F1 holds talks about hosting new street circuit in London

F1 are reportedly considering a street race through the heart of London. The sport hopes to host a race in its homeland as early as 2026.

Planners who have been in contact with F1 have unveiled fresh proposals for a London Grand Prix. The first race may take place as soon as 2026, according to these planners.

In an effort to bring the sport to the capital, consultants working on the redevelopment of East London’s Royal Docks have incorporated a 3.6-mile Montreal-style circuit into their plans.

The 22-corner course features lengthy straights and chicanes, with cars anticipated to travel at an average speed of 127mph alongside historical docks and the city airport.

Previous attempts to host a race in central London have largely failed due to the impracticality of closing busy streets and managing crowds in its centuries-old configuration.

A potential GP is part of a £250 million redevelopment plan for the Royal Docks. The plan includes doubling the width of the embankment and adding cycling lanes to the historic location.

The sport is headed to Sin City this year, with the 2023 Las Vegas GP already having sold the bulk of its tickets. It will be interesting to see whether F1 races through the heart of London city in the years to come.

F1 to try out new qualifying format this year

F1 is set to experiment with a new qualifying format during two race weekends in 2023. To minimize tire wastage, drivers will be given 11 slick tires instead of the previous allocation of 13.

The first testing of the system will occur at the Emilia Romagna GP, according to a recent announcement by the sport. Although the current qualifying system has been extremely successful since its introduction in 2006, the proposed change aims to reduce the wastage of tires.

The available tire compounds will be as follows: four soft, four medium, and three hard compound tires. During the qualifying rounds, drivers will only be permitted to use the hard tires in Q1, medium tires in Q2, and soft tires in Q3. Although the second location to test this new system is yet to be revealed.

It will be interesting to see if this new change will be a hit amongst drivers such as Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, and others in 2023.