Former F1 World Champion Mika Hakkinen has praised the 'brilliant' addition of more street circuits to the sport's calendar. When the Finn drove in F1 from 1991 to 2001, the only streetcircuits to feature regularly throughout those 11 years were Monaco, Australiaand Canada, all of which remain to this day. However, the number of Grands Prix staged on public roads hasincreased in recent years, with F1 seeing the additions of Jeddah and Miami inthe past two seasons. 2023 will also see the much-anticipated addition of a race in LasVegas, meaning eight of the season's 23 races will be on street circuits, ratherthan purpose-built facilities. Some observers have bemoaned downtown events squeezing moreestablished circuits off the calendar, including reigning World Champion MaxVerstappen, who said the characteristics of modern F1 cars are not ideallysuited to racing on public roads. However, Hakkinen chose instead to focus on the positive aspectsof races being staged in downtown areas. "We know the cities can offer so many attractions for fans," Hakkinen told Top Gear . "You have restaurants, you have shopping malls, you havebeautiful hotels. People can look at the race from their balcony. "And if people can stay in a boat, it's a luxury. Formula 1 isFormula 1, it's a luxury business, and people can enjoy incredible atmosphere.So to have races in the cities, I think it's brilliant." "It givesmore challenges for the teams and the drivers. But you know, drivers are paidto take these challenges and bring a great show for the fans."
Getting the balance right
Hakkinen cautioned, however, that a balance would need to be struck to ensure a healthy mix of street tracks and purpose-built facilities on the F1 calendar. "Every race cannot be a city, and every race cannot be out of the cities. So it has to be a balance," said Hakkinen. "And it's common sense: we know that street circuits require compromises, you cannot move big buildings, you cannot have huge hills and camber changes in the corners. You have to have compromises. "Life is the same thing. We cannot have everything that we want."
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