The Unofficial Alt+F1 Beginner's Guide to Formula 1! — 2014 Calendar
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The 2014 calendar brings some new circuits to the mix as well as a few changes. For one, the Korean race is no longer on the calendar this year… which is fine. I might have an unapologetic love for anything that involves that country but the Yeongam circuit is bad, especially at the time of year they would traditionally host it.
At any rate, the Mexican and New Jersey race will also not take place this year, which were promised in the provisional calendar last year. The Sochi race remains, however, as does the mix-up with a few other tracks.
Tracks in Formula 1 are broken into three “sectors”. At the start of each sector, drivers are timed and given feedback as to how well their pace is. This lets drivers know in which sectors they are faster in and in which they are struggling as to improve their times afterwards. It also serves as a point of reference for how far apart cars are within each other in those areas of the track.
14-16 March, 2014
The first race of the season every year, Australia is one of the most interesting races in the calendar for a number of factors. For one, the teams will be racing completely new setups in true fashion for the first time, resulting in a lot of unexpected performances. These setups are rarely ever carried through the rest of the season, so performances here are never a true indicator of season pace and always good fun because of it. Additionally, the street circuit’s first two corners are a severe right-left cut after a long straightaway that always leads to some start-of-race chaos.
The Melbourne Circuit is a fast track with a beautiful scenery of downtown Melbourne and its location in Albert Park. There are few tracks that compare to it and is a perfect host for the season’s start.
28-30 March, 2014
Iconic for its unique gigantic seating complex and haphazardous weather, Sepang is always a fun watch. Malaysia’s extremely humid climate makes it a pretty strenuous race for the drivers and its height fluctuations don’t help during intense weather conditions, either. Puddles will often gather at the base of inclines, making for some pretty slippery corner entries.
Save for the initial bends after the Start/Finish line, Malaysia is not a particularly complex track. Fast, but not complex. Overtaking on the circuit becomes trickier in that situation, forcing drivers to pass within the few tight corners that the track offers.
4-6 April, 2014
Bahrain is an often controversial race, particularly within the last few years where there’s been active fighting within city streets against the government from its citizens.
The 2012 race was requested to be cancelled by F1 fans and participants alike, fearing for their safety during the protests and violence ongoing at the time. Force India crew members were even caught amidst a bombing, thankfully unharmed. Force India management decided to send those crew members home due to shock, which the Formula One Management commission recognised as “unsportsmanlike”. As such, FOM ordered that TV cameramen (also under FOM control) not show any Force India cars on screen during race weekend. Upsetting the team’s sponsors and, more importantly, fans of the sport, Bernie Ecclestone (F1’s current director) and FOM morals were called into question with no repercussion enacted on them since.
The Bahrain Circuit itself features several long, fast straights broken by chicanes and a tight middle sector. It proves every year to be a difficult track with pit stop strategy, since the circuit’s dry heat proves arduous in managing tire wear.
For the first time ever, the Bahrain Grand Prix will be held at night time in celebration of its 10th race on the F1 calendar.
18-20 April, 2014
With one of the most impressive grandstand structures on the calendar, the Shanghai Circuit is always a pleasure to see. Inspired by the Chinese character for “Shang”, (上) the Shanghai Circuit is a long and technical circuit that proves challenging for numerous reasons. The first set of corners after the pit lane straight is a winding right turn that goes downhill into a steep left turn, which makes for an always-exciting start to the race.
The circuit also features a fast set of corners in its middle sector and ends on the longest straightaway on the Formula 1 calendar. The straight ends into an extremely sharp hairpin turn, which makes for one of the most strenuous parts of any F1 track. Cars are pushed to their maximum speeds before braking down to under 60 mph as quickly as possible, putting intense strain on the car’s brakes and frame. It’s certainly caused its fair share of problems in the past!
9-11 May, 2014
After a short break, teams return to the calendar in Barcelona with slight adjustments to their setups based off performance in the previous 4 races. Barcelona is also one of the most attended races on the calendar thanks to Spaniard Fernando Alonso.
Catalunya was meant to alternate this year with another Spanish track, Valencia, but was dropped for financial reasons. Catalunya is a well-balanced track, with a fast first sector, direct middle sector, and technical final sector.
23-25 May, 2014
Arguably the most historic track on the calendar, Monaco is always a sight to see and rarely a pleasure to watch. On the official calendar since 1950, Monaco is very much like the entire sport’s “hometown” race. The race and the events around the race are almost two entirely separate affairs, and racers always relish the opportunity to race on a circuit as historic as Monaco.
Unfortunately, the circuit doesn’t lend itself particularly well to modern Formula 1 cars. The street circuit is incredibly narrow, which makes overtaking a near-impossible affair. Collisions are frequent as there is no run-off areas on the track. (Meaning there are metal barricades directly on the track’s extremities.) Though interesting to watch because of the legacy, there are many more exciting races on the calendar
6-8 June, 2014
A favorite for many drivers and fans, the Montreal race has often been an interesting race for its fast lap times and challenging corners. The infamous hairpin and “wall of champions” are home to many frustrated drivers.
The weather is also fairly unpredictable, with some races seeing race-stopping downpours in contrast to some of the brightest and sunniest days seen in Eastern Canada. Like Button’s race-winning overtake against Vettel in 2011, the Montreal race is always full of surprises.
20-22 June, 2014
After years off the F1 calendar and eventually starting deconstruction work amidst its deteriorating state, Red Bull purchased the track, renovated it, and reopened it under its new name, Red Bull Ring, in 2011.
Though no official time has been set on it with a new generation of Formula 1 cars, the original A1 layout (mostly unchanged currently) was one of the fastest circuits on the calendar with a fastest recorded lap time of 1:08:337. Like the Circuit of the Americas, the Red Bull Ring has a steep uphill climb to its first corner and should prove for some fast and exciting racing this season.
4-6 July, 2014
Silverstone, like Monaco, is a historic track on the calendar that, fortunately enough, is also an exciting circuit to watch. Like many tracks in the UK, Silverstone is built on top of an unused World War II airstrip.
One of the longer circuits in the calendar, Silverstone is composed mostly of long straights broken apart by chicanes and wide hairpin turns. Navigating its corners into straights create many overtaking opportunities, so the British Grand Prix is often an exciting race.
The Silverstone Circuit was also source of controversy last year due to a series of tire explosions, which you can find more about later in the guide in the “Biggest Stories of 2013” section.
18-20 July, 2014
In an agreement to alternate between Germany’s two Formula 1 circuits every year, the Nurburgring F1 track is being replaced this year by the Hockenheim ring. The circuit is an odd inclusion in the calendar, as it’s been the source of financial loss for event organizers for years.
It was also rebuilt from its original layout into a faster, more interesting configuration, though is now completely flat in elevation.
25-27 July, 2014
The Hungarian Grand Prix is a constant source of puzzlement, with performances always varying between astonishing and mind-numbing. The circuit, located in the distant woods of Budapest, is not frequently used and causes it to be excessively dusty and grimey on race weekend. This forces drivers to be far more cautious with their driving, limiting overtaking opportunities.
Because of that, however, pit strategies come into play quite significantly and are the key to winning in Budapest. The series of short and quick turns in the circuit’s middle sector make for interesting openings for overtaking, but the real excitement here is from seeing what teams have to counter the rest of the grid when pit time comes.
22-24 August, 2014
Another in the line of “historic and completely awesome to watch” tracks on the calendar, Spa is the second longest circuit in Formula 1 and always puts on an exciting show.
The track starts immediately into one of the scariest hairpins in Formula 1, site of many crashes including Grojean’s famous 2012 blunder, before leading into a hair-raising hill climb which drivers navigate at flatout speeds. What follows are sets of complex, consecutive corners ending in a fast and bending backroad. Due to its length, the circuit has a reduced lap count.
5-7 September, 2014
Monza, like Monaco, is a historic track that stands for a great amount in Formula 1 culture, though arguably does not hold much excitement for those at home. It is the home of Scuderia Ferrari and the fan turnout is through the roof every year, but its long straights and fast corners pose almost no overtaking opportunity.
Unfortunately, Monza is also not a circuit that relies heavily on pit strategy since its conditions are generally quite favorable. This, combined with its emphasis on speed, makes it so that the top qualifying cars rarely exchange positions by the end of the race. Like Monaco, however, it remains on the calendar as a cultural milestone and carries some amount of excitement because of it.
19-21 September, 2014
Currently the longest circuit on the calendar, Singapore is night race that takes place in Singapore’s city streets in close proximity to the beautiful Marina Bay Sands hotel.
Clocking in at 1:48 on the fastest recorded lap, its lap count of 61 has posed a continued problem over the years its been hosted. Partially due to being a street circuit, the Singapore track is excessively bumpy and takes a considerable amount of energy out of drivers. In addition to some fairly nasty chicanes, the race ends up going on for longer than both drivers and teams can sustain. Collisions are prone towards the end of the race and driver performance tapers off significantly because of it.
3-5 October, 2014
There is little to be said about Suzuka which already isn’t known by racing aficionados. One of the most interesting, fun, and exciting tracks on the calendar returns once again, home to some of the fiercest battles in Formula 1 history.
Suzuka is a mid-length circuit that features long straights, an S Curve-filled first sector and a fast middle and final sector. It is also the only track on the calendar to criss-cross, with a bridge in the final sector overlapping the middle sector. Its variety and iconic ferris-wheel backdrop have made it a fan-favorite in both Formula 1 and racing games culture alike.
10-12 October, 2014
Under construction as of this writing, the Sochi Street Circuit will take place both in the Olympic Park and city streets. Road conditions have shown to be acceptable at best within the confines of the Olympic Park, however.
The mixed road structure might be problematic, much like it was for the Circuit of the Americas during its inaugural race. The asphalt, freshly built shortly before the event’s start, had little grip because the track had not been worn in sufficiently. Mixing this in with older, more worn streets could pose an issue with drivers and their performance in Sochi. Of course, that is just speculation on my part. We’ll have to wait and see until the race in mid-October.
31 October-2 November, 2014
Returning for its third year on the calendar is the fan-favorite and surprising success, the Circuit of the Americas. Comprised of several elements from historic and important circuits in F1 history, CoTA is a veritable “Best Of” circuit—which understandably makes for some exciting racing.
With an awe-inspiring hill climb into its first corner, CoTA sees a number of elevation changes and challenging corners. Though its inaugural race proved to be slightly hazardous due to reduced grip, its second year was a runaway success with over 100,000 attending the race.
Also, if you use your imagination, part of it kind of looks like a steak knife.
7-9 November, 2014
Contrary to the past several years, Interlagos will now be the penultimate race in the Formula 1 calendar. One of the fastest circuits, Interlagos is popular amongst drivers for its severe changes in elevations. The circuit becomes more challenging for drivers as a result, particularly because it demands more out of their cars. This is in large part what made the circuit so much as a end-of-season battleground.
Brazil’s fan turnout is also numerous. F1 has long roots in the country’s culture, in large part due to sport icon Ayrton Senna, and it shows every year. Rain or shine, the crowds are there en-masse for the spectacle.
21-23 November, 2014
In a surprising turn of events, the revolver-shaped track will now be the final race on the Formula 1 calendar. Infamous for its seamless day-night cycle and high polygon count…
… ok but no, for real, the race starts during the end of the day and transitions into nighttime, where the Yas Viceroy hotel lights up into a rainbow of colors during the race’s duration. Its fast first and second sectors set the stage for the circuit’s third sector, a complex series of hard-edged corners that are rife with overtaking opportunities. Though Interlagos was a fitting end to the Formula 1 season, Yas Marina could make up for it with some fantastic racing, especially now that the final race will have double points for the top 10 drivers.
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