Over 76 circuits have hosted F1 races since the beginning of formula one in 1950. So, you might be curious about which circuit or track is the longest F1 track.
I’m sure that you are familiar with the tracks on which the action takes place as a fan. In addition, you probably have one or two favorite venues that you would like to visit.
Have you ever wondered what the longest F1 circuit or track is? I did and found some interesting insights.
Which track or circuit is the longest F1 racetrack?
The longest F1 circuit or track to host a Grand Prix was the Pescara Circuit. It hosted the 1957 Pescara Grand Prix. This 25.800km (16.031 mi) long circuit was located in Pescara in, Italy. In 1957, it hosted the Coppa Acerbo race. Stirling Moss won the race.
Circuit de Spa Francorchamps is today’s longest track and generally one of the most difficult. It combines F1’s longest straight with challenging curves.
The Ardennes hill circuit is 7 km long and has 19 fast and medium fast turns: 9 right turns and 10 turns.
The 21st-century Formula One circuits are homogeneous in comparison to past circuits. Tilke-ization of the calendar is a trend that has seen race tracks become more similar in terms of length, corner numbers, and character.
All F1’s venues are between 4.3km to 5.9km in length, except Monaco and Spa. They all have 15 to 20 corners, little elevation change, and are almost entirely composed of slow corners.
It wasn’t always like this. Grand Prix was held on circuits that were longer than the circuits we see today for the first few decades after the start of the world championship.
The FIA recommends that new circuits not exceed 7km due to the high costs of building long tracks and the difficulty in managing them.
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One of the Longest Formula Tracks or Circuit
It also means that these circuits will not be outdone as the longest F1 tracks ever.
Top 5 other long F1 tracks
Pescara, Italy
Grand Prix racing was first held on public roads before anyone ever thought of building tracks for cars to race on. These courses included several towns and covered more than 100 kilometers.
Closed roads were gradually being replaced with shorter, more permanent venues like Monza, Silverstone, and Indianapolis as the 1950 world championship began. The world championship’s early years featured smaller versions of the super-tracks.
One such venue was the Pescara circuit, located on Italy’s Adriatic Coast. It was three-and-a-half times the length of Spa-Francorchamps today.
It took in the rolling hills of the Italian countryside in a triangle that spanned the three towns of Montesilvano, Cappelle, and Pescara. This circuit is the longest F1 track.
It was divided into two sections: a first long and twisty section followed by two straights of six kilometers to complete the lap.
Pescara hosted its first race in 1924. It also held its only world championship Grand Prix in 1957. This was documented in Richard Williams’ excellent book The Last Road Race. The fact that the fastest lap was set by Stirling Moss, the race winner, shows how huge this track was.
Nurburgring Nordschleife, Germany
The original Nurburgring, which was considered the most challenging circuit ever created, was a 160-turn giant that ran through the Eiffel Mountains in western Germany.
It was built under the Weimar government in the 1920s and held Grand Prix throughout the world championship era. The Grand Prix Drivers Association demanded safer circuits, but the Nurburgring was a target.
The GPDA flexed its muscles in 1970 and refused to race at Nurburgring until a significant barrier-building program had been completed. The Nurburgring was able to regain its status as Germany’s World Championship venue in 1971.
The difficulties of marshaling such a long track proved to be a problem. As a result, drivers decided not to return to the track after the 1976 race. Niki Lauda’s fiery crash during the next race, almost costing him his life, served as a reminder of that.
Seven years later, the World Endurance Championship said goodbye to the Ring. This was the final world championship event at the track before the World Touring Car Championship visited the track for a pair of three-lap races. However, F1 was briefly back in 2007 when Nick Heidfeld drove a BMW Sauber on three exhibition laps around the track.
Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
Spa-Francorchamps has a track length of over one kilometer more than any other track on F1’s current calendar. Yet, the original layout is twice as large.
Spa hosted its first race in 90 years. It was laid out on public roads, like many circuits of that era. It was roughly the same as the modern circuit up to Les Combes. At Les Combes, the road would split off to the left and then snake through the Ardennes countryside before rejoining Blanchimont.
Spa was a tortuous sequence of curves that ran through the Nordschleife, but it offered drivers a series of high-speed bends with no margin for error.
In 1960, Chris Bristow, Alan Stacey, and Stirling Moss were both killed in separate incidents at the race. This made the circuit dangerous. In addition, Jackie Stewart was trapped in his car after it suffered damage and fuel leakage. This was a frightening experience.
He was inspired to lead the GPDA’s driver safety track initiative, which led to a driver boycott at the track three years later. As a result, F1 didn’t return to Spa after a last visit in 1970. The modern circuit was built 13 years later.
Monza, Italy
In the 1950s and 1960s, the Monza circuit near Milan featured a layout that combined the traditional blast through forests with the oval’s steep banked curve into one lap.
It was a flat, terrifying 10-kilometer circuit of eight. It was only used four times. Then, in 1960, many British teams boycotted it because the track was too dangerous.
The extended layout was again used 12 months later. Wolfgang von Trips, a Ferrari teammate, was again vying to win the title. Unfortunately, he crashed into the Parabolica crowd. He was also killed with 14 spectators. The banking facility was not used for F1.
Sebring USA
The Indianapolis 500 was counted towards F1’s world championship, but Sebring was the original host of F1 in North America. In 1959, the Florida circuit hosted the season finale. Jack Brabham was crowned champion for the first and only time in F1.
Although the circuit was somewhat similar to its modern-day successor, it was significantly longer. It was built on an old airfield in 1950 with wide straights and concrete runways.
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