The value of F1’s last 'old school' circuit
Two recent races at Sochi and Suzuka again exposed the problems with identikit modern circuit design, but also highlighted the unaltered gifts found at circuits built in a previous era
All seemed very right with the world as we stood around, chatting, in the Osterreichring paddock that glorious Friday morning in August 1986. "Good to be back at a proper circuit, isn't it?" said Bernie Ecclestone. He spoke for all of us.
The weekend before, Formula 1 had ventured for the first time to the Hungaroring, and if these days it is apparently regarded by many drivers as something of a classic, its tortuous turns and chicanes did not sit well with that generation. "I should have brought a bloody go-kart," growled Alan Jones.
Share Or Save This Story
More from Nigel Roebuck
Archive: The flamboyant F1 ace who lost his best years at Ferrari
Archive: When F1's Italian GP no-overtaking proposal was rejected
From the archive: How Williams's last F1 title challenge unravelled
Autosport 70: How Mansell bested Senna in the greatest F1 Hungarian GP ever
Autosport70: Senna, tragedy and the battle for Coulthard
Autosport 70: The rise and fall of Ferrari's first great champion
Grand Prix Gold: Australian GP 1986
The pre-Christmas pressure on Bottas and Vettel
Latest news
Everything you need to know about the pitwall in F1 - who sits there and what does it do?
Alpine: "Shock" of having slowest F1 car triggered tech revamp
How Bruce McLaren's death shaped more than just his F1 team
Both DS Penske in the points in São Paulo
Autosport Plus
How Bruce McLaren's death shaped more than just his F1 team
Why Mohammed Ben Sulayem believes his mission to create a strong FIA is so important
The Beckham clues as to where Verstappen and Red Bull are heading
How Bearman's F1 debut will help Mercedes on its Hamilton replacement call
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.