Secrets of circuit design

Over the past 15 years, we’ve seen a whole wave of new race tracks spring up all around the world. Countries like Bahrain, Malaysia, Azerbaijan and Singapore have invested heavily in hosting Formula 1 Grands Prix as a way to show off their countries to a global audience. Some have been better received than others and the idea of what does and does not constitute a decent circuit has become a talking point for drivers, teams, the media and fans around the world like never before.

My racing and media career has taken me to tracks across five continents. As I write this piece, my current tally stands at 85 circuits, and that’s just those I’ve driven around, rather than merely visiting.

Working as a consultant with a company called Driven International in the UK, I’ve been helping design race and karting tracks in countries everywhere. So I’ve had a lot of time to consider the tracks I’ve been to, thinking hard about why I like some more than others, always trying to answer one big question: ‘What makes a good race track?’