Photo by Pstark1, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. (credit links at the end of the content)
After finishing our first two parts covering circuits of the past that are no longer on the F1 calendar, our next chapter looks at some of F1’s most dangerous lost circuits. Some disappeared because of financial struggles or changing circumstances, even though they may have been suitable to continue hosting F1 races, while others were simply too risky for the drivers of their time.
F1’s Most Dangerous Lost Circuits
Some of the forgotten circuits of the past disappeared completely, while others were shortened, redesigned, or absorbed into modern facilities. A few remain remarkably recognizable, with old grandstands, concrete banking, or abandoned buildings still standing beside roads that are used every day.
AVUS – Berlin’s Highway
Few circuits in motorsprot history had a stranger relationship with ordinary road traffic than the AVUS in Berlin. It was opened in 1921, the Automobil-Verkehrs- und Übungsstraße was originally conceived as a high-speed test and racing road through the Grunewald forest, its layout was radically different from the twisting circuits normally associated with Grand Prix racing, two enormously long straights were connected steeply banked turns, creating a circuit where outright speed was the defining characteristic.
The most famous feature was the enormous north banking. Known as the Nordkurve, it became one of the most recognizable structures in European motorsport, but in its later configuration, the banking was dramatically steep and helped give AVUS an almost surreal appearance.
AVUS hosted major international races, including F1, the 1959 German Grand Prix, where the unusually fast layout produced average speeds that were extraordinary even by F1 standards, but AVUS was never an easy place to make safe, its enormous straights encourage tremendous speeds, while banking left little room for mistakes, as safety standards changed, the circuit became increasingly unsuitable for top-level racing.
Professional racing eventually disappeared from AVUS, but the track itself wasn’t simply erased, much of its former route became part of Berlin’s road network, the historic structures that remain beside the modern Autobahn provide a remarkable reminder of what once took place there.
Monza’s Old High-Speed Oval
Few places demonstrate the evolution of F1 safety more dramatically than Monza’s old high-speed oval. The original circuit was constructed in 1922, but the oval was later reconstructed, creating the imposing concrete banking that became synonymous with one of the circuit’s most dangerous eras.
The Pista di Alta Velocità allowed cars to attack the corners at extraordinary speeds, when the oval and the Monza track were combined, F1 cars could complete a lap on an enormous high-speed configuration that was unlike almost anything used today.
The concrete surface was notoriously rough, and the combination of speed, vibration and mechanical stress placed enormous demands on the cars, the dangers became impossible to ignore a series of incidents.
F1 evetnually stopped using the banking, leaving it outside the modern layout of Monza, yet the oval was never completely erased, its huge concrete curves still stand among the trees of Monza Park, creating one of motorsport’s most extraordinary surviving relics.
Zeltweg Airfield – A Flat, Unforgiving Canvas for the Austrian GP
Before Austria had the modern Red Bull Ring, F1 experimented with a very different kind of circuit, the Zeltweg Airfield Circuit was created around the runways of Hinterstoisser Air Base in Styria, and the idea was similar to other circuits that transformed airfield into racing venues.
Instead of constructing a purpose-built track, organizers could use an existing network of runaways and access roads, the result was functional rather than glamorous.
Zeltweg hosted its only F1 race in 1964, Ferrari’s Lorenzo Bandini won the only race, but the circuit itself became the bigger story.
The concrete surface was extremely rough, and the repeated impacts placed enormous stress on the cars, suspensions and other mechanical components struggled with the conditions, producing a race in which attrition played a major role, only nine of the 20 starters reached the finish.
F1 never returned to the Zeltweg Airfield, a purpose-built circuit was constructed nearby only a few years later, giving Austria a much more suitable venue for international racing. The Österreichring would eventually become the Red Bull Ring, but the old airfield remains an intriguing part of Austrian GP history.
Rouen-les-Essarts
Rouen-les-Essarts was one of those circuits that seemed almost designed for another age of motorsport, located near Rouen in northern France, the circuit opened in 1950 and used public roads through a heavily wooded landscape.
Unlike modern circuits, the surrounding were not separated from the track by enormous areas of asphalt runoff, the track’s most famous section was the Six Freres corner, a fast downhill sequence that demanded complete commitment, the road then led toward a tight hairpin, creating an enormous contrast between high-speed commitment and heavy braking.
Rouen-les-Essarts hosted five F1 French Grand Prix between 1952 and 1968.
Elevation changes and unforgiving surroundings made it a spectacular driver’s circuit, but the same characteristics also made it difficult to justify as safety standards evolved. F1 never returned at Rouen after 1968, other forms of racing continued for many years, but the circuit eventually closed permanently in 1993.
Much of Rouen-less-Essarts track has since disappeared beneath ordinary roads and surrounding development, the old racing landscape is therefore much harder to recognize today than at places such as Monza or Reims. Yet the public roads still preserve traces of the circuit’s shape, quietly carrying modern traffic through what was once one of France’s most intimidating racing venues.
The Old Österreichring – Austria’s High-Speed Rollercoaster
The Österreichring was created in 1969 as Austria’s new permanent Grand Prix venue, replacing the Zeltweg airfield circuit, unlike its predecessor, it was a purpose-built for racing. But rather than immediately embracing the slower, more controlled style that would eventually dominate modern F1, the Österreichring circuit was designed around flowing, high-speed corners and dramatic elevation changes.
The original layout was exceptionally fast, long sections of the circuit flowed through the Styrian hills, with very few genuinely slow corners, sections such as Flatschach and Bosch-Kurve became famous among drivers and fans, but the circuit’s strengths were also its weaknesses.
The track was narrow, fast and surrounded by relatively limited runoff, as F1 cars became faster, the margin for error became smaller.
The 1987 Austrian GP weekedn highlighted the problem, multiple incidents occurered. F1 didn’t return to the original Austrian layout after that season.
The circuit was later redesigned and significantly shortened, eventually evolving into the A1-Ring, and, after further development, today’s Red Bull Ring.
Although much of the original character has disappeared, the modern circuit still follows sections of the historic Austrian layout, its DNA remains visible beneath the modern facilities.
Watkins Glen – When Racing Took Place on Public Roads before Modern circuit
The history of Watkins Glen shows how American road racing developed from something almost improvised into a professional motorsport industry, in 1948, racing enthusiast Cameron Argetsinger helped organize an event using public roads around the village of Watkins Glen in New York State.
The original course was more than six miles long and was nothing like the permanent facility that exists today, cars raced through the village, climbed forest roads, crossed railroad tracks and passed ordinary buildings, the setting was spectacular, but the dangers were obvious.
However, the modern Watkins Glen International eventually became one of America’s most important road-racing venues, but the original street course hasn’t been forgotten, parts of the historic route remain recognizable, allowing visitors to follow the roads where the foundations of Watkins Glen’s racing tradition were established.
Watkins Glen became the home of the United States GP for 20 consecutive years, from 1961 to 1980, earning a reputation as one of the most important road-racing venues in America.
As F1’s safety standards developed, Watkins Glen’s aging facilities struggled to keep pace, while financial difficulties eventually brought its F1 era to an end after the 1980 United States Grand Prix.
Circuit Zolder – Honoring the Spirits of the Past
Unlike many circuits in this article, Circuit Zolder didn’t disappear.
Opened in 1963 in Belgium’s Limburg region, Zolder became an important part of Belgian motorsport and shared F1 histoing duties with Nivelles Baulers.
Its layout was considerably more technical than the old-high-speed circuits such as AVUS or the Osterreichring, heavy braking zones, fast sections and relatively narrow track characteristics made it a demanding circuit for both drivers and cars.
Zolder’s place in F1 history is inseparable from Gilles Villeneuve incident in 1982 at the Belgian GP. But F1 continued racing at Zolder for a few more years, with the Belgian GP in 1984 becoming the circuit’s final race.
The Belgian GP eventually returned to Spa-Francorchamps, but Zolder continued to operate as a racing venue, that makes Zolder different from many of the circuits in this story, its not a ghost track, its still alive, still used and still capable of hosting major motorsport events, but its history gives every lap around the circuit a much deeper meaning.
Reims-Gueux – A Ghost Circuit Frozen in Time
If some circuits disappeared beneath modern roads, Reims-Gueux almost seems to have been deliberately left behind. Located among the fields of France’s Champagne region, the circuit was created in 1926 using ordinary public roads, its triangular layout consisted largely of long straights connected by fast corners, making slipstreaming and outright speed central to the racing.
Reims became one of the most important venues in French Motorsport and hosted the official F1 French GP in 1950.
The circuit also became famous for its distinctive roadside buildings, many of which were covered in period advertising. Unlike the anonymous concrete structures found at many modern circuits, the Reims buildings became part of the visual identity of the track, but the circuit’s long, open roads became increasingly difficult to reconcile with the rising speeds of racing cars.
Reims-Gueux eventually closed in 1972.
What makes the circuit extraordinary today is that parts of Reims-Gueux physical identity survived, rather than being completely demolished and forgotten, several historic buildings and sections of the old circuit remain beside the modern road.
Preservation efforts have helped protect the site from disappearing completely, today, the visitors can stand among the old pits and timekeeping buildings and look out toward the same roads once used by some of the greatest drivers of the 20th century.
The Circuits That Refused to Disappear and abandoned F1 circuits
The most fascinating thing about these dangerous F1 circuits is that many of them nwere never completely erased.
AVUS for example became part of Berlin’s road network, old Monza banking still rises through the trees. Reims Gueux survives through its historic buildings, and the modern Red Bull still carries traces of the old Osterreichring.
They are reminders of a period when F1 wasn’t separated from the surrounding world in the way it is today. Drivers raced between trees, buildings, spectators and public roads. Airfields became Grand Prix circuits. Country roads became international racing venues.
MOdern F1 is vastly safer, but that transformation came through decades, these circuits therefore represent more than simply dangerous places from the past, they are physical reminders of how far F1 has travelled, and of the drivers who accepted extraordinary risks simply to compete at the highest level of motorsport.
Featured Image Credits: Photo by Pstark1, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
F1 Circuits of the past Series:
Part 1 – The Legendary Tracks That Time Erased
Part 2 – When Formula 1 Took Over the Streets
Part 4 – When F1 Left Them Behind – 1970s F1 Circuits
Part 5 – Forgotten F1 Circuits of the Turbo Era
