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Hello, everybody, and welcome to the P1 podcast.
We are here today in person.
We are.
Oh, my goodness gracious me.
This is so weird.
But it's not just Matt and Tommy.
We've told you about this.
We told you it was coming.
We're here with Alex Albon as well.
Oh, yes, straight off a flight from Hungary.
Yes, you are.
They told me that there was this podcast.
You know, most drivers are off
to do their summer break right now.
And I was like, you know what?
I'm going to come from Hungary to the UK just for this.
Oh, you had to be on P1.
That's a big lie.
I am here.
We're part of your plan.
You got the bit where you said it was a lie.
There was enough of a pause there, I think.
This is great.
So today, we're going to be ranking
the 2025 Formula One circuits
in a way that's kind of like a World Cup style, right?
Tommy, we're going to be kind of doing head-to-heads.
It can be based on whatever you want.
Probably driver enjoyment.
It's probably the easiest way to do it.
Not like toilet facilities.
Exactly that, yeah.
Diving out here is hard, but we'll go for the driver feel.
You know, there's a big talking point with us.
Is it?
Drivers, yeah.
Yeah, like what tracks have good toilets and not good toilets.
Because, you know, in some paddocks,
we have to...
This sounds really bougie,
but we do have to share the toilets with the public.
And so, you will be in the cubicle doing your thing
and then there are some, you know, where you line up.
Like Canada's one.
And you're all right next to each other.
And there's just people like, can we have a selfie?
And you're like, can we...
I mean, literally in the middle of something.
And...
Well, well done and qualified, mate.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Do you mind?
Literally.
So, it is a conversation, but for another episode.
Just very quickly.
Anything, like generally the Middle East
have it pretty freaking hard.
OK, quite nice.
Right, we haven't got much time,
but this is not what I thought the conversation was going to go.
OK, so, like Matt said, World Cup kind of system.
And we've actually done seeds as well.
So, we've got thousands of fans to vote.
And we've got one to 24 seeds to match up.
The top eight advance into the next round already,
just to make it work, which are Interlagos, Silverstone,
Red Bull Ring, Cota, Spa, Monser, Suzuka and Montreal.
So, there we go.
Right, let's get into the first matchup, Alec.
Here we go, then.
It is Zanvort versus Imola.
So, we've wanted to start really similar as well.
I can see you're on the track right now.
You're thinking about the toilet.
No, we need to move away from the top toilet.
Honestly, Imola toilets were not good.
Man, I can't take too long to choose,
but I would say personally speaking, I like Zanvort.
It's hardcore.
It's way too narrow to be a Formula One track,
but that's what makes it good.
So, it feels like a karting track.
It seems ridiculous what we're doing, and I'm all for it.
And that's next up, in a while, isn't it?
It is, it is, it is.
OK, so Zanvort makes it through to the next round.
We now have Bahrain versus the lowest seed, 24th Miami.
Oh, that's controversial because they are...
We did well in Miami, so...
I did say this.
I was going to say this.
I will say Miami.
Miami?
Miami?
I really struggle with Bahrain.
I'm not one for Bahrain.
No, OK.
What's great about Bahrain is the hotels are so close to the track.
Honestly.
Toilets, hotels.
It's quite nice to have the privilege of a five minute drive,
less than a five minute drive to the track.
Bahrain's an interesting one because it used to be that kind of circuit
that people didn't really like the new tracks,
but it's kind of been so long now.
This was the ninth most popular fan track Bahrain.
Really?
To be fair, the racing is very good.
The racing is good.
I think that's what a lot of fans vote for, isn't it?
That's smart.
So Miami makes it through?
Miami makes it through the underdog.
We love it.
On pure personal reasons.
That's fine.
It doesn't matter what your reasons are.
OK, next up we have Saudi versus Mexico.
Yes, Saudi.
That is a proper track.
I am scared on the day that one driver is going to have a big crash there.
We've been scared about that for many years.
We say that.
It's kind of waiting for a really scary act.
Because they wind a little bit.
But honestly, we're doing 300 kilometers an hour
and it's a blind spot to 100 meters in a lot of them corners.
Just make the straight, straight.
That would be nice.
Are the slow down laps quite terrifying
that you're just constantly thinking, please, don't have a car?
We are, especially, we're like kind of dancing across
where we think a car would be on their push laps.
So it gets a bit sketchy.
You constantly have to think about where isn't the racing line to sit.
Yes, exactly.
That must be taxiing itself.
OK, but Saudi makes it through because it is a proper driver's circuit.
Next up, we have China versus Abu Dhabi.
Hmm.
China is an underrated track.
Thank you.
Yes, I've been saying this for so many years.
It's such a good track.
Yeah, it is a good track.
And they've changed the time max.
The time max got much better recently.
Actually grippy this time.
I like it.
Yeah, easy.
China.
OK, China's through.
We now go to Hungary versus Vegas.
Hmm.
So I would often put Hungary as not as good as what other drivers would put it as.
But Vegas is really much worse.
Really?
I find Vegas really tricky as a race weekend with the jet lag that we have to deal with.
Of course, yeah.
And the event as a whole with the timing of it.
Because it is a night race in Vegas, which puts it in its own little brackets of jet lag.
That belongs in a different world.
It's difficult.
I think some people love Vegas as a, maybe for the fan point of view.
It's surprisingly low.
It's the 18th most popular.
I wouldn't have fit that low.
I think if it continues to produce a good race every single year, I think you'll see
a lot higher.
It's on paper.
It's like massive straights, hard braking zones.
Yeah.
We get over that.
Yeah, that's very true.
And I think I keep looking at it as a pure driving point of view and silly things like
jet lag.
So what was the other one?
Hungary.
Hungary makes it through.
Hungary.
OK, next up we have Australia versus Monaco.
Hmm.
Australia.
Definitely Australia.
I love Australia.
Australia's gone already.
Australia is an amazing track.
Yes, it is.
I look at it again.
I look at it as a city.
Really cool place to be.
Monaco, I get to sleep in my own bed, which is nice.
But it doesn't win out.
Monaco is always a controversial one.
23rd most popular because I think...
Yeah, that's interesting.
I think a lot of fans are getting...
That last race there, for the first time ever, I was kind of like, this is getting
a bit ridiculous now.
Yeah, I guess we're a part of this.
Even as the biggest hardcore Monaco supporter ever.
Do you find that?
When you get there on Friday, you go, this is the best track ever, and then you do
interviews on Sunday and go, this is terrible.
You know, what's weird for me was it was the first time in my career around Monaco
where I didn't even feel the buzz in qualifying.
It felt like a normal track.
Wow.
Like I didn't feel the walls, which was weird.
Which maybe it might be experience in just getting comfortable with being close
to the walls.
But it was just like a regular track.
So I was quite relaxed in qualifying when I was doing my laps.
Other years it was like...
Yeah, that's really interesting.
But yeah, I know what you mean.
I think they do need to make...
Well, the cars will get smaller.
A little bit.
A little bit.
There's a lot of real estate around Monaco, and I think we did have some
really good conversations around making it better for overtaking.
So let's see.
Okay.
All right.
From 2026 and beyond?
I think they can do it for 2026.
Let's see if they do it.
Tommy's love for the Monaco has just gone up by a million.
Next up, we have Singapore versus Spain.
I don't really like the layout of Singapore.
But I like the city and I like the challenge of it physically.
Barcelona, I've just done too many laps around there.
We as fans are sick of seeing it with how many laps we've seen.
Yeah.
It feels like a testing circuit when you get there for a Grand Prix
for the fans.
Yeah.
Singapore makes it through.
And finally, in this first round, we have Baku versus Qatar.
Oh, Qatar.
Yeah, that's a really, really good track.
I'm not sure how it comes across on camera.
It feels like it does very much feel like what it is, a MotoGP track.
There's no one car that's going round.
But I can very much imagine it's a lot of fun.
It's amazing to drive.
Yeah, it's really well done.
The only thing I'd say is it's insanely physical to the point.
Well, there's that race.
It's just everything's medium to high speed, really, isn't there?
There's not.
Exactly.
And we also come from what's the time zone, but we shift.
I don't know if it's...
Jack?
Qatar?
Yeah.
Just wait before Abu Dhabi.
So, yeah, exactly.
Yeah.
We know Vegas, which we've just been destroyed by.
And then we go into Qatar, which is the most physical track of the year
with a massive carrier of jet lag and a double header into a triple header.
And it still makes it through.
Because it's a great track.
And there, yeah, exactly.
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Okay, we now have the next
set of head to heads
and this is where the top eight have got through.
Okay, okay, okay.
We have Brazil versus Zanvort.
Zanvort?
Not even a hesitation.
I don't like Brazil.
Can we just say Brazil was number one seed?
What?
Number one.
I think it's because it delivers a great grand prix
every other average store out of ten.
Is that because of the weather?
Maybe, and it just does deliver a really good race.
The average score out of ten was 9.39
from thousands of people.
It's just one of those tracks that...
I find it,
even though we just said Zanvort's
kind of like a go-kart track,
Brazil feels like that.
I think it's because these cars are so heavy now
and they lose so much downforce
in those speed corners.
It feels like you're turning a bus around a track.
It's just so lazy.
Why Interlagos creates such good...
Because on paper, I don't think it would really work,
but it just seems to.
I think in a lot of corners,
you can do different lines.
Like sector two, if one guy goes wide,
you go tight, tight, wide, tight, wide,
and you can offset your clean air.
So you can generally stay...
Is that turn one switch back kind of thing?
Exactly, you can find pockets of clean air
when you're battling in sector two
and you can...
It is gone.
Chow chow.
Next up, we have Canada versus Miami.
I bet you feel like...
He's even deciding which one.
I do like Canada.
Canada is a really cool track.
As a driver, it's really fun to...
When you get the balance over the curbs
and then you can gain that extra lap time
and there's like a technique
on how you hit the curbs.
The details make it really fun.
A really exciting track.
I think we agree as fans as well.
And Montreal is super cool.
Yeah, it's a very cool place.
Next up, we have the...
Bad toilets, sir.
Really bad toilets.
Maybe the worst toilet situation on it.
The worst?
Wow, 24th seat toilets.
Next up, we have Cota versus Saudi.
Cota versus Saudi.
Cota.
Austin.
Yeah.
A well-designed track.
I find it a little bit
awkward
in many ways.
I don't enjoy sector three that much,
but I appreciate what they've done
to make the racing good.
So that's fun.
Are they annoying for drivers,
those kind of slow, clumsy corners
but it's quite fun to watch on TV
when you can do the switch back.
What song is that when he goes
crisscross?
I don't know.
Chacha slide.
Yeah, it does feel a bit chacha slide
but we can deal with that.
Not every track's perfect.
Okay, Cota makes it through.
Next up, Spa versus China.
China.
Spa would win that one.
It turns out.
Keep it simple. Amazing track.
They do need to extend the DRS zone.
I'm surprised how bad you're overtaking
in Belgium because it has all the recipe
for a good racing track.
We've been having this conversation
of like it doesn't...
I think fans are kind of...
It will always get a bit of a free pass from the fans
because it's so exciting, the drivers love it.
We've had great races in the past
but definitely fans are starting to get a bit more like
come on Spa when you're going to actually deliver
this for us.
I think that, weirdly, that Chicanin in sector 3
if there's a different way
you could get into some clean air
would help because
every turn one is fine.
Like turn one,
you lose too much between
in the Chicanin and then you can never really
turn one, you kind of say the same
and then that's it.
But also nowadays the cars, everyone's become
so drag efficient.
We're running so much less downforce.
And we were in 2022 even.
And so this lipstream effect is getting
less and less.
And the DRS is less powerful.
Yeah, we need Spa to
get back to its former glory I think.
Next up we have
Silverstone vs Hungry.
Silverstone.
Okay, good.
The fans will like that as well.
It's the second seed is Silverstone.
What do you love about Silverstone?
Obviously a great track.
The biggest thing is
it's also really well done
for racing.
When I think about
different lines.
You need tracks that can offer you different lines.
As soon as it becomes single file
and you're stuck in the dirty air then it's game over.
That's why we always mention
every time we get the question of
what's the one track you would bring back
we say Sopang because that first kind of sector
where you swap was always an amazing track.
I think that would probably win this
World Cup tournament.
Next up we have
Suzuka vs Australia.
Ooh.
Some heavy hitters.
Now you've kind of persuaded me
into thinking more like big
picture rather than just driving.
Japan's my favourite track to drive on.
So
I would always, it has a soft spot
but it isn't that great for racing.
It's very narrow.
And I don't know
it's still, it's almost like
they're running to turn one.
When you do it, it's like that.
You've got to have
a lower drag to the other car
and it gets a bit tricky.
So I'm going to say Melbourne
weirdly. Okay.
Do you get disheartened
at a track like say like Suzuka
when you go into the weekend you're really excited
to drive there.
Then you get into a race that's almost
all-ring and you just don't behind the car.
Yeah, it can be like that.
That's a good example.
Let's say
I'm trying to think of examples
but sector one
in Austin vs sector
one in Suzuka
you would argue they're very similar and I think
they're designed, been designed around the same concept.
But in
Austin there's
a bigger chance to find pockets of clear air
because the first bit is already flat in a way
and then there's the way
you can do your different lines is quite
quite different whereas in Suzuka
it's way more single file
that it's a bit tighter
and the corners
are narrower so you end up
not being able to do the
chachasvahed.
It's just little things like that
make a big difference to the racing.
So if you were creating a sector you would make it wider.
I'd make it wider
but I'd also
I can't even think
there will be an answer to this
I just don't know it.
There are ways to create
with Canberra
and with
making it
not an obvious single line
so different cars
Exactly, you can do
you can have a track that
promotes either
cars that are
more V style or U style
and that's when you get
not one singular racing.
Lovely stuff, we now go to
Austria vs Singapore
Bad
Both bad.
That's interesting because again this is
clearly from a fan perspective
and it does surprise me actually
Austria was the third most popular track on the whole
Really?
I will conquer
No, conquer is agreed
You'll disagree
I don't know
I've never liked
Red Bull Ring
Fantastic plays
but
I don't know
and even then is racing that good?
I think we've been quite lucky
that for some reason Max and Lander
have made it good for the last few
and if it was before then it was Max and Charles
but in the midfield
it's not an easy track to follow either
Yeah, I guess you just have
like we've had like weird conditions
that we've had sometimes been mixed conditions
sometimes the track's been really hot
and it's caused upsets with Mercedes
and then obviously you have that really hard
on the brakes into turn to technically 3
which does promote some kind of chaos
That's fair enough
So is it the middle sector that's not really that fun?
I find it just
I mean middle sector
sector 3 is fine
I think other drivers like it more than I do, I just find it
there's too much thinking time
corner straight corner straight corner straight
there's not that much flow
So who is going through?
Austria or Singapore?
Okay, Singapore's gone
and then finally in this round we have
Monza vs Kata
Monza
I'm not surprised about that one
Monza's been much harder to follow than
than previous years
That's another weird one that you can't explain
to people that
on paper Monza should be the best
for overtaking, it's actually one of the worst
There's no wing on anyone's
There's no wing and
it's really interesting when we do our qualifying ones
now
if you look at the recent years
it's been often preferred now to run in clean air
which around Monza
do you remember like 2019
2020 when we used to be
playing quality games
and now it's gone totally the opposite
and you'll find people doing clean air
and it's funny how these generation of cars
is becoming even more powerful
as the cars become
more and more efficient dealing with
straight line speeds
Is it expected from 20.6 and beyond that we get more slipstream back?
I think it would be
I don't know but I see Formula E
and I think
that's become my peloton now
it won't be to that extreme
but how much more efficient would it be
to be in
maybe some racing, I like that
Fingers crossed
semi-finals aren't we
so first up
quarter-finals
right, Zandvoort vs Canada
I'm going to be selfish here
I still like Zandvoort more as a track
you can be as selfish as you want
and I am
next up, Kota vs Spa
ooh
Kota
Kota is just like a hybrid
track
they designed it to be a best
if Kota had no runoff
it would be like another level
those thin strips of gravel
that's been popping up here
a bit of that for track limits
poor sweepers
you're going to have Arnold Schwarzenegger
massive arm pump
by the end of the weekend
this comes with sweeping up
next is Silverstone vs Melbourne
Silverstone
Silverstone makes it through
and then it's Austria vs Monza
Monza
Monza makes it through
we're here to the final
no, semi-finals
there's four of them, can't be the final
here we go, Zandvoort vs Kota
Kota
loving Kota then
I know where this is going
is it a mix of the racing
and the fact that it's a fun
driver's track as well?
I think they have a nice hybrid
generally
the pit stops
can be one stop two stops
I can't remember what it was last year
and like you said
always a one now
Kota
Silverstone vs Monza
Silverstone
okay, so we have our final
it is the circuit of the Americas
vs Silverstone
Alex Albon
who is winning?
Silverstone
easy, not easy
Silverstone to me
you've got the weather
which is always unpredictable
it's still good racing
if you're four tenths slower
you can still overtake
that doesn't happen at most tracks
a pace deficit of at least
six, seven tenths at most tracks
and I mean some tracks are
one across five sections
the good thing about Silverstone is
there's so many circuits on the F1 calendar
like we've spoken about like
Suzuki and Spa and all these classics
but we're always complaining that it's so hard to overtake
whereas Silverstone for some reason it does just work still
we had it with Fernando
I overtook him in the last lap in Silverstone
and my pace advantage to him was around
three and a half, four tenths
perfect, that's what it is
still overtaking
that's the magic number
exactly, Hungary is around
I think it's around seven
no, it's over a second for a guaranteed one lap overtake
so you can't
there are big differences
you never get that delta really do you?
exactly, you won't, not with the midfield being so close now
Silverstone wins, thank you so much
Alex for joining us for this ranking
any of those
stand out to you because I guess you don't do this
in the beginning I was being totally selfish
and then in the middle of this
toilets in
distance to track from hotels
and then I kind of played the
I guess what the fans have been voting for
which is more of what's the complete package track
but I still would have
finished on the same
thank you so much Alex for coming on
and we'll see you very soon
bye
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About this episode
Alex Albon joins Matt and Tommy to rank every track on the 2025 F1 calendar in a World Cup-style tournament, focusing on driver enjoyment and racing quality. They discuss fan votes and personal experiences, debating tracks like Zandvoort, Miami, Silverstone, and Monza. Highlights include insights on track layouts, overtaking challenges, and even the quirks of paddock life like toilet facilities. The conversation blends technical analysis with candid driver perspectives, culminating in Silverstone being crowned the favorite for its unpredictable weather and overtaking opportunities.
Original notes
Join us for the first of two episodes with Williams F1 driver and official friend of the podcast, Alex Albon!
We've done something a little different today: it's a World Cup of F1 tracks, as Alex takes us through the circuits (and toilet facilities) he loves from across the F1 calendar. It's a fascinating insight into what F1 drivers really look for in a great track - but which circuit will finish on top?
Tickets to our Delusion Tour are running out! The P1 live show's coming to cities in the UK, Europe and North America later this year. Get your tickets here: tix.to/p1live
You can listen to an extended version of every race review this season over on our Patreon! You'll also access to every P1 episode ad-free, early access to tickets & merch, and access to our Discord server where you can chat with us and other F1 fans! Click here to sign up now: http://patreon.com/mattp1tommy
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