WARNING: You Won't Believe What Happened to These 10 F1 Circuits!

🏁 WARNING: You Won’t Believe What Happened to These 10 F1 Circuits! 🏁

Formula 1 is all about speed, innovation, and tradition—but what happens to the legendary race tracks when the engines go silent for good?

In this gripping countdown, we take you on a journey through ten once-iconic Formula 1 circuits that have vanished, transformed, or been forgotten over time. From overgrown straights and abandoned pit lanes to circuits swallowed by highways and shopping malls, this is a powerful look at the rise and fall of motorsport’s lost battlegrounds.

🌍 SPOILER ALERT: Featuring Forgotten F1 Circuits From (Don’t read if you want to be surprised!):

🔟 AVUS – Germany
A terrifyingly fast highway-circuit hybrid with a deadly banked curve nicknamed the “Wall of Death.” Once part of Berlin’s major road system, it was slowly consumed by safety concerns—and eventually, by the autobahn itself.

9️⃣ Nivelles-Baulers – Belgium
A modern track built to replace old Spa. Poor planning, unfinished extensions, and financial disaster doomed it. Today, a business park sits where Fittipaldi once raced.

8️⃣ Valencia Street Circuit – Spain
Launched as Spain’s Monaco, this high-budget harbor circuit fizzled fast. With dull racing and economic troubles, it became a symbol of wasted opportunity and broken dreams.

7️⃣ Aintree – United Kingdom
More famous for horses than horsepower, Aintree briefly hosted the British GP. Moss won his first race here, but the full circuit didn’t last. Parts now live on—used by TV cameras for the Grand National!

6️⃣ Riverside International Raceway – USA
A motorsport paradise in California, once home to F1, NASCAR, and sports cars. Demolished in 1989, and replaced… by a shopping mall. One of the saddest losses in American racing history.

5️⃣ Österreichring – Austria
A breathtaking, high-speed rollercoaster of a track, destroyed in the name of modern safety. Half of the original layout remains abandoned, while the Red Bull Ring thrives just next door.

4️⃣ Rouen-les-Essarts – France
A fast and fearsome street circuit with terrifying downhill corners. Left abandoned since 1993, it's now a haunting blend of crumbling tarmac and creeping nature.

3️⃣ Zandvoort – Netherlands
Still active—but only half of the original track survives. Once home to the deadly Hondenvlak and Bos In corners, now rebuilt and rebanked, Zandvoort remains a fan favorite despite years of change.

2️⃣ Reims-Gueux – France
A temple of speed frozen in time. Though racing stopped in the '70s, its grandstands and pit buildings still stand thanks to the dedication of motorsport fans who refused to let history vanish.

1️⃣ Hockenheimring – Germany
Once a terrifying forest bullet-train, now a compact modern layout. The controversial 2002 redesign turned this high-speed legend into a short, twisty shadow of its former self. But who’s to blame? The answer might surprise you.

🎥 Want more on Hockenheim’s transformation? Watch our in-depth documentary:
📌 The 2002 Hockenheimring Reconstruction Controversy: The Full Facts – Available now on this channel.

💬 Which of these circuits shocked you the most? Did you ever visit one before it was lost? Share your memories in the comments and help keep racing history alive!

From forgotten straights to crumbling corners, the stories of these circuits deserve to be remembered. This is Circuits of the Past—where racing history lives on. 🏁

Sources:
Footage by @CyberDriv3r @f1ingenerale @TheFannner @ClassicCOURSES @BobbyVegasGaming (all 5 under Creative Commons Licence)
Red Bull Media House
Herman Liesemeijer

Picture AVUS by Bundesarchiv
Pictures Valencia by Bjorn van den Brink
Pictures Zandvoort by Rob Petersen's Collection

Voiceover by Simon Smith @HigherPlainGames

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