Formula 1’s provisional 23-race 2021 calendar features a vacant slot that the sport’s chiefs hope can be filled after they dropped plans for a race in Vietnam.
There are certainly no lack of options in finding a venue willing to hold that extra grand prix – with 2020 demonstrating that good alternatives to the regular races do exist.
Events like Mugello, Portimao, the Nurburgring and Imola have been hits with fans, earned rave reviews from drivers, and would be welcomed back with open arms.
However, the tracks’ bosses are well aware that their return to the F1 calendar this year was an emergency measure thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, and the cold hard economic reality of paying for a race hosting fee would ultimately decide their fate longer term.
Ultimately, a decision on which race gets that vacant 2021 slot may well come down to how much individual promoters or governments are willing to pay for it. But if money did not talk, what would be the perfect venue that drivers would like to see added to the calendar?
Here we take a look at the awesome suggestions that some of F1’s top stars have put forward as the ideal venue that they would like a grand prix to be held at.
From circuits that have held F1 races in the past, to those that have only seen some demonstration laps by old grand prix cars, the drivers certainly have some exciting ideas. But whether any of these could become reality is a totally different matter…