Are street circuits still appropriate for F1 racing?

In answer to the original question of this thread of "Are Street Circuits Still Appropriate For F1 Racing?" can I just say yes, yes, and 100 times again yes.

OK so for every Monaco and Adaleide you do get a car park like Valencia (anyone remember Phoenix? shudder) but lets blame that on the people sorting out the layout rather than the fact its a street circuit. For me F1 doesn't get more exciting than when its buzzing on the atmosphere of being in the middle of a city, with car's on unfamiliar tarmac going past familar land marks with people hanging out of apartment windows to watch them fly past. Watching a race doesn't get more exciting than watching every driver explore the roads for grip and speed knowing just one little error will mean the end of their race. My poor old Dad nearly had a heartattack from the excitment at the front in Monaco 2011 bless him.

Compare that to all these brand new tracks out in the middle of nowhere with run off areas big enough for jumbo jets that pretty much mean the driver can get away with as many errors as he likes and we have constant debates over whether the line a driver took was 'within the track' whilst crowds get smaller every year.

In recent years my favourite new track has been Singapore. Yes I've heard the argument that its not the best lay out for racing but so far its never failed in producing a race that has had me watching intensly until the end - whether it be because of a shake up or because of the close running of the front pair - and not only that it looks fanatstic and the atmosphere feels amazing. Can the same be said about Korea? Bahrain? nope.

So please don't take out street circuits away or F1 will lose out in a big way. In my opinon F1 should have as many different driving challenges during a season as it can if it wants to declare a world champion, If I had my way I'd reintroduce an old style road race and at least one track with banking - but I might be on my own with that one.
 
Personally I'm not a fan of street circuits. Yes spectators can get closer to the cars than normal, yes it takes a unique set of skills to keep the car between the oh-so-narrow walls, but for me personally the limited ability to overtake trumps all else. I'll put my hand up and say I've never been to Monaco etc, I understand its great, but for me Monaco is one of my least favourite races of the year for the reasons already covered.
 
Mephistopheles said:
They are okay they have some value in regards to how close the spectators get to the track but in truth they usually produce crap racing.......
Click to expand

I wouldn't say it's crap racing. Less overtaking, yes, but crap no. It's more technical and strategy based. If you enjoy the more "action" side of racing, then street racing is not for you, but I really enjoy the technical and strategy side of racing (especially F1 and sportscars) as much as the "action". Watching Webber blast around Monaco with four guys right on his tail with possible condition changes coming was just as interesting as the drama-filled Valencia race. But again, I love the technical side and am more nerdy than the average F1 fan, so...
 
Why not ditch all other forms of motor racing and let's all just watch NASCAR; no real corners, nice wide tracks, lots of 'safety' cars to keep the field together, and twenty five overtakes every lap. Luvly jubbly!
 
In general, I personally think street races suck. Monaco is an exception because it has elevation changes not just changes of direction and it has a unique atmosphere because it oozes history and it is totally unforgiving. The dumbing down of F1 technically and the unfortunate but environmentally necessary need to maximise the durability of the cars has taken away one of the key ingredients of Monaco races ... that is unreliability. The excitement of Monaco was never, I feel, to do with overtaking. It was to do with the tension generated by the uncertainty that your chosen hero and/or his car may not survive the ordeal let alone win. In a way that was the attraction of the original long Hockenheim circuit as it was both a car killer and a serious demand on the driver to concentrate and get through an error free race.

All this DRS and KERS assisted overtaking bores me to tears because there is rarely the chase. Couple that with the ludicrously tight rules regarding how a driver can defend his position and basically if ones tyres are in better shape and your car is a smidge faster than your opponenent and it's taking candy from babies. That's why I also dislike the majority of Tilkedromes and the burgeoning ultra wide runoff infestation of even the best of the remaining traditional circuits like Spa and Monza.

Hmm, that doesn't leave a lot of tracks to like, I hear you say. Well, that's why I'm nuts about Superbike open road racing like the Isle of Man and Manx TT's and sportscars doing the Le Mans 24hrs. Powerful machines and lunatics hurtling through long rural roads and narrow lanes, up hill and down dale with muddy verges to punish mistakes and huge stresses on engines to punish mechanical weaknesses. The overtaking is still there for the brave and it's real. Call me an old fart but that to me is what F1 has lost and no urban street circuit will ever be that good no matter how glitzy and glamourous the floodlighting might make it.

Hmm, should this be in the "Rant Thread" or the "What do you miss in F1?" thread. Mod's feel free to move it about all over the place!:D
 
Personally, I think that the street circuits provide a different challenge for the drivers. Watching the cars battering through the swimming pool is probably one of the best views that can be had of an F1 car.

I do not like the racing at Monaco however, as apart from flurries of interest at Pit stop times, I find little of interest, as it is unlikely that positions will change. I have said before, it is not overtakes that I crave, merely the potential of change. I do not think that the issue at Monaco is due directly to it being a street circuit, but more due to the changes over years, and the fact that the cars do not really fit the circuit any more. It should be noted that there are normal permanent circuits which are similar, like Barcelona for example, and the issues are the same, watching drivers line astern for lap after lap.

The newer street circuits are an improvement, as they are more in line with current cars, however, the nature of a street circuit makes it tricky to ensure excitement.

I am looking forward to Singapore this year, as I think it will be an interesting race.

So in short, street circuits still have a place, and imho the issues that I have with Moncao are not due to it being a street circuit.
 
Yes, indeed The Pits , whilst I can't agree about Monaco, there does need to be variety. There also needs to be a healthy balance so I think there are enough street circuits on the calendar although I wish they were more like Adelaide!:)
 
Damn! I must have missed that.:embarrassed:

Edit: Ah, I didn't! Voted "Meh, waste of time". I think I was worried about the possibility of negative rating or something. Not sure that would be quite the same as an extra strong "like". But, hey, such is life.:)
 
I have always thought that it would be interesting to institute an "Australian Pursuit" grid, where the fastest cars were placed at the back of the grid and the slowest started from pole. To score meaningful points, the fastest car/driver combos would HAVE to overtake cars.
 

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