“The Nordschleife in winter 2018 – the ‘Green Hell’ transformed into a frozen landscape.”
Modern circuits are different, they are billion dollar circuit with every inch monitored by cameras and sensors.
But what if you turn the clock back to the sport’s early years, things looked very different.
The 1950s were an era of raw speed and fragile cars, when racing meant mastering dangerous tracks carved out of ordinary roads, airfields and even horse racing venues.
Many of those circuits have since faded into history, abandoned and silent, yet they shaped the sport in unforgettable ways.
Let’s go back into that world and revisit some of the legendary F1 tracks that time has erased!
Indianapolis 500 – America’s first F1 circuit
Photo by CZmarlin – Christopher Ziemnowicz, licensed under CC BY 3.0
When F1 launched its World Championship in 1950, the FIA wanted it to feel global, to achieve that, the Indianapolis 500 was included on the calendar, even though it was nothing like a European GP.
The Indy 500 was on a 2.5 mile oval where drivers lapped at 150mph with banked corners and roaring crowds of 200,000 spectators.
In truth, it was a paper connection, few F1 drivers made the trip across the Atlantic and American specialists rarely ventured to Europe.
However, the Indy 500 gave the championship a sense of scale in those early years.
By 1961, the race in this circuit was dropped, the ‘500’ carried on as a legend on its own, while F1 continued on a very different path.
Bremgarten – The Lost Swiss Classic
Photo by Travus, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Into the forest near Bern, Bremgarten was one of the most atmospheric circuits of the 50s.
At 7.28km long and it had fast and sweeping bends, blind crests and dappled light cutting through trees.
Drivers loved the flow but they also feared it!
Rain made it treacherous and the lack of barriers meant that one mistake could be fatal.
After the horrific disaster in 1955, Switzerland decided to stop racing entirely in this circuit.
The ban stood for decades and leaving Bremgarten frozen in time, a symbol of what might have been!
Reims-Gueux – Slipstream Battles Ground
Photo by valmara, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia Commons
Reims-Gueux circuit still remains one of the most loved by fans, laid out on public roads west of Reims.
A track with long straights, reaching top speed that pushed the limits of the engines every lap.
It became famous for its slipstream battle where driver diced back and forth down the straights, trading places lap after lap.
Thrilling for spectators but brutal on cars and drivers, track hosted its last Grand Prix in 1966.
Racing ended, parts of grandstands and pit buildings still survive and maintained by passionate volunteers.
Driving past them today feels like a ghostly reminder of F1 wild youth.
The Old Circuit of Nürburgring – The Green Hell
Credit: Hejnjahns – Wikimedia Commons Public Domain 1.0 Lisense
It was built in the Eifel Mountains, the circuit was long nearly 23 km, twisting through forests, villages and hills.
Nurburgring circuit had over 170 corners, you can imagine how hard it was to race in this track, especially in times when safety was not at the highest level.
Jackie Stewart named it ‘The Green Hell’ after conquering its rain soaked curves.
Drivers needed to learn every bump and corner to survive, fans loved it and victories there meant eternal respect.
But the very qualities that made Nurburgring iconic also made it unsafe!
Remembering the crash of Niki Lauda in 1976, it was the last race here, F1 never returned to the full Nordschleife.
The modern circuit layout of Nubrugring, is different and much safer but it is not in the calendar of F1 for years now.
Aintree – The circuit that replaced Silverstone in 1955
Early in 50s, F1 was not only about Silverstone, Aintree hosted the British GP on a circuit built around famous horse course.
At 4.8 KM long, it was flat but quick and it became the scene of Stirling Moss’s historic victory in 1955, the first for a British driver in a British car at home GP.
Despite its place in history, this circuit never gained the glamour of Silverstone or Brands Hatch, last race was in 1962, and it slipped from the calendar, leaving behind the memory of Moss’s triumph and a reminder that even modest venues can host iconic moments.
What can we say more about these forgotten tracks?
They may no longer echo with the roar of F1 engines but they laid the foundations of the sport.
Yes, they were dangerous, imperfect, but they gave fans stories that still resonate today.
Walking through ruins of Reims, staring at the vast oval of Indianapolis, or imagining the circuit of Nurburgring, reminds us that F1 was not always polished.
