Epic views from some of F1’s best seats (Part 1)

Circuit of the Americas – United States Grand Prix

The Turn 15 Grandstand is one of my favorite places to watch at COTA.

The cars appear out of Turn 11 before charging into the heavy braking zone at Turn 12, one of the circuit’s best overtaking spots. From there, you can follow them through the slow, twisting sequence of corners until they disappear beyond Turn 19. The lower speeds work in your favor, giving you a close look at the cars changing direction and fighting for position.

On my last visit, I watched Lando Norris and Max Verstappen battle through this section, with Verstappen holding on in the closing stages.

What stayed with me most was the depth of the view. Parts of the circuit stretch away into the distance, so the cars appear, vanish, then reappear somewhere else. It gives you a much clearer sense of how the race is unfolding.

Close racing in front of you and a long view beyond it. Not many grandstands give you both.

Red Bull Ring – Austrian Grand Prix

From the Red Bull Grandstands, you can see most of the opening sector at once.

Running alongside the straight after Turn 1, they look out over everything from the pit exit to the climb towards Turn 3. This part of the lap often produces some of the best battles of the weekend, and you can follow almost all of it without looking away.

The cars are rarely out of sight, so you can keep track of the race without relying too heavily on the big screens. The pit exit adds another layer, with drivers rejoining the circuit straight into the middle of the action after a stop.

Then there’s the setting. The circuit lies among the Styrian hills of southern Austria, with high ground rising around the track. It’s one of the rare grandstands where the racing and the scenery compete for your attention.

Monaco – Monaco Grand Prix

Monaco’s best view isn’t in a grandstand at all. It’s on the terraces of the Shangri-La and Ermanno Palace apartments, high above the circuit.

From here, you can see around 70% of the lap, including the grid, Sainte-Dévote, the pit exit, the climb towards Casino Square, the tunnel exit, the Nouvelle Chicane, the harbourfront and the Swimming Pool section.

Instead of seeing the cars for a few seconds at a time, you can follow them across different parts of the circuit and watch the gaps open and close. It gives you a much better feel for how the race is unfolding.

It feels like looking down on a giant Scalextric set. You don’t need to rely too heavily on the television screens because so much of the race is unfolding in front of you, against one of the most recognisable backdrops in Formula 1.

Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

The Marina Grandstand lies between Turns 8 and 9, facing the marina and the W Abu Dhabi hotel.

From here, you watch the cars charge towards the braking zone at Turn 9. You can then pick them up again through Turns 11 to 14 before they sweep through the final three corners and disappear beneath the hotel.

You won’t get wheel-to-wheel racing at every corner here. What you get is speed, long sightlines and one of Formula 1’s most distinctive settings, with the superyachts in the marina spread out in front of you.

As darkness falls, the illuminated hotel frames the final sector in a way that could only belong to Abu Dhabi.