45 replies to this topic

[TheThirdTenor1]

My first thread on here. Wanted to go through some of the drivers and name their strongest circuits and see what others think. Let's say we can name a maximum of 3 circuits per driver.

Present drivers:

Vettel - Valencia, Suzuka, Bahrain. Abu Dhabi was another i was thinking of. I think there are others you could pick and I think he is one of the hardest drivers to judge on this.

Webber - Silverstone, Monaco, Nurburgring. I guess Barcelona would also be a good shout.

Alonso - Monza, Singapore, Barcelona. Sepang is another one i was considering for Alonso.

Massa - Interlagos, Istanbul, Bahrain (?). First 2 seem pretty obvious. Not sure about the last one.

Hamilton - Montreal, Abu Dhabi, China. Montreal was an obvious one, but apart from that, Hamilton seems to be very strong at all circuits.

Button - Melbourne, Suzuka, Hungary (?)

Raikkonen - Spa, Magny Cours, Nurburgring (?).

Past drivers:

Schumacher - Montreal,, Spa, Magny Cours. Monaco would also be a good shout.

Hill - Hungary

Montoya - Interlagos

Berger - Hockenheim

Alesi - Monza

Senna - Monaco

Irvine - Suzuka

Feel free to add your own or dispute any of the ones i've stated.

[rasul]

How can you not put Korean Grand Prix for Vettel? It's the first Grand Prix that comes to my mind when I think of "his" GPs.

Webber is good there, too.

Edited by rasul, 29 April 2013 - 21:21.

[Mc_Silver]

Hamilton: China, Hungary, Monaco, Montreal, Italy, Singapore, Abu Dhabi
Button: Australia, Japan, Belgium, Italy, Brazil.
Vettel: Valencia, Suzuka, Bahrain, Korean Gp, India, Singapore, Abu Dhabi
Massa: Bahrain, Turkey, Brazil
Webber: Spain, Monaco, Silverstone
Alonso: Bahrain, Malaysia, Spain, Silverstone, Monza, Singapore
Raikkonen: Spa

Edited by Mc_Silver, 29 April 2013 - 21:29.

[Atreiu]

The Korean GP hasn't been around for long enough, IMO. Basically Red Bull was always to car to have there. Alonso won a wet race after Vettel suffered a very unusual DNF and Hamilton's pole was a blip in the RB7's pole mastery. But then the race was easily won by it.

[SR388]

Hamilton is really good in America. He's won every time he has been here.

[MP422]

My first thread on here. Wanted to go through some of the drivers and name their strongest circuits and see what others think. Let's say we can name a maximum of 3 circuits per driver.

Present drivers:

Vettel - Valencia, Suzuka, Bahrain. Abu Dhabi was another i was thinking of. I think there are others you could pick and I think he is one of the hardest drivers to judge on this.

Webber - Silverstone, Monaco, Nurburgring. I guess Barcelona would also be a good shout.

Alonso - Monza, Singapore, Barcelona. Sepang is another one i was considering for Alonso.

Massa - Interlagos, Istanbul, Bahrain (?). First 2 seem pretty obvious. Not sure about the last one.

Hamilton - Montreal, Abu Dhabi, China. Montreal was an obvious one, but apart from that, Hamilton seems to be very strong at all circuits.

Button - Melbourne, Suzuka, Hungary (?)

Raikkonen - Spa, Magny Cours, Nurburgring (?).

Past drivers:

Schumacher - Montreal,, Spa, Magny Cours. Monaco would also be a good shout.

Hill - Hungary

Montoya - Interlagos

Berger - Hockenheim

Alesi - Monza

Senna - Monaco

Irvine - Suzuka

Feel free to add your own or dispute any of the ones i've stated.

Surprised you didn't think of Hungary as an obvious one as well for Hamilton. good list and cool thread

Edited by MP422, 29 April 2013 - 21:38.

[scheivlak]

An earlier thread: http://forums.autosp...w...&hl=circuit

Vettel@Suzuka, Kimi@Spa and Hulk@Interlagos are easy choices.

[rasul]

The Korean GP hasn't been around for long enough, IMO. Basically Red Bull was always to car to have there. Alonso won a wet race after Vettel suffered a very unusual DNF and Hamilton's pole was a blip in the RB7's pole mastery. But then the race was easily won by it.

Yes, you are probably right, but for some reason, Korean GP is the first to come to my mind when I think of "Vettel's" GP. I guess a lot of the drivers' "best" tracks depend on their cars. Until we see Vettel in another car we can't know for certain if it's his best track or just the car's. Maybe in another car his best races would be completely different from the ones listed here. I actually suspect his favorite GP is Monza, and he was great there in STR.

Same goes for Lewis, actually.

Edited by rasul, 29 April 2013 - 21:40.

[charly0418]

Perez has always been strong in Monza since his junior days

[DutchQuicksilver]

I'd say Massa is strong in Monaco as well. Only one to follow McLaren there in 2007, pole in 2008, strong in 2009 and also strong when he wasn't on form for Ferrari in 2010 and 2012

Edited by DutchQuicksilver, 29 April 2013 - 22:44.

[Tenmantaylor]

Good thread Think been discussed before but what I think is interesting is who has the best list of strongest tracks? I'd say Webber, Button and Raikkonen which will do nicely for me. Spa, Suzuka, Monaco and Silvertone.

Edited by Tenmantaylor, 29 April 2013 - 22:51.

[slmk]

I'd say Massa is strong in Monaco as well. Only one to follow McLaren there in 2007, pole in 2008, strong in 2009 and also strong when he wasn't on form for Ferrari in 2010 and 2012

By follow, I assume you mean "not get lapped."

[Atreiu]

Barrichello at Monza

[repcobrabham]

webber at interlagos (09 & 11)

[OvDrone]

Vettel - Suzuka, Yas Marina, Monza.
Webber - Monaco, Silverstone, Nurburgring.
Alonso - Sepang, Singapore, Sakhir.
Massa - Sakhir, Interlagos, Hockenheim.
Button - Melbourne, Hungaroring, Monza.
Raikkonen - Spa, Barcelona, Melbourne.
Hamilton - Montreal, Shanghai, Hungaroring.

Perez - Monza.
Grosjean - Sakhir.
Rosberg - Shanghai.
Hulkenberg - Interlagos.
Di Resta - Singapore.
Maldonado - Barcelona.

*I added circuits found only on this year's calendar with the exception of Germany.

Edited by OvDrone, 30 April 2013 - 01:25.

[PorcupineTroy]

Not sure if mentioned after the OP, but Lewis has won three times at the Hungaroring (along with Montreal).

Fisichella was always pretty strong at Montreal and Spa, Monaco too if memory serves.

[MarileneRiddle]

Can't say for every single driver since I don't scrutinize their results all that much. But those that I noticed:

Kimi - SPA
Felipe - Istanbul, Interlagos
Romain - Sakhir
Button - Hungary
Webber - Monaco, Silverstone
Alonso - Marina Bay

And of course Sebastian Vettel - Suzuka, Monza, Yas Marina.

I did a personal compilation of Sebastian's top 10 circuits judging by his results (from 2007 - 2012) and these 3 circuits just stand out. Suzuka is obvious (although comparatively he didn't fare nearly as well on Fuji); Monza '08 and '11 stand out but he did very well in '10 and '12 too (especially considering the Red Bull's weakness there); and Yas Marina has him dominating the first 3 years (albeit with a swift exit in '11) and that memorable pits to podium in '12.

Valencia is interesting since he always qualified well and raced reasonably, but is also his most unlucky track with 2 retirements in 5 years (especially '12). Sakhir could be considered if including this year's result, but still (in my opinion) doesn't outdo the other 3.

[George Costanza]

Michael Schumacher: Canada, Spa, Monaco, France, San Marino, Suzuka.

Edited by George Costanza, 30 April 2013 - 03:01.

[Kingshark]

Sebastian Vettel

1. Suzuka
2. Valencia
3. Buddh

Mark Webber

1. Nurburgring
2. Monaco
3. Silverstone

Fernando Alonso

1. Sepang
2. Monza
3. Singapore

Felipe Massa

1. Istanbul
2. Interlagos
3. Bahrain

Jenson Button

1. Albert Park
2. Hungaroring
3. Suzuka

Lewis Hamilton

1. Montreal
2. Abu Dhabi
3. Shanghai

Nico Rosberg

1. Singapore
2. Shanghai
3. Monaco

Kimi Raikkonen

1. Spa
2. Sepang
3. Barcelona

[ArkZ]

Obvious for me:

Alonso : Sepang, Shakir, Silverstone, Monza, Singapore.
Massa: Instanbul, Interlagos.
Hamilton: China, Canada, Hungaroring, Abu Dhabi.
Button: Australia.
Raikkonen: Spa.
Vettel: Suzuka, India, Korea.
Webber: Barcelona, Monaco, Nurburgring.

(Silverstone and Barcelona are arguable between Alo and Web, in Silverstone both are head and sholders above the rest it's two horse race, I would be surprised if someone would beat them unless he will enjoy car advantage. Same goes to Abu Dhabi hard choice between Ham and Vet.)

Edited by ArkZ, 30 April 2013 - 08:11.

[William Hunt]

Maldonado: Monaco, Barcelona

Edited by William Hunt, 30 April 2013 - 09:09.

[Anderis]

I think it may be coincidence what circuits are actually considered to be driver's strongest circuit. The driver just had a good day twice on the same circuit during his career or his car was very strong around there while his team-mate was underperforming and we may start consider it as his strongest circuit, but it has little to do with it suitting him more than others.
What springs to my mind is Rosberg around Shanghai. You could think it was his best circuit by far, but this season it was also the circuit where he was outpaced by Lewis more than anywhere else so far. It was also one of his worse circuits during his Williams days.

But OK, if we are looking for this, I can think of some examples which really look like the driver's strongest circuits and are yet to be mentioned here:
Maldonado: Spa
di Resta: Bahrain
Hmmm, I'm ran out of more ideas. Webber is the driver with the obvious tendency to go better on some circuit than another. I would say he is outstanding around Monaco and Nurburgring. But there are the circuits that were already mentioned many times.

[byrkus]

Tom Kristensen: Le Mans

I'll get my coat.

[byrkus]

Tom Kristensen: Le Mans

I'll get my coat.

[DutchQuicksilver]

Maldonado: Monaco, Barcelona

Last year it wasn't And didn't he hit a marshall there a couple of years ago?

Other drivers:

Timo Glock was always fast at Singapore.

[OO7]

Tom Kristensen: Le Mans

I'll get my coat.

Don't forget your umbrella.

[KTF1]

Last year it wasn't And didn't he hit a marshall there a couple of years ago?

Other drivers:

Timo Glock was always fast at Singapore.

Yes he did, and he was banned for life from racing at Monaco.

Not sure you can call Monaco one of his best tracks!

[chdphd]

Pastor Maldonaldo at Monaco

2004: Formula Renault V6 Eurocup - 1st
2005: Formula Renault 3.5 Series - 1st
2006: Formula Renault 3.5 Series - 1st
2007: GP2 Series - 1st
2008: GP2 - 2nd & Retired
2009: GP2 - 8th & 1st
2010: GP2 - 2nd & 11th

[KTF1]

Pastor Maldonaldo at Monaco

2004: Formula Renault V6 Eurocup - 1st
2005: Formula Renault 3.5 Series - 1st
2006: Formula Renault 3.5 Series - 1st
2007: GP2 Series - 1st
2008: GP2 - 2nd & Retired
2009: GP2 - 8th & 1st
2010: GP2 - 2nd & 11th

I stand corrected!

[sopa]

Yuji Ide - Bahrain. The runoff areas are so big there that he had less chances to spin and crash into something.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[Myrvold]

I was under the impression that Barrichello & Mika Salo always seemed to be good at low-downforce tracks. (At the time it was a huge difference between Monza/Old Hock & Monaco)

[TheThirdTenor1]

I think Panis was very good at Magny Cours, though i guess that was to be expected given it was the home circuit for Prost/Ligier. Shame we did not get to see him race there in 1997.

[UPRC]

Kimi goes pretty well in Hungary.

[BoschKurve]

For past drivers...

Senna was strong at Imola. He took pole every year from 1985 to 1991 there. He didn't win every race as he had some retirements, but it was a circuit he was good at.

Prost was very strong at Paul Ricard and was in the running for the win or a podium more often than not.

[Bleu]

I was under the impression that Barrichello & Mika Salo always seemed to be good at low-downforce tracks. (At the time it was a huge difference between Monza/Old Hock & Monaco)

Salo had his best two Ferrari performances on those low-downforce tracks but otherwise he was not that flashy on those circuits. Monaco was his best circuit, he finished in the points four times (including his best non-Ferrari result) which is remarkable considering the career he had.

Mika Häkkinen's best circuits were Suzuka and Barcelona, and maybe you can add Hungaroring there too.

Edited by Bleu, 30 April 2013 - 21:02.

[scheivlak]

I'd say Massa is strong in Monaco as well. Only one to follow McLaren there in 2007, pole in 2008, strong in 2009 and also strong when he wasn't on form for Ferrari in 2010 and 2012

Yeah, he wasn't that far behind Kimi in 2009

[marcoferrari]

Massa and Spa-Francorchamps is missing... Faster then Alonso (2010, 2011) and Räikkonen (2008 and just 0,017 slower in 2007) in qualis... Also some pretty strong results in races there...

Edited by marcoferrari, 30 April 2013 - 23:06.

[ryan86]

Salo had his best two Ferrari performances on those low-downforce tracks but otherwise he was not that flashy on those circuits. Monaco was his best circuit, he finished in the points four times (including his best non-Ferrari result) which is remarkable considering the career he had.

Mika Häkkinen's best circuits were Suzuka and Barcelona, and maybe you can add Hungaroring there too.

Probably because the cars he drove outwith Ferrari had a similiar level of power to my Hyundai.

[Jackmancer]

Markus Winkelhock - Nurburgring

[TheThirdTenor1]

What about Drivers' worst tracks?

I remember Hakkinen actually admitted that he did not like the Buenos Aires track. Villeneuve struggled quite badly in his first visit to Monaco and was outperformed by Frentzen there in 97. Vettel has not fared too well at Nurburgring and Alonso has not fared too well at Spa (though he did have the F3000 victory there).

[2ms]

Surprised people aren't mentioning Kimi at Suzuka.

[DrF]

Surprised people aren't mentioning Kimi at Suzuka.

And Monaco, his quali run in 2005 was sublime.

[Umpire]

Schumacher definitely had some affection for Suzuka.

[Ferrari_F1_fan_2001]

Schumacher - Spa, Monaco, Suzuka, Magny Course, Montreal

Vettel - too early but Suzuka, Bahrain look strong for him

Lewis - Montreal

Webber - Monaco and Silverstone

[Ferrari_F1_fan_2001]

Markus Winkelhock - Nurburgring

Surely the most memorable debut in F1 history?

[chdphd]

Surely the most memorable debut in F1 history?

And final race