The 7 original circuits of Formula 1

British Grand Prix, Silverstone

The very first F1 World Championship round took place here in the UK, at Northamptonshire’s Silverstone circuit. The former World War II airbase had first been used for a race three years earlier when a group of friends used the disused runways for an impromptu competition. A sheep strayed onto the runway and was killed by one of the competitors, and the race was dubbed in hindsight ‘the Mutton Grand Prix’.

In 1948, the RAC took a lease on the airfield and turned it into a more formal racing venue. The runways still formed the circuit, with haybales being used to indicate where the circuit went. It would be the following year before the perimeter road was used, and it was this format that was employed in 1950. 

The basic format remained the same until 1991, at which point it was transformed into a much faster circuit. Further changes came in the wake of the deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna at Monza in 1994 to reduce speeds and increase safety, and further changes occurred in 2010. 

That first Championship race in 1950 was won by Alfa Romeo driver Giuseppe Farina ahead of an audience that included King George VI.

Monaco Grand Prix, Circuit de Monaco

The Monaco Grand Prix is always sure to raise a debate among F1 fans. The romance and history of the street circuit competes with its inherent unsuitability to the task of hosting a modern Grand Prix. Nonetheless, in an era when venues like Spa-Francorchamps are under threat as F1 venues, Monaco appears to be here to stay.

The street circuit hosted its first motor race in 1929, the brainchild of Automobile Club de Monaco president Antony Noghès. Wartime aside, it has been in regular use ever since. Given the nature of the circuit being composed of public roads, it has remained relatively unchanged over the decades. Alterations have generally echoed changes to the public roads and the introduction of new buildings, while the startline has also moved on occasion.

In 2004, the pitlane was revised so that the pit buildings separate the pitlane from the circuit, making it the only circuit on the F1 calendar where the pits do not face the circuit. The development was prompted to make the building larger.

The first F1 Championship race in Monaco was won by Alfa Romeo’s Juan Manuel Fangio, while Ferrari made its Championship debut there. In 2024, Charles Leclerc became only the fourth local driver to win a race in Monaco, and the first to do so in an official F1 Championship race.

Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Constructed in 1909, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the world’s second purpose-built banked oval circuit after Brooklands. It was instigated by Carl Graham Fisher, who, inspired after helping friends race in France, initially saw its purpose as a proving ground for the fledgling automotive industry.

The venue’s most famous fixtures, the Indianapolis 500, dates to 1911 and, after tricky beginnings, it had a sound enough reputation to hold an F1 round in the first World Championship year. Johnnie Parsons won aboard his Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser when the race was brought to a premature end because of rain.

No regular F1 drivers entered the race, and the Indy 500 cars differed from F1 cars so its inclusion in the Championship was something of an anomaly that lasted until 1961. While the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is no longer a part of the World Championship calendar, it does remain almost unchanged since its construction more than a century ago, with two 0.6-mile straights, two 0.25-miles straights and four geometrically identical corners. In 2000, an infield circuit was also added to the venue.

Swiss Grand Prix, Circuit Bremgarten

Circuit Bremgarten is said to have no proper straights, instead comprising a series of high-speed corners; there were 13 turns in the 4.5-mile lap. It was built in 1931 for motorcycle racing and hosted its first event for four-wheelers three years later. 

That first race claimed the life of Hugh Hamilton. It was a notoriously dangerous circuit thanks to changing surfaces and poor lighting caused by trees lining the course. Nevertheless, it was there on the calendar for the 1950 F1 World Championship where Alfa Romeo’s dominance continued — Giuseppe Farina scored the win.

Racing at Bremgarten came to an end soon after that inaugural F1 meeting. Following the tragic events of 1955 Le Mans 24 Hours, Switzerland imposed a nationwide ban on spectator circuit racing. The next Swiss Grand Prix would take place in 1982, but it was held in Dijon, France. In 2015, the ban was lifted for electric racing cars and Switzerland hosted a Formula E race two years later.

Belgian Grand Prix, Spa-Francorchamps

The fifth round of the inaugural F1 World Championship took place on a circuit that remains active 2025, albeit in a form truncated from what the 1950s drivers would recognise. In its original guise, Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps included sections of public road (some of which is still driveable today) and measured 9.3 miles with 25 turns. Today’s 4.3-mile circuit totals 19 turns, including the spectacular Eau Rouge and Raidillon complex.

Spa-Francorchamps was due to stage its first race in 1921 but it was cancelled when only one driver entered. The first race took place a year later with the first Grand Prix being in 1925. It cemented its place as the fastest circuit in Europe and developed a fearsome reputation. The road stretches of the circuit were removed from the course in 1979, safety being the driving force behind the alteration.

Alfa Romeo’s whitewash of the 1950 F1 season continued in Belgium with Fangio guiding his car to victory. Farina, however, maintained his Championship lead.

French Grand Prix, Reims-Gueux

The Reims-Gueux road circuit opened in 1926 and was characterised by a long straight punctuated by abrupt tight corners and a hairpin. It was hard on cars, combining high speeds with very low-speed turns. Even so, developments to the circuit in its earliest days were expressly to make it faster still.

After racing resumed after World War II, Reims – as it was more commonly known – hosted F1 rounds in 1948 and ’49, so was an obvious contender when the World Championship began in 1950. The works Ferraris withdrew from that first race, leaving the Alfa Romeos to once again have things their own way. Fangio took his second consecutive victory.

In 1952, the circuit underwent the biggest change in its lifetime as it bypassed Gueux. F1 continued to visit until 1966, sportscars visited until 1969 and motorcycles raced at Reims until the circuit was closed for good in 1972.

The roadside pit buildings famously still exist, though, giving many a road-tripper in northern France an irresistible photo opportunity. You can still drive a lap, too, though some of it is now a dual carriageway.

Italian Grand Prix, Autodromo Nazionale di Monza

The final round of the first ever F1 World Championship was staged at a circuit that endures today: Monza. The construction was funded by the Milan Automobile Club and it opened in 1922. Monza is characterised by long straights and high-speed corners, and by modern F1 standard the run-off areas are relatively small. 

Tragedy struck in 1928 when Italy’s worst motor racing accident occurred. It claimed the life of driver Emilio Materassi and 27 spectators. Subsequent Grands Prix were restricted to the oval circuit before eventually returning to the main course. 

Refurbishment took place in 1938 and ’39, just before racing was suspended at the outbreak of World War II. Military use of the venue and a lack of maintenance meant refurbishment was required before racing could recommence in 1948. Monza has hosted F1 every year since 1950, barring 1980 when the circuit was undergoing maintenance.

For the closing round of 1950 Championship, any of the three Alfa Romeo drivers were in with a statistical chance of claiming the Title, but it was Farina who took the race win and became Formula 1’s first ever World Champion. An Alfa Romeo had won every race of the year — barring Indianapolis, which it didn’t enter.

Non-Championship rounds

Aside from the seven fixtures that counted towards the Championship, 1950 also saw no fewer than 17 non-Championship races, hosted in the UK, France, Spain, Italy and even the Isle of Man. They were so numerous that the events often clashed with each other. 

The Pau Grand Prix, for instance, attracted the likes of Juan Manuel Fangio, Louis Chiron and Alberto Ascari, but not a single British driver made the trip. The reason? They were at Goodwood for one of two non-Championship races held here in West Sussex throughout the season.

Not all the non-Championship events drew in Championship contenders, so they provided a chance for lesser-known drivers and privateers to shine. The final non-Championship F1 race was 1983’s Race of Champions at Brands Hatch. It’s a format that’s sadly unlikely to return, but it speaks to enduring elements of tradition in Formula 1 that so many original circuits are still used to test the world’s best drivers to this day.

The 2025 Festival of Speed takes place on 10^th-13^th July. Friday and Saturday tickets are now sold out, but Thursday and limited Sunday tickets are still available.

Images courtesy of Getty Images.