I think it depends on whether you're referring to boring races or boring track layout.
As far as boring races are concerned, boy, where do I start? I think Monaco is horrible. I couldn't care less about the glitz and glamour, since I don't watch races from the VIP area but from my living room. Barcelona always throws up boring races, Indianapolis is pretty bad and there's not normally much overtaking at Monza. And then, of course, there's the Hungaroring. Just the name spells boredom. Hungaroring. Repeat this four times and I bet you anything you'll be yawning before you manage to repeat it for a fifth time.
As regards the track layout, I've always thought Indianapolis is atrocious. I just wish they would run the GP on the oval and not on that silly (sorry, make that 'stupid') 1st and 2nd gear infield. Shangai is pretty bad too, especially with that long first corner. It might be technically challenging but, again, since I just watch the race from my living room and I'm not a Bridgestone engineer I don't care. Of the old tracks, the one that most sticks out in my mind is Detroit. And then, of course, there's the Hungaroring again.

monza is fine, watch world superbikes there and its a awsome, awsome track

Gotta go with Monaco



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Sad when safety cars are the most exciting part of the race IMO.

Since I've started a thread that is the reverse of this one I thought I should give my opinions on here. The Tilke-drome circuits are overall average rather then just boring However its probably just the sheer volume of them that makes people so bored. The words 'generic and 'uniform' seem to spring to mind but thats progress I guess. With Turkey and Fuji he has done a good job but Hockenhiem is terrible!

By far the worst offenders are Barcelona and Magny-Cours though. Terrible bland sterile places with almost no memorable races between them and even then that is pushing it. These tracks make a good job of making the Grand Prix weekend seem not like the event it should.

We haven't seen the 'new' Mount Fuji w/o rain. but it has the makings of a boring track.

Barcelona undoubtedly is the worst race each year to me. The circuit owners made it even worse by removing the most challenging part of the circuit w/ a crap chicane. Bahrain wouldn't be so bad if they plant a little grass or a couple of trees. Sand is not really conducive to an enhanced viewing experience.

Valencia, from just one day of looking at it is amazingly soul-less. Concrete lined crap imo. Looks the same everywhere but the bridge and start-finish area.

Why don't they forget about Valencia and Barcelona and give the race to Jerez instead. Possibly something to do with 'its in the middle of nowhere', 'the pitlane is not up to standard' and 'there's not enough luxury hotels in the area'. Maybe I would feel different about these tracks if I visited them though.

Not mentioned yet:
Indianapolis (the oval) - Races may have been interesting, but not because of the track.
Reims - If I'm not mistaken, during a race here was when Fangio decided to end his career.
Imola (after 1994) - Chicanes, chicanes... and less overtaking than Monaco.

I find it odd that the two worst tracks (most boring) are the ones with the greatest history.
Monaco and Indianapolis.

I can't stand Hockenheim. Every year I just record this race to watch it later.

Not actually true, he ended his career in 1957 but did the 1958 French GP as a one off race as a favour to the house of Maserati. Also he finished 4th.

Most boring ? - all of them !! 2 days ago I drove along the road ( St Calais - La Ferte Bernard ) that formed the 2nd leg of the triangle that was the circuit used for the 1906 French GP and any 200 metres of that would've had the F1 drivers of today shitting themselves even though it was straight. Why ?? Because it was narrow and bumpy and had trees either side of the road, yet people like Ferenc Szizc headed along there at over 100 mph, 102 years ago.

it weird how some tracks which are ruined by f1, for f1 make really good bike racing tracks

Imola in 2002? troy baylis and colin edwards had a titanic battle in both races

and the new hockenhiem produces really good racing

i find melbourne pretty boring, and sepang...

I really don't think Hungary is one of the most boring in history. There have been some great races there (esp in the 80s/early 90s). It's just that the cars have outgrown it.

Magny-Cours
Barcelona
Sepang
Hockenheim (this used to have some great races too )
Shanghai
Bahrain

In other words, Tilke tracks suck

Yep.


It doesn't even have the challenge of Monaco because the barriers too far apart. That and it's as flat as a pancake - no hills anywhere.

At the end of this article Fangio talks about his last race at Reims.

http://www.nurburgring.org.uk/fangio.html

Probably mosy otf the "Tilke" drones, they lack soul and history.

Nice article, thanks for that. I know he makes mention of the endless straights but it's what's at the end of those straights that precludes Reims from any list of boring circuits for me. In particular the long curve after the pits which bypassed Gueux village and Courbe Annie Bousquet which has an uphill entry, mid corner crest and downhill exit all of which would've been almost flat at that time.

Exactly. Nivelles was actually a very modern track for it's time, it was considered very safe but boring compared to tracks like Kyalami or the Nordschleife. Unfortunately the Nivelles track went bankrupt, there is nothing left of it nowadays.

For me personally the most boring tracks are Barcelona and Magny Cours, because they produced boring races over the past years!

Nivelles, Mangy Course, Barcelona and China are/were all pretty crap.

Wow, Valencia really is the crappiest track in the world, period.

Boring scenery, no overtaking zones, way too much run-offs for a street circuit.

Absolutely. Tedious beyond measure, but a tribute to the Berniedollar.

In no particular order:

Barcelona - Too much testing leads to boring racing

Hungary - Too tight, too twisty, seldom overtaking leads to a non-event of a race

Mangy-Cours - Total non-event. Never mind dropping off the calendar, just close the circuit - Period!

Aida - Miracle it lasted for 2 races

OK, I think I can add Valencia to the list.

I apologise to Barcelona and Shanghai. Valencia just took the top spot away from them.

Right mate. And as for Sakhir, who said it was boring. I still remember how a duel between MW and de la Rosa kept me on the edge of my seat. That was great racing!

The most boring track in F1?

Nothing can beat Barcleona, hopefully it will disappear from the calendar

I was really looking forward to the Valencia race today, and after seeing some good action with the GP2's was very surprised to see how quickly the F1's became strung out. Hopefully with the aero changes next year things will be closer, though I fear this maybe wishful thinking.

Todays race was the most boring one I've seen in years. Don't know if it was just the track, we'll see next year I guess.

You used to hear a lot about how boring the old Hockenheim was, now you hear complaints about its absence.

I like Magny Cours and know that's it's produced some very good races. Today wasn't great but I think Valencia has the potential to be good. I quite like the Hungaroring's elevation changes and constant turning, even if the races aren't usually up to much.

But Shanghai has so far usually been as bleak and boring as its critics have said.

Budapest, Montmeló, Shanghai, Bahrein, Valencia, from the current ones. To be truthful, Fuji, Nürburgring, Magny-Cours are not particularly interesting either. Spa, Montecarlo are cool. Monza, at least, provides several overtaking opportunities, which is a lot these days, so I definitely wouldn't put it in the list.

Let's see how many overtakings there will be in this year's Italian GP. I bet there will be very very few, unless it's a wet race.

The fact is many of the circuits that were great for racing in the past are not for this generation's F-1 cars. Monza, which used to be an easier track for passing, becomes almost impossible to pass because of the aero of the cars. The question is how do we define a "boring" racetrack? Boring for lack of good atmosphere or scenery, boring for lack of challenging corners, or boring for having no overtaking possibilities?

I'd prefer races at Bahrain or Malaysia than Monza these days - at least there are some possibilities for racing and passing moves at those races, while sadly it seems like the new F-1 cars are not able to race at Monza.

Oh dear I've actually been feeling really ill today with flu so I was kind of half sleeping today when the race was on safe in the knowledge that I wasn't missing anything. Terrible terrible race and I can see this happening again at this dreadful Valencia docklands circuit. There was some nice shots of cranes and containers mind. Also its not like me I never miss a moment of action when theres a race on but today was another matter. Role on Spa...

I was just going to add Valencia to the list myself.

I think Tilke as lost the plot somewhat.

->Valencia<-

Considering how Hermann Tilke possesses the superpowers of telekinetically raising hills from flat ground; persuading the FIA that in fact 150mph corners near walls aren't an unacceptable risk; and manipulating the airflow over cars so as to eliminate aerodynamic turbulence, I think it's shocking that he refuses to use them in this application.

Hungary is an interesting case. When it was introduced, it was a boring addition to a schedule that included the old Austria, Kyalami, Brands, and other good old tracks, and I was upset that it replaced Zaandvoort, which I thought was one of the classics. But in spite of this it has produced perhaps more wild card results and unusual winners than any other track: Boutsen over Senna, Mansell's 89 comeback drive, Button and Alonso last year, HK this month, Piquet vs. Senna in 86, Alonso's first win, Hill's near win with Arrows, JV holding off Hill in 96.

Unusual tracks tend to throw up unusual results. Hungary is like the Brands Hatch Indy circuit (in that one seems to be unendingly turning) only boring and a mile longer.

the nurburgring produced two great world superbike races this year, i think the new begining section is way better than the shitty chicane they had before..

Even though one thinks it is Valencia, one must add one will definitely wait for Singapore before one expresses his always balanced opinion...

On the other hand, recording those races could make insomnia pills unnecessary in the years to come -- perhaps a brand new business niche...

Well I'd say Hungary is knocked of the podium for being the most boring, Congratulations Valencia. As the clocked ticked around to 1.30am it became more interesting to watch than the race. God what is happening to this once exciting sport. The only hope to lots of the current tracks in the championship is to pray for rain.

I agree with you about Magny Cours but, imho, you are wrong about Shangahai. The 2004 and 2006 races were quite good and so was last year. I hope that you have a DVD with them, so you can re-live the action. As for the Hungaroring, spot on The Hungarian track offers a unique challenge to the drivers, and, thefore, deserves its place on the calendar. But it needs to rain for the race to become exciting. Or it needs Nigel Mansell back!!! Now he could overtake even somewhere where you could not overtake!

Not only is Valencia boring it looks like it is run in an indiustrial estate.

It's Monaco crossed with Milton Keynes with the emphasis on the latter.

Regards

Andy

Valencia has as much chance of being considered a world class sporting venue as Aberdeen does. Awful track - the concrete seemed to inhibit true racing as well and make for a spectacularly ugly race setting.

Having said that, at least they kept the viewers' gaze away from the warehouses, council flats and rusty container ships carrying sand and illegal drugs from North Africa.

And it was depressing to not see one driver step out of line and say how depressing it was. You could sense the shackles every time one of them was asked about the track - damning it with faint praise.

If the sport's governing body were in charge of motor racing's premier championship, I wonder whether we would ever see such awful locations?

It has less walls than monaco, and Anthony davidson reckons there are not enough walls which is why we saw only one small accident all weekend. You are wrong as usual.


Xenophobia is a sad thing. You cant control your vicious hate.


Maybe its because they know better than you and dont agree with a vicious hater like yourself?

I have to agree Valencia was prehaps the dullest race this year, maybe even of the last few years. For a new supposed pro-overtaking circuit they have done a terrible job. I know FOM and the FIA are really trying to push how amazing it was but really I had to drink a lot more to try and make it slightly interesting!

At least Monaco looks pretty.

I'd say that as far as the racing on the circuit of Valencia goes, I think this year's race was unlucky as the cars were pretty much sorted out in terms of pace right from the start. Even if there are good overtaking spots on the circuit, overtaking was simply not required. Therefore, as far as the racing on this circuit goes I think we need a few more races, the basic design actually appears sound and in principle should provide for excitement as long as the cars aren't already running in pace order.

That said, it does look dull. With the stands full it looked as a proper sports event, but that's as far as it went. Some of the more distant shots were quite impressive, but up close it was all devoid of any charisma. Hopefully the organizers can work on that and improve the look and the atmosphere of the place by next year, as I remain optimistic that the circuit itself is actually capable of providing interesting races.

Trouble is the cars are always going to be sorted, but that's qualifying for you. Field spread does the rest, so unless aero changes are considerable it'll be the same year on year. I'd love to be wrong though.

What's wrong with Aberdeen? Ha ha I come from there originally. I'm sure you could build a far more interesting circuit there than the Valencia one even around the harbour which could have names like Hookers Corner etc. Tilke is on the case.