F1 confirms Mugello to join calendar with ‘Tuscany Ferrari 1000 Grand Prix’ in September

46 comments on “F1 confirms Mugello to join calendar with ‘Tuscany Ferrari 1000 Grand Prix’ in September”

1. 

   Trido (@)
   10th July 2020, 10:05

   It might not be the greatest race, we’ll see, but I am still thrilled that Mugello has been confirmed.
   1. 

      Chaitanya
      10th July 2020, 10:20

      Its going to be a snoozefest for F1 but for MotoGP its a proven thriller.
      1. 

         Guybrush Threepwood (@guybrushthreepwood)
         10th July 2020, 10:34

         No way. Mugello could be one of the greatest circuits for F1. It has everything – fast corners, and the all important long straight for passing.
      2. 

         black (@black)
         10th July 2020, 11:10

         How can someone just jump to an instant conclusion “it’s going to be a snoozefest for F1” when we never ever had a race there, is beyond me…
         1. 

            tony mansell
            10th July 2020, 11:27

            Proper old school track, be nice to see cars pushed to their limit and the lack of data might even mean we don’t know what will happen. Generally old school tracks work better than the stop start nature of the modern ones.
         2. 

            Chaitanya
            10th July 2020, 13:09

            F1 did test there couple of years back and almost all teams had termed it trash.
            1. 

               black (@black)
               10th July 2020, 13:23

               […] “Spectacular”, “Incredibly fast” and “Stunning” are just some of the reactions from the F1 drivers at the test. […] Mugello is an atypical circuit and only prepares them for Spa and to half of Silverstone.

               Mark Webber:

               It would be amazing to hold a Grand Prix here, but it’s too fast for a test; in the calendar there isn’t another track like it. Did 10 dry laps today around Mugello, which is the same as doing 1000 laps around Abu Dhabi track in terms of satisfaction.

               Daniel Ricciardo:

               Love driving the beast round here. Awesome high speed circuit.

               Does the word “trash” mean also something else that i’m not aware of, like “awesome” or “spectacular”…?
            2. 

               Chaitanya
               10th July 2020, 15:23

               waste of time and money, are you forgetting all complains of difficulty in following and with current regulations it’s going to get worse. Imola(if safety has been upgraded) then I remember it did have great races in early 2000s and would have been better option of two.
            3. 

               black (@black)
               10th July 2020, 21:44

               Chaitanya
               Waste of time?…not really, we’ll probably barely reach the 15-race threshold for this season, Mugello is available and at this point we’re scrapping the bottom of the barrel to find Grade-1 circuits to host races.

               Waste of money?…yeah back-to-back races in Italy are clearly more expensive than hosting a back-to-back between Monza and New Zealand i guess…

               As for the complains, please you are free to find some as have i. But seriously i find baffling the view “NO we don’t need any new races to the calendar to reach the necessary 15”. I don’t know if you noticed but there is a thing called ‘the pandemic’ that led to the cancellation of half our calendar with most countries in the world cancelling all sporting events for the foreseeable future. So if you don’t like Mugello for example please tell me what are the other many options we can choose from?
         3. 

            anon
            10th July 2020, 14:02

            The opinion of the drivers during the test they had a few years ago was that the track was great for hot lapping, but likely to be very processional in terms of racing due to how hard it was to follow another car.

            Furthermore, other car racing series have also reported a similar issue, as most corners have a narrow optimum line and going offline to try and pass in one corner tends to ruin your line through the next few corners.
            1. 

               black (@black)
               10th July 2020, 14:26

               That test took place in 2012. Since then we had 2,5 major regulations changes (2014, 2017, 2019) that affected the racing. And it was a test! Not even a “race” of some sort. And even if we had a test there just 1 month ago, it still doesn’t prove anything until we race there. Who knows, maybe a thunderstorm hits in quali the track and nobody will have any idea how to react in the race. No team has the current-spec Pirelli data.

               I’ve said again a while ago and i’ll say it again, it’s a unique track that no one has raced a F1 car here. But the most similar track on the current calendar i can think of is Hungaroring, not-wide, fast corners you can’t follow and a single straight where all of the overtaking happens. Mugello is similar but with 50% longer straight than Hunagroring. And Hungaroring although might have been boring in the past, it has given us some great races in the hybrid era, despite that all the factors that i mentioned above pointing otherwise.

               And at the end of the day i’d rather watch a triple boring race in spectacular Mugello, than a single mildly eventfull race in the ‘grey-grey-grey until your eye falls asleep’ Sochi.
            2. 

               anon
               10th July 2020, 18:00

               @black it feels like a lot of people are rushing to throw unconditional praise on Mugello based on nothing more than its aesthetic qualities right now, including yourself – to the point it feels like you have already decided that the race will be a success and seem to snap at those who suggest any sort of potential criticism against the venue.
            3. 

               black (@black)
               10th July 2020, 20:38

               anon
               At this point we don’t have many choices to choose from to fill up the calendar up to 15 (at least) races. So any circuit capable of hosting a race, no matter if it’s bad boring or whatever, is welcome.

               As far as it concerns Mugello, well just take a look at all the circuits that joined the calendar in the recent years. Korea, India, Sochi, a butchered Mexico City circuit, Paul Ricard and even Baku… Mugello is definitely a top-3 addition along with COTA and Austria both in terms of challenge for the drivers and the visual appeal. And it’s an one-off event, it’s not something permanent.
   2. 

      Kasim
      10th July 2020, 11:22

      Please see me comment below. What do you think?

      The struggle to keep up through fast corners (in this case the final corner) could be atleast helped by this idea..

      Unfortunate that they havent tried it before in 9 years…

      What do you think Keith?

      Maybe a stretch but could Dieter maybe suggest it to someone who may be able to make it happen? Unlikely I know but worth a try I suppose…
2. 

   MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
   10th July 2020, 10:08

   Will somebody please think of t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶h̶i̶l̶d̶r̶e̶n̶ Codemasters?
   1. 

      t1redmonkey (@t1redmonkey)
      10th July 2020, 10:21

      Mugello paid DLC incoming.
3. 

   Kribana (@krichelle)
   10th July 2020, 10:14

   The cars will be absolutely insane there in terms cornering speed. If codemasters can get this track in the game, it would feel satisfying to drive a lap there. It is great to have a new track, and a nice one as well. I have watched onboards from F1 in the past and Moto Gp, and the track looks fun to drive, and hopefully drivers will like driving the track.

   What about the track’s safety standards?
   1. 

      Matt (@hollidog)
      10th July 2020, 10:34

      FIA Grade 1 – no concern about safety
4. 

   Jan (@netm)
   10th July 2020, 10:15

   Happy to see Mugello, stupid name aside. But that Sochi is running as planned is awful.
   1. 

      Ki Chi (@kichi-leung)
      10th July 2020, 10:36

      It’s all about the money for Sochi.
   2. 

      black (@black)
      10th July 2020, 11:07

      Well it could be the very last race we have in Sochi before the Russian GP moves to Igora Drive…so at least we can enjoy our last Sunday afternoon nap :P
      1. 

         Jere (@jerejj)
         10th July 2020, 12:23

         @black If it moves, which is far from being a given.
5. 

   Ben (@)
   10th July 2020, 10:26

   What about an Argentina or Sweden?
   1. 

      Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
      10th July 2020, 10:45

      I think both countries don’t currently have an FIA Grade 1 circuit.
   2. 

      KaIIe (@kaiie)
      10th July 2020, 11:03

      Sweden? Apart from missing the necessary track(s), the country has not handled the Covid-19 crisis well.
      1. 

         emuload
         10th July 2020, 13:30

         Well, did Russia?
      2. 

         Postreader
         10th July 2020, 15:51

         To be fair, right now Sweden is below the UK in both daily deaths per capita and overall total deaths per capita. If there can be a race in Silverstone, so there could be a race in Sweden.
6. 

   Kasim
   10th July 2020, 11:15

   Considering the likely difficulty with overtaking I really do hope that the FiA refrain from adding a drs zone to the main stright and instead try what they have frankly been to lazy to try for too long..

   DRS zones on the short straights leading up to the main straight I think would be much better. It gives the chasing car a chance to keep up in the windy part if the track to hopefully better setup an attack along the main straight.

   I wouldnt even be against the entire track being a drs zone, (aside from the main straight of course) with two or three detection points through the lap

   But atleast a zone from turn 3 to turn 6, and then a zone from turn 9 to the final corner.

   Wishful thinking? :(

   Cmon FiA
7. 

   sam3110 (@sam3110)
   10th July 2020, 11:18

   I hope they also squeeze Portimao into the calender, it’s a great track with a lot of interesting corners and undulations
8. 

   d0senbrot (@d0senbrot)
   10th July 2020, 11:23

   In terms of wheel to wheel racing it is probably not the best track. I predict most overtakes will be DRS aided into T1. But I am already psyched for the onboards, espacially turns 6-9. Bring it on!
9. 

   Imre (@f1mre)
   10th July 2020, 11:38

   Does it mean only 1 race at Sochi? Hopefully.
   1. 

      Jere (@jerejj)
      10th July 2020, 12:24

      @f1mre The idea of holding two races there was already dropped earlier.
10. 

    AJ (@asleepatthewheel)
    10th July 2020, 12:01

    The song ‘Break ya neck’ by Busta Rhymes springs to mind…wonder why…
    1. 

       Kasim
       10th July 2020, 13:03

       Hahaha made me laugh.

       Break ya neck by busta rhymes
       Looking for that perfect lap time
       Mugello turns six to nine
       Oh so sublime
       High speed sewing thread the needle
       Turn in, apex, pin the throttle not for the feeble
       Racing roller coaster cant hold fear
       In the attempt to rise over 19 peers
       Tarmac ribbons over rolling hills
       A dream drive with all the thrills
       A best friend of downforce and a strong torso
       Grounds of the prancing rosso
       G-force delights
       With a sore neck all night
       1. 

          Bradders (@bradders)
          10th July 2020, 13:42

          This made my day :)
          1. 

             Kasim
             10th July 2020, 14:51

             My pleasure :)
11. 

    sato113 (@sato113)
    10th July 2020, 12:10

    and Portimao? Is that not going to happen?
    1. 

       Jere (@jerejj)
       10th July 2020, 12:25

       @sato113 No, that’s still on the table.
    2. 

       Srdjan Mandic (@srga91)
       10th July 2020, 13:27

       Today, before FP1, the commentators on Austrian TV mentioned it will most likely be part of a triple header after Sochi, together with Imola and Hockenheim towards the end of October.
12. 

    PhilEReid (@philereid)
    10th July 2020, 12:42

    I’ve been waiting for this for as long as I’ve followed F1, I’m so happy. I have no idea whether the race will be any good, but it’s one of my top 5 tracks on the planet. The qualifying around here is going to be spectacular. I can not wait to see the pole lap around here!
13. 

    bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
    10th July 2020, 12:59

    I think the positivity here is a clear indication of what fans want. Suzuka is probably as bad a Mugello for overtaking (we don’t know yet). But we never see people complain about Japan.

    It’s perhaps not the challenge of overtaking that we look for, it’s the challenge of the circuit itself, which tracks like Abu Dhabi, Bahrain fail to offer.

    Circuit of the America’s only criticism seems to be track limits, which is surely a regulation issue, not the circuit itself.
    1. 

       StefMeister (@stefmeister)
       10th July 2020, 13:31

       @bernasaurus I think Mugello will be much harder to overtake on compared to Suzuka because it doesn’t have any big braking zones or slow corners.

       At Suzuka you have decent braking zones into Turns 1/2, The hairpin, Spoon & the final chicane & you are able to stay fairly close to the car ahead into those potential passing zones because the corners beforehand are such that it is possible to stay somewhat close to the car ahead.

       At Mugello you don’t have any heavy braking zones or slow corners. The only realistic overtaking spot is down the straight & into T1. However the corner leading onto the straight is fairly fast & even lower categories find it hard to follow through it & then T1 is also relatively fast with a short braking zone so it’s not as good an overtaking spot as it may seem.

       It’s a great track to drive & it’s going to be fun watching the cars drive around but if it’s dry I don’t expect it to be that good in terms of racing in part because i’ve never seen a good race around the place involving cars.
    2. 

       Srdjan Mandic (@srga91)
       10th July 2020, 13:42

       It’s not quite like Suzuka though. Suzuka has the hairpin and the ‘Casio triangle’, where you can overtake.
       Mugello only has ‘San Donato’ (T1) as an overtaking oportunity and that’s only if you can stay close enough through the final corner. It’s like they build the track out of Spa’s second sector.

       Despite the fact it’s difficult to race on that track, I still love it. It’s fast, a proper ‘old-school’ track with graveltraps around it and has beautiful scenery with a lot of elevation change.
14. 

    StefMeister (@stefmeister)
    10th July 2020, 13:17

    Mugello is a great circuit to drive but I really don’t expect the racing to be especially good because there isn’t really anywhere to overtake. Yes there is a long straight but the corner onto it is fairly fast so staying close to the car ahead onto it will be difficult & turn 1 is also fairly fast with not much of a braking zone which won’t leave much room to overtake under braking.

    I’ve watched a lot of races at Mugello over the years & don’t think i’ve ever seen one involving cars that was especially good.
    1. 

       Kasim
       10th July 2020, 13:30

       See my comment above about drs zones for the coming Mugello race.. unlikely it will happen but I think it’s one of atl8east two ways that drs could be used much better in general.
15. 

    JackySteeg (@jackysteeg)
    10th July 2020, 17:04

    With its its combination of medium to high speed corners, and one proper straight, this looks like a good substitute for Suzuka. Considering this is followed up immediately by Sochi, this will be one to savour.

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