Nice thread. I've tried to be as fair as possible on this and rated each circuit out of 5 for the following:
1. Driving challenge - is it enjoyable and challenging to drive?
2. Raciness - Basically, ease of overtaking. DRS muddies the waters somewhat of this, but I decided to highly rate circuits where it works, even if its too much at times.
3. Jeopardy - Are mistakes punished? Are track limits a problem?
4. Climatic Challenge - Does the circuit have a high chance of inclement weather, or does heat pose a challenge? (night races are based on nighttime temps)
5. Heritage - Does this race/circuit have heritage value? I've tried to count both here.
6. Atmosphere - Does the event have a good atmosphere, both for the fans present and what comes through on TV?
7. Fan Experience - What's the fan experience like? Is it good value for money, easy to get to, well organised, memorable, etc? (harder to rate for races I've personally not been to, but I've gone off what I've read from others' experiences over time).
8. Aesthetics - Do the cars look good on this circuit? Can you see immediately what circuit it is if you see a photo? (i.e. is it iconic).
I think converted this to a percentage (score out of 40, minus 8 given lowest possible is 1, so % is based on X/32). Where there is a tie, I've determined based on highest average score between Challenge, Raciness, Jeopardy and Heritage, which are the most imporant to me. If still a tie, then driving challenge alone decides.
So my final rankings are:
1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix 87.50 25
2 Japanese Grand Prix 87.50 18
3 Belgian Grand Prix 84.38 15
4 British Grand Prix 81.25 12
5 Monaco Grand Prix 81.25 10
6 Dutch Grand Prix 78.13 8
7 Canadian Grand Prix 75.00 6
8 Australian Grand Prix 75.00 4
9 Singapore Grand Prix 71.88 2
10 Hungarian Grand Prix 65.63 1
11 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix 65.63
12 Austrian Grand Prix 65.63
13 Italian Grand Prix 62.50
14 Las Vegas Grand Prix 59.38
15 United States Grand Prix 50.00
16 Spanish Grand Prix 50.00
17 Miami Grand Prix 43.75
18 Azerbaijan Grand Prix 37.50
19 Chinese Grand Prix 31.25
20 Mexican Grand Prix 31.25
21 Bahrain Grand Prix 28.13
22 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 25.00
23 Qatar Grand Prix 21.88
24 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 12.50