Toward a DC street circuit
OK, more of a Washington circuit, misnamed DC for convenience
Intro
Seems everywhere wants in on F1 today. Here’s a concept for DC joining the club:
- I grew up around DC. I like DC. I like picturing DC beating other cities at things.
- DC could deliver an on-track F1 product excelling recent street and recent circuits.
- Here, I consider design constraints, walk through a lap, and explore layout options.
Interested? Follow along. This won’t be stupider than any other offseason content out there.
Constraints
Overview
A fixed cityscape imposes some practical constraints on planners of a new street circuit:
- A garage and pit lane must go in some space available for redevelopment.
- Wide streets must be used as found since removing kerbs and medians is impractical.
- Race aesthetics must be considered to give drivers and fans reason to participate.
And the above must all characterize a complete 4 to 7 km loop of streets. Does DC have it?
Garage
This concept’s keystone is today’s FBI headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue.
- Crucially, the FBI has long sought to leave this building for a new, larger HQ elsewhere.
- This will open 160+ meters of frontage on Washington’s widest avenue for redevelopment.
- The sidewalk alone could fit (optimally temporary) garage bays for ten teams.1
Nine-lane Pennsylvania Ave. NW can practically2 be divided into a main straight and pit lane.
Wide streets
Grade 1 tracks are 12+ meters wide – a worthwhile but difficult target for street circuits.
- Modifying kerbs apparently isn’t done – carriageways four lanes wide must be found.
- Here, no more than lifting stoplights off the extra-wide grid area would be required.
- Meanwhile, Monaco, Singapore, Baku, and Jeddah all use at least some narrower streets.3
This DC concept throws down a challenge for the world to build truly first-class street circuits.
Race aesthetics
Finally, the federal city centers on a federal neighborhood ready to make racing look good.
- Irregularities in the famous street grid converge here to give drivers varied tests.
- Iconic sights such as the Capitol, Washington Monument, and more surround the course.
- Open spaces for temporary stands and cross streets for runoff areas are plenteous.
This concept would situate great driving in a setting more compelling than some parking lot.
Discussion
The streets of Washington, DC check the main boxes for an F1 host’s principal facility.
- The federal neighborhood promises quality race aesthetics along wide streets.
- A garage and pit lane can go in as soon as the FBI departs its Pennsylvania Avenue HQ.
- Off-track needs beyond this post’s scope (logistics, etc.) can also likely be met in DC.
With the key constraints satisfied, let’s consider what optimization might look like.
A lap
Overview
The 6.00 km clockwise layout takes a full 26 turns through the federal city’s core.
- Sector 1: Archives to Arena follows Pennsylvania Ave. west and E and F St. NW back east.
- Sector 2: Arena to Garden rides Pennsylvania east to paired circles at the Capitol.
- Sector 3: Garden to Archives brings it back home across the National Mall.
Total elevation change is undetermined but modest, peaking between sectors 1 and 2.
Sector 1: Archives to Arena
The course opens mostly flat out amid commerce and entertainment.
- A long main straight up Pennsylvania ends in dual right handers at Freedom Plaza.
- A second DRS zone down eastbound E St. NW prioritizes driving tactics.
- A built-in chicane occurs where F St. is not straight across 7th at Capital One Arena.4
The plaza and both sides of a Navy Memorial finish line should admit grandstands.
Sector 2: Arena to Garden
Twin pins on the Capitol grounds are a centerpiece to build a course around.
- Cars wind downhill from the arena among federal and District judicial buildings.
- Then it’s four lanes wide, side by side on Pennsylvania Avenue! Baku done better!
- Next are successive tight hairpins in the historic Capitol dome’s shadow!
A new American race should be during Congress’s autumn recess, easing security matters.
Sector 3: Garden to Archives
After business and government comes the circuit’s culture and tourism sector.
- The beloved Smithsonian museums line Independence and Constitution Avenues.
- Both sides of 7th St. across the National Mall could hold large grandstands.5
- A tight left from Constitution onto the main straight slows traffic for DRS detection.
The 7th St. stands can pair with a speed trap or alternate DRS zone.
Discussion
The loop traversed above has the marks of a great Grand Prix venue.
- There are flat out runs including a 1 km main straight to showcase cars’ pure speed.
- There are plentiful and varied corners to test drivers’ skills and facilitate overtaking.
- There are sights and sightlines along nearly every segment besides maybe E St. NW.
DC can present championship-caliber action in a setting representative of the capital city.
Options
Overview
Wide streets around this neighborhood open up some alternative alignments as well.
- Sector 3 short and sector 1 long allow a range of lap lengths to choose from.
- Sector 2 tunnel and sector 1 long incorporate extra sights including the White House.
- Sector 3 short opens up more of Washington for business during the F1 weekend.
These examples are in addition to numerous one-block tweaks available in all three sectors.
Sector 3 short
The course could be reduced to 5 km by turning back north nearer to the Capitol.
- Crossing the Mall via 3rd Ave., not 7th, would skip Independence and Constitution Aves.
- This would shift the side-by-side section and take out the circuit’s sharpest left turn.
- This would force closure of fewer Smithsonian facilities during race weekend.
Though the 6 km version seems like better driving, this variant might simplify logistics.
Sector 2 tunnel
Hey, know what’s cool? Tunnels are cool. Care to go through a building?
- The Labor Department building straddles four-lane 3rd St. NW between C and D Sts.
- The circuit could remain on F St. from 6th past the Pension Building to a right on 3rd.
- Then it’s downhill under concrete to a left and sharp right onto Pennsylvania.
While the base sector 2 above looks more technical, this version could be exciting.
Sector 1 long
Even the White House is in play via 16th St. NW on a Spa-length version.
- This would mean removing bollards (less trouble than kerbs) from the 800 block of 16th.
- At Freedom Park, cars would remain northbound on 14th Ave. NW to a left on H St.
- Then, departing the north portico, they’d traverse Black Lives Matter Plaza.
This seems to sacrifice more than it adds in race aesthetics, but it’s not out of the question.
Discussion
The layout options described here largely complement one another.
- Sector 1 long extends the course well past 7 km unless sector 3 short is used.
- Sector 3 short may run too far beside the main straight without use of sector 2 tunnel.
- Sector 2 tunnel also adds a mirror of the sharp corner that sector 3 short omits.
Ultimately sector 2 tunnel looks the most useful and sector 1 long least.
Coda
Does this idea matter? No. Does it matter that it doesn’t matter? Also no.
- Formula 1 isn’t coming to DC, no matter how it beats (say) Florida6 as a host.
- Any race DC did get would surely go on a new track at a redeveloped RFK Stadium site!
- I’ve railed elsewhere against sports arms races such as the race to host F1.
But this blog is where I put sticky ideas for the sake of moving past them, so here you go.
Each team’s garage space at e.g. Paul Ricard is 16 m wide (satellite view).↩︎
A standard 15 m-wide grid, 12-m pit road, and barrier would just exceed available space.↩︎
The pending Las Vegas circuit should fail as well, unless Strip traffic is reconfigured.↩︎
Hey, you think Leonsis would be down to chip in a few bucks for a track by his barn?↩︎
One side might be naturally preferable in the afternoon sun.↩︎
Human rights failures! Hurricanes in the western sesason! Parking lot racing!↩︎