Back to my perusing of glorious old racing magazines, I have been loving the 1950s and 60s “Road & Track” race reports from around the world. Rather child like I love the pages of race results, with the circuit diagrams beside them. There is just something so cool about the shapes of racing circuits paper.
Today a circuit diagram is still presented in a race report and very often they appear for proposed new venues, like the recent talk of a Miami GP.

The only trouble is that so often modern circuits do live up to expectations! “Tilk Dromes” I think they call them! They just become squiggles on a piece of paper. Bahrain looks great on paper and so does Barcelona but in real life, are they really that exciting. On the other hand a circuit like the the Nordscheifer with the most squiggles of all, certainly lives up to expectation. But I can’t see a Grand Prix ever going back there!
So what I have decided to do, is invite you all into my fantasy, where there is no health and safety, no political correctness and no limits. Let’s have a fantasy Formula 1 Callander for 2019!
We can start off with a replacement for Australia, Malaysia, China GPS before flying back to Europe for Spain and a European GP before moving onto the rest of the season later on. And I am going to give you may first five

1:The Australian Grand Prix: Bathurst looks good but I think Adelaide should return. I never been to Australia but was gutted when it moved from Adelaide because I think I would have gone there. It’s the old colonial buildings in the background that caught my eye, from the TV pictures they looked amazing. There were so many exciting moments like Nigel Mansell’s tyre blowout in 1987, Senna in the wet 1993 and what about Schumacher and Hill in 1994! Sadly I for one as a TV viewer do not find Albert Park that interesting so it’s back to Adelaide for me.

2:Malaysia: Here’s a shock I would keep it! It is one of the few races where it regularly rains, which is always good for great races. I still fancy a trip there to see the sights and sounds of what looks to be a great country. But most of all I do love a good Prawn in batter!

3:China: Lets go to Macau! What a circuit this would be for F1. It used to be the highlight of the Formula 3 season with the likes of Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher all staring on the streets of this colonial outpost. If the Motorcycle road racers can risk it today so can our new breed of Grand Prix drivers! No room for error with not only guard rails but rocky out crops to avoid! I bet Stirling Moss would go back in the blink of an eye!

4:Spain: Montjuïc! Another street circuit but what a beautiful place. Can there be a much more dramatic setting for a Grand Prix? And I for one would travel there at the drop of a hat. Approach by road and settle into the Spanish life for a few days spectating, eating and drinking. My Tapas and San Miguel dream circuit.

5:European Grand Prix: Imola, Imola, Imola! I just want to go back to Tossa corner and experience the joy of the northern Italian Ferrari fans. And to again be able to stroll straight from the circuit over the river and into the old town. With it’s narrow streets and plazas it’s the perfect retreat after the racing. Absolute bliss! I would again drive there and take in the Italian Mountains and Lakes, a diversion to Maranello nearby, before arriving early in the week at Imola to enjoy the build up to the festival of Ferrari. To sit in the sun drinking Moretti making new friends from all of Europe. The San Marino European GP Imola holds wonderful memories for me and should still be on any Calendar.

Come on tell me I am wrong! Where would you go?