in F3 include such legends as Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard and for drivers on the current grid, like Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and Daniel Ricciardo, a blast around Macau is the last challenge before moving up to F1.
08
Miami International Autodrome
- Track length: 5.41km
- Turns: 19
- Fastest lap: 1:29.708 – Max Verstappen in 2023
- Time in F1: 2022 to present
Multicultural, musical and vibrant, Miami is the 11th city to host F1 in the USA and brings a completely new flavour to the championship. This is also seen as a key part of Liberty Media’s grand design for F1: a calendar made up of classic venues like Silverstone, Monza and the Red Bull RIng, new circuits like COTA, Baku and Sakhir all enhanced by a revolving collection of boutique temporary events held in glamorous new locations. The Miami Grand Prix took glamour to a whole new level as so many celebrities crowded on to the grid, there was barely room for the cars. Meanwhile the tight track wove around the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the famous Miami Dolphins.
The Miami Dolphins cheerleaders and LL Cool J introduce Sergio Perez
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
The spectacular 5.41km layout features 19 corners, three straights, three DRS zones and top speeds of over 340kph. There are elevation changes too, the main one found between Turns 13 and 16, with the track heading over an exit ramp and under various flyovers across uneven ground. The Turn 14-15 chicane, meanwhile, has an uphill approach, with a crest in the middle, and then drops down on exit.
09
(Circuit de) Monaco
Fabulous Monte Carlo
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- Track length: 3.33km
- Fastest lap: 1:11.365 – Max Verstappen in 2021
- Turns: 19
- Time in F1: 1950 to present
The granddaddy of all street circuits is, of course, Monaco: quite literally as it’s been running since 1929, made up part of the first F1 World Championship in 1950 and an ever present since 1955, bar 2020 due to Covid. The track was dreamed up by Antony Noghes and the last corner of the track is named after him. As the oldest, shortest and slowest circuit on the modern F1 calendar, races can be processional but there's often action at the first corner, Ste Devote, the Loews Hairpin (which requires the cars to be fitted with a special steering rack) and what's now the harbour chicane, where Alberto Ascari got it badly wrong in 1955 and ended up in the Med.
And it's all part of the DNA of F1 racing: it's the place where drivers and fans rub shoulders, the harbour bulges with super yachts and drivers celebrate by diving in the pool at the Red Bull Energy Station. It makes up part of the triple crown of motorsport with the Indy 500 and Le Mans 24 Hours. Legendary winners here include Graham Hill, Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. To get an idea of just how crazy Monaco is, just watch this stunning lap. It’s not been speeded up.
1 min
Monaco Grand Prixview
Monaco is the home for many F1 drivers. Brendon gives a tour around the streets of Monaco as he jumps in the simulator, using F1 2017 from Codemasters, and talks about his 2nd home race
10
Montjuïc Park
Montjuich Park
© Getty Images
- Track length: 3.79km
- Fastest lap: 1:23.800 Ronnie Peterson in 1973
- Turns: 12
- Time in F1: 1969 to 1975
The occasional host of the Spanish Grand Prix in the late 60s and 70s, Montjuïc was about as safe as juggling with shards of broken glass, but as a circuit it was truly spectacular, snaking through the park that went on to host the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992. It was struck off on safety grounds in 1975 and was ultimately replaced by the purpose-built Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya up the coast at Montmelo.
Montjuïc was dogged by controversy and on one occasion the drivers actually went on strike due to the Armco barriers not being screwed down properly. In the end, the mechanics from all the teams clubbed together to go round the 3.79km track and do it themselves. Another random fact about the 1975 Grand Prix at Montjuïc: it was the only race where a woman scored F1 points, courtesy of Lella Lombardi.
