What do the outlines of F1 circuits look like? I’ve mentioned before how the Shanghai International Circuit is based off the Chinese character 上 (Shang, as in Shanghai). But most circuits are not intentionally made to resemble something.
So what about unintentionally? It’s a tradition here to provide a light hearted article for April Fools. (See F1 Racing On The Moon and The Greatness of Wacky Races for previous examples.) Continuing this tradition, here are my interpretations of what the outline of F1 circuits looks like.
- Albert Park, Australian Grand Prix
- Shanghai International Circuit, Chinese Grand Prix
- Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain Grand Prix
- Autodromo di Imola, Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix
- Circuit de Catalunya, Spanish Grand Prix
- Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian Grand Prix
- Red Bull Ring, Austrian Grand Prix
- Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
- Circuit Zandvoort, Dutch Grand Prix
- Monza, Italian Grand Prix
- Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore Grand Prix
- Circuit of the Americas, United States Grand Prix
- Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexican Grand Prix
- Las Vegas Strip Circuit, Las Vegas Grand Prix
- Lusail International Circuit, Qatar Grand Prix
Albert Park, Australian Grand Prix
Albert Park looks suspiciously like a driver’s position when in an F1 car. In Australia Leclerc suffered from a “leakage of water” in the cockpit. This would be the centre of the circuit, which features a large lake. Coincidence…?
Shanghai International Circuit, Chinese Grand Prix
Whilst this cultural detail of the circuit resembling the character 上 is lovely, the circuit also shares a passable resemblance to the Sorting Hat from Harry Potter.
Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain Grand Prix
Some people find images of Jesus in their toast. I only see the Bahrain International Circuit.
Autodromo di Imola, Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix
The existence of this circuit is the reason I know that San Marino exists as a country. It looks so much like a seal that I feel this one might have been intentional.
Circuit de Catalunya, Spanish Grand Prix
The Circuit de Catalunya looks suspiciously like the Autodromo de Estoril circuit, which hosted the Portuguese Grand Prix in the 1980s and 90s.
Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian Grand Prix
Yet another animal based one, with a hairpin of the track making a thin beak.
Red Bull Ring, Austrian Grand Prix
To me this is the most obvious one of all. The Red Bull Ring was clearly based on a Parasaurolophus and I will not to taking further questions on this.
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
It’s well established that the circuit resembles a gun. Personally I think a glue gun fits the shape even better than the traditional type.
Circuit Zandvoort, Dutch Grand Prix
The Dutch Grand Prix circuit looks like a big capital J. Obviously it’s in honour of their great F1 hero, Jos Verstappen…
Monza, Italian Grand Prix
Monza’s long straights means that a bird with a long beak fits the bill. (Terrible pun intended).
Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore Grand Prix
With a circuit layout like this, it’s no wonder the country has such a low crime rate.
Circuit of the Americas, United States Grand Prix
The jagged turns of 6-10 make me think of a saw. Alternatively, turn the circuit anticlockwise about 450 and there’s a person with a ludicrously tall hat on kneeling down to pray.
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexican Grand Prix
Maybe this one’s pushing it a bit, but I definitely see a long snout on this circuit’s layout.
Las Vegas Strip Circuit, Las Vegas Grand Prix
Despite all the pig jokes, I actually think the Vegas circuit looks like a cute little bunny rabbit (with an oddly long tail).
Lusail International Circuit, Qatar Grand Prix
This has been said before, but the resemblance of this track to Ditto is undeniable. Bonus link: Qatar is known for Fossil Fuels, and this Ditto pokemon card is from the Fossil expansion pack.
Are there any other circuits you think are the spitting image of things? Let me know in the comments.
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