10 Tracks That Have Changed A Hell Of A Lot Since F1’s First Visit

F1 has changed at an incredible rate since the first season in 1950, and the tracks have also transformed too...
10 Tracks That Have Changed A Hell Of A Lot Since F1’s First Visit

1. Nurburgring

New Nurburgring overlayed on the old Nurburgring
New Nurburgring overlayed on the old Nurburgring

Of course, the iconic Nurburgring Nordschleife still exists and is raced on by both professionals and amateurs. But the Nurburgring F1 raced on in 1951 is completely different to the Nurburgring the series visited in 2013.

The Nordschleife was raced on by F1 for the last time in 1976 before it was deemed too dangerous, with the Hockenheimring then hosting the German GP. A new, short and safer Nurburgring was completed in 1984 and has hosted the European GP and German GP sporadically over the years.

The new track is located right next to part of the old Nurburgring. It has all of the characteristics of modern tracks, but with a few old-school touches. It lacks the charm, history, character and challenge of the Nordschleife but it still throws up some good on-track action.

2. Silverstone

Old on the left, new on the right
Old on the left, new on the right

The Silverstone circuit in the UK had the pleasure of hosting the first ever F1 world championship round in 1950. It used the perimeter roads of the RAF Silverstone airfield and was a fast layout that followed F1’s rapid evolution.

Several chicanes were added over the years but the big redesign took place after the 1990 British GP, switching high-speed corners for slower and more technical sections. Parts of the famous track remained but there were considerable changes elsewhere. Further re-profiling took place after the tragic deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna in 1994.

The new ‘Arena’ section debuted in 2010 and added more slow corners to the layout, while the start/finish line and grid was moved to the Silverstone ‘Wing’ in 2011. Parts of the track keep their character but others are completely unrecognisable.

3. Hockenheimring

New track is outlined in black
New track is outlined in black

The Hockenheimring debuted in F1 in 1970 and then became a more permanent host of the German GP, before recently alternating with the Nurburgring. The original, 4.24-mile track was a fast run through the woods, with long straights separated by tight chicanes and a twisty stadium section completing the lap.

The circuit usually produced good racing and had high attrition rates due to the stress put on the engines. But for safety reasons and to improve the show, F1 officials urged the Hockenheim track to be redesigned. For the 2002 event a new, slower and more straightforward track debuted and has remained largely the same ever since.

It swapped the charisma, old-school vibe and pure speed of the old layout for a more technical, complicated and twisty track, that features many of the characteristics we see at typical modern circuits.

4. Imola

Old on the left, new on the right
Old on the left, new on the right

So, this track hasn’t been raced on in F1 since 2006 but it has recently returned to the headlines with the uncertainty surrounding the future of the Italian GP. The circuit was originally much faster when F1 first visited it in 1980 and had some seriously high-speed sections.

But after several big crashes, including the ones that sadly took the lives of Ratzenberger and Senna, Imola went through some major reprofiling. Several chicanes were added, making it a much slower circuit and boosting safety. In recent years, despite F1 not racing there, it has gone through several other major changes, including a whole new pit complex.

5. Interlagos

Current track overlayed in red
Current track overlayed in red

The Brazilian Grand Prix venue has gone through quite a transformation, which continues this year with a new pit/paddock complex. Previously it featured more long straights and tight hairpins but the bumpy surface and poor safety standards meant F1 left the Interlagos track in 1980.

Major changes were made to the layout and the undulating track was made shorter and slightly slower, with a more twisty infield section and a new chicane at the start of the lap. It returned to F1 in 1990 and Interlagos has remained largely unchanged ever since, which is good for us because it always throws up drama and exciting racing!

6. Red Bull Ring

New track overlayed in black
New track overlayed in black

The Red Bull Ring has gone through various different names and layouts since it debuted in F1 back in 1970. Originally named the Osterreichring, it was a fast track with several long straights, big undulation changes and a few sweeping corners in the middle of the lap.

A chicane was added for 1977 before Austria dropped off the calendar in 1987, returning at the revamped A1 Ring, which drastically redesigned the layout, making it shorter, slower and much more twisty. The last race there was in 2003 before Red Bull purchased the track, gave it a major refresh and brought F1 back for 2014.

7. Spa-Francorchamps

New track overlayed in black
New track overlayed in black

Everyone’s favourite classic F1 track looked very, very different when the pinnacle of single seater racing first visited Spa-Francorchamps in 1950. It was a monstrous, dangerous 8.761-mile track with cars reaching insane speeds as they passed houses, farms and trees on what were usually public roads.

Safety fears meant the race was cancelled in 1971 and didn’t return until 1983, on the new track which we have all come to know and love over the years. Still a challenging layout, the shorter Spa retained the likes of La Source, Eau Rouge and Blanchimont but added a technical middle section with now-classic corners like Pouhon, Stavelot and Les Combes.

Since then the circuit layout has remained largely untouched, bar the normal safety changes, run-off area tweaks and barrier upgrades. The pit complex was revamped in 2007 and the final chicane was changed, with La Source also being moved back.

8. Monza

Old on the left, new on the right
Old on the left, new on the right

The shape of Monza’s F1 track has remained pretty similar but it’s been the addition of chicanes that has really altered the challenge of the Italian GP venue. Back in 1950 Monza was a ferociously fast, flat-out section with only a handful of actual corners.

Briefly the track and the nearby banked oval were combined, creating a bonkers layout. Unsurprisingly it didn’t last long and the original circuit went through a number of evolutions in the space of several decades, with the “squeezing” of some corners, reprofiling of Parabolica, the addition of the Ascari chicane and the introduction of two chicanes in the first sector.

The current layout as we know it, with the right-left Variante Rettifilo chicane, was first used in 2000. Obvious safety changes have been made but not much else has been modified since then.

9. Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez

Old on the left, new on the right
Old on the left, new on the right

The Mexican Grand Prix returned to F1 last season on the newly revamped Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, which still kept the charm and flowing nature of the original layout but with a modern twist.

The first race at the track took place in 1986, with some seriously quick, flowing sections and a long, final corner – the famous Peraltada (which is part of the oval circuit). It dropped off the calendar in 1992 but was revived for 2015, with many of the turns being reprofiled and tweaked for its return by Hermann Tilke.

The biggest difference came in the final sector. Only part of the Peraltada was used, with cars instead diving into a stadium section (incorporating an actual baseball stadium) with several tight corners before rejoining the original track for the fast right-hander that leads onto the main straight.

10. Jacarepagua

The site then and now
The site then and now

Okay, so this one’s a bit different. F1 hasn’t raced to Rio de Janeiro since 1989 but it looks completely different to how it did when the series’ first visit to it in 1978. That’s largely because it doesn’t actually exist anymore. It was demolished in 2012 to make way for 2016 Olympic Games facilities.

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Comments

faisal3398 فيصل (Crown Vic)

What is it they liked about corners you didn’t have to break for and extreemely long straights?

08/06/2016 - 08:48 |
4 | 0

don’t forget, most of the old tracks were actually public roads or airfields the rest of the year. plus, the older cars weren’t as extreme performance like the modern cars, so long straights & sweeping corners didn’t seem so crazy back then.

08/06/2016 - 12:12 |
12 | 0
Jasper Schermer

The old spa looks crazy! So huge with long straights

08/06/2016 - 08:56 |
164 | 4

[DELETED]

08/06/2016 - 13:05 |
2 | 52

it was in Project Cars Pre Release Version, and yes, it was crazy
i dunno if it is in the pcars atm

08/06/2016 - 18:37 |
14 | 0

[DELETED]

08/06/2016 - 21:13 |
0 | 26

I used to play it on GPL (Grand Prix Legends). I was much younger so i don’t remember it that well but i enjoyed it!

08/07/2016 - 13:14 |
6 | 0
Nissan 420sx

If they would race again on the old Nürburgring, the race would be so much more fascinating

08/06/2016 - 09:21 |
24 | 0

Just hope that there is no fireball this time around

08/08/2016 - 09:26 |
6 | 0
RoyP

I guess you could say..
They tracked the changes

YEEEAAAAHHHHH

08/06/2016 - 09:28 |
102 | 0
Jack Leslie

In reply to by RoyP

😂😂 amazing

08/06/2016 - 09:43 |
16 | 0
Ezra Berg (1994 Buick Roadmaster) (1970 El Camino)

In reply to by RoyP

08/06/2016 - 17:00 |
28 | 0
On the Apex

As a Brazilian, I always die a little on the inside when I see what happened to Jacarepagua :/

08/06/2016 - 10:45 |
56 | 0

The correct solution was to convert motorsports to olympic sports!

08/06/2016 - 15:15 |
52 | 0
Chris Sarnecki

I’m kinda happy that spa isn’t like that because I would get my ass kicked on forza 6…

08/06/2016 - 11:01 |
12 | 0
Anonymous

Why in hell they got rid of the breath taking last corner of Hermanos Rodriguez?… big disappointing

08/06/2016 - 11:09 |
4 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

The very obvious answer is the safety, there’s no run-off there. Outside of that corner is a public highway so there’s nothing they can do to provide a bigger run-off area. But stadium section would give the track a great atmosphere. It’s not the first time that Peraltada was chopped off as it was done in the CART/Champ Car series as well.

08/06/2016 - 12:20 |
8 | 0
Detra

My question is : we all know that we can drive across Nurburgring. I’ve never drive there, and I wanna ask if we wanna drive there, which track that we use? The old or the new one?

08/06/2016 - 11:30 |
4 | 0
Gandy

In reply to by Detra

The track was split in two sections, the Nordschleife (north) and the Sudschleife (south). When F1 stopped racing on the Nordschliefe, the Sudschleife got replaced by the current GP track. The Nordschliefe is still run for other races and tourist sessions. Most commonly, a tourist drive would be on the Nordschliefe, the long ring of the old track. Although, I think GP track tourist drives are also available.

08/06/2016 - 12:20 |
10 | 0
FLixy Madfox

Cursed Olympics! If they chose some other disease stricken country, maybe one filled with poverty (to better the economy of course) maybe we still could be seeing f1 races there

08/06/2016 - 11:47 |
18 | 0
Anonymous

Why has Silverstone turned through 180 degrees as well? All the other tracks are overlaid so you can see the changes but Silverstone has east at the top on the old track and then west on the top on the new layout!!

08/06/2016 - 12:50 |
0 | 0
Jack Leslie

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Yeah my bad, I’ve edited it so it should make sense now!

08/06/2016 - 21:00 |
0 | 0