These are the worst F1 tracks (according to fans) – Jalopnik

The 2025 Formula 1 World Championship is one of the most ambitious in the sport’s 75-year history, with 24 Grand Prix across five continents. Over the course of the season, 22 countries will host F1’s traveling show, which starts in March and runs until December. Starting on the streets of Melbourne at Albert Park, the show has stopped at legendary locations such as Suzuka, Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps and of course the crown jewel of Monaco.

Other circuits such as Mexico City and Circuit of the Americas, although newer to the F1 calendar, have quickly become popular with those watching trackside or around the world. Of course, not all 24 can be winners, and there are a handful of tracks on the calendar that most fans wouldn’t miss if they disappeared in the coming years, whether it’s trackside amenities that make race weekends miserable or poor layouts that turn Sundays into sleepovers. Straight from the fans, here are four of the worst Formula 1 circuits on the current calendar.

First introduced in 2009, Yas Marina was part of a major construction plan to turn Yas Island, just east of Abu Dhabi, into a top tourist destination. The 5.28-mile circuit features a Ferrari theme park, marinas full of yachts and a colossal hotel overlooking the circuit’s penultimate corners. While in theory this makes the circuit a perfect place for the glitz and glamor of Formula 1, what Yas Marina has in form is lost in functionality. For a circuit hosting the season finale, the races have been tough in Abu Dhabi, but why?

“It’s a song built around a fan experience and not the other way around, it literally is,” explains Reddit user u/ExtraKrispyColonel. “The first corners are excellent. However, Turns 5 and 6 eliminate an overtaking opportunity in Turn 7. Turn 8 is not a bad overtaking opportunity, but that’s it.” [easy] to overshoot and have a bad line in turn 9. Same with the 11-13 complex”.

Ahead of the 2021 edition of the Grand Prix, changes were made to encourage racing, with the chicane removed from Turns 5 and 6 and Turns 11 to 13 turning into a long, wide left-hander. However, these adjustments were far from the headlines in the run-up to that year’s race, as Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton even entered the final round of the year dead on points. What followed were the most stunning finishes of a Formula 1 season, with Verstappen passing Hamilton on the final lap to secure his first championship.

Sadly, that iconic lap remains the highlight of Yas Marina’s tenure, as the updated layout still struggles to deliver memorable racing. With a contract holding the final round through 2030, we can only hope the finals deliver another exciting title fight.

No circuit has felt quite like Lusail in the traveling circus of Formula 1. After opening its doors in 2004, the Qatar circuit started out mainly with motorcycle racing before becoming an emergency addition to the 2021 calendar to host the first edition of the Qatar Grand Prix. A few years later, it would become a full-time addition to the schedule in 2023 under a 10-year contract.

The move wasn’t met with much fanfare, with one Redditor calling it an “absolutely soulless song in the middle of nowhere, where every corner looks the same”, on the r/formula1 subreddit. Others agreed. “No overtaking opportunities, no interesting bends, no atmosphere, nothing. It’s so boring I often forget it exists,” said another user. Some problems arise from teething problems in the early years of racing. There were a handful of tire problems in 2021 and 2023, with the high curbs digging into the Pirelli rubber. Combine that with the high side loads on the tires, and punctures were a major problem in the early races.

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However, no problem was as noticeable as the desert heat that affected drivers and fans. Despite the race being held at night, Qatar’s extreme heat and humidity caused the cockpits to reach temperatures well above 120 degrees Fahrenheit. In the 2023 edition of the race, drivers withdrew due to heat exhaustion, with those still in the race vomiting in their helmets and requiring assistance from their cars in the parc fermé.

Add to that Qatar’s human rights and history of sports washing, and it’s not surprising to see why so many want this Grand Prix to be over.

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Formula 1 tried to grab some of the competition’s top drivers, as well as big names on social media, and stage full Grand Prix races in the ‘F1 2019’ game for fans fighting cabin fever. When the mystery calendar revealed that the next stop would be the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, there were collective groans from Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon.

That was the reaction of two drivers who realized they had to return to a track – albeit virtual – where the competition had already completed a combined 7,700 laps in the real world last February. Sure, the layout may have been interesting at first, but after years of hosting F1’s preseason testing, the drivers discovered that the circuit’s format was outdated. Such a repeat could also be the result of poor, parade-style racing, as each team returns to the 4.89-mile circuit for the Spanish Grand Prix with literally hundreds of laps of data.

This is all down to the track’s ability to test all aspects of the car, but fans are convinced that this also only hurts the racing. “Turns 1,2 and the first half of 3 are fine, but after that it’s a boring series of corners with a constant radius at medium speed,” said Reddit u/Disastrous-Beat-9830. “The whole thing feels like it was designed to fit into a plot of land, without any consideration other than getting as much track into the land as possible.”

A few years ago we asked what you thought were the worst race tracks in history. One notable response wasn’t just a Formula 1 circuit; it is what is widely considered the series’ biggest race of the year.

Cars have been tearing through the streets of Monte Carlo every May since 1929, and aesthetically there is nothing comparable. The fastest racers in the world speeding past casinos, yachts and swimming pools is truly a scene unlike any other. Unfortunately, as the cars have gotten bigger and faster, the circuit has remained unchanged to accommodate modern Formula 1.

“It’s a race where racing doesn’t happen,” he said Quora user Indiana Jon. “It’s short, narrow and there’s no room for… well, anything.” How much does it hurt racing? In another article about frustrating race tracks, Jalopnik reader Toobs-n-Stuff wrote: “When Ricciardo won with a car whose KERS had completely failed, simply because even with 160 hp it is impossible to pass anymore, Monaco went on the list ‘it’s not a race, it’s an event made for Instagram.’

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That doesn’t mean Monaco is always a boring circuit. When Formula E arrived at the same track for its E-Prix this year, the on-track product from the slower, smaller cars was nothing short of phenomenal. Formula 1 attempted to improve racing in 2025 by mandating two pit stops at the Monaco Grand Prix, but with modern regulations making the cars bigger and heavier than ever, to no avail: only one overtaking took place during the 78-lap race.

Hopefully the new regulations will make overtaking at least a little more possible on this still iconic circuit. With its unique environment and long-lasting legacy, Monaco isn’t going anywhere.