The Turns that Dreams are Made of: Hamilton's fantasy track
Everybody's got their fantasy, but few ever get to live it out. For many of us, it might very well be taking the Formula One world title. That was Lewis Hamilton's dream, and he achieved it this year becoming the youngest F1 champion in history. A huge achievement, but a bubble burst. So Lewis needs a new dream, one that's almost sure to remain purely fantastic. And since he's mastered the crop of grand prix circuits on the calendar, you can guess what his fantasy might be: the ideal race track. And that's just what he's dreamed up.
Like some deranged G.I. Joe villain, Lewis' composite "super lap" takes bits and pieces from some of the world's most fearsome tracks and puts them in succession to make for the ultimate race track. Not surprising for a speed freak like young Lewis, most of the corners are fast and pile on the Gs. The turns are culled from Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps, the Monte Carlo street circuit in Monaco, Brazil's Interlagos, the Magny Cours circuit that used to host the French Grand Prix, England's own dilapidated Silverstone, and even two from Suzuka in Japan where Lewis has yet to race. What, no corkscrew from Laguna Seca? No hairpin from Montreal's Gilles Villeneuve circuit? No Carousel from the Nordschleife? Rookie.
[Source: Sky Sports, painting by Rob Ijbema - Car-A-Day.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Proud Japanese 8:54AM (12/03/2008)
While Lewis has yet to race Suzuka in a F1 car, I am pretty sure he's raced it in lower formulae.
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Mark 9:24AM (12/03/2008)
you are correct sir, he would've raced it in GP2 (which, incidently, is much more exciting to watch than F1)
Franz 10:03AM (12/03/2008)
Yeah, he has said that Suzuka is one of his favorite circuits. I wouldn't have expected him to favor the corkscrew or carousel since he's never raced at Laguna Seca or the Nordschleife.
Will 9:29AM (12/03/2008)
Hey Noah, "rookie" is spelled n-0-0-b on the interwebnets.
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AndreK 11:23AM (12/03/2008)
I hope he gets Turn 1 from Interlagos.
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Phil 3:23PM (12/03/2008)
There was a feature in F1Racing magazine, back in '03 or '04, when Hernan Tilke put together a 'super circuit' with 20-odd corners that he rated the best - you'll be pleased to know that included Laguna's 'screw.
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