Formula 1 Circuits Repository

I am an immense F1™ fan and a long-time follower of the sport. I love watching race events, reading the news, and learning as much as possible about the involved advanced technology.

Furthermore, I have wanted to bring more sports-related data into the visualization and mapping worlds for a very long time. The only problem I had is to figure out what and how.

Eventually, while doing some unrelated data research for the visualization I was working on, I realized that I could not find racing tracks in vector or geodata format anywhere. The lack of available data triggered an idea, resulting in the new mapping project - Formula 1™ circuits repository.

The Data

All the magic is happening in QGIS, where I spend the most time digitizing, editing, and preparing all F1™ circuits, and then exporting them into GeoJSON files. I use the Mapbox Satellite layer to digitize the track outlines. It has excellent cloudless coverage and was invaluable as the initial data source.

Each track is then saved in a separate GeoJSON. I also export a single merged file with all Formula 1™ circuit tracks data into one GeoJSON file. Additionally, I am extracting the centroid points of each F1™ circuit in GeoJSON format too.

3D Data

To expand the pure 2D data, I started collecting elevation data. However, it turned out that finding and adding altitude data was the most challenging part of the project.

I mainly collected the 3D data from the offical Formula 1™ “Highs and lows - which F1 track has the most elevation changes?” article and referenced the attitude to the start/finish point. As no more accurate data were available for other tracks, I have to rely on the circuit’s official websites and plow through wiki pages to fill the gaps.

F1™ Circuits Repository

Currently, the repository holds the most popular F1™ locations, plus all circuits from the 2020 and 2021 season. Next, I plan to slowly add tracks from the upcoming season and then follow with the rest of the circuits that have historically hosted a Formula 1™ Grand Prix.

If you find the F1™ repository project interesting, give it a star and follow the progress. You are also more than welcome to join me in the effort by creating a pull request.

Disclaimer

This repository is unofficial and is not associated in any way with the Formula 1 companies. F1, FORMULA ONE, FORMULA 1, FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, GRAND PRIX, and related marks are trademarks of Formula One Licensing B.V.

Formula 1™ circuits data are not official, and they are not approved nor endorsed by Formula One Licensing B.V.