Suzuka International Racing Course

Suzuka is the only circuit in Formula 1 laid out as a figure of eight, with the back straight crossing over the first sector on a bridge. Designed by Dutch engineer John Hugenholtz in 1962 as a Honda test track, it has changed remarkably little, and it remains the lap most drivers cite alongside Spa as the sport's greatest.

The opening sequence sets it apart. The Esses — turns three through seven — are a series of rapid, rhythmic direction changes taken uphill at high speed, where a mistake in the first corner compounds through every one that follows. Degner, the hairpin and the long right of Spoon follow, and then the circuit's defining corner: 130R, a left-hander taken flat out at over 300 km/h.

Because the figure-of-eight layout means the car turns left and right in almost equal measure, tyre wear is unusually even, and setup compromises here are different from anywhere else. Suzuka has also settled an unusual number of championships, including four consecutive titles from 1987 to 1990.