In upstate New York in a town with a population of just under 1,900, there sits a racetrack and fast and flowing track with 11 corners sitting at 3.377 miles. Watkins Glen International is a racetrack that used to host the likes of Formula One, Trans-Am, Can-Am, Nascar, and The IndyCar Series. It is no longer able to host any racing events sanctioned by the FIA due to the fact that it is only a grade 2 circuit under the safety regulations the FIA requires for its circuits. In my opinion, this is a travesty Watkins Glen International is a classic racetrack that always has tremendous racing. In 2022 alone the races that were hosted at Watkins Glen International were some of the best races for those respective series. Nascar had a screamer of a race with 39 drivers taking the green flag to start a 90-lap race on a wet track with changing conditions with Kyle Larson taking the checkered flag with a move on the restart to get past AJ Allmendinger with only 5 laps to go. This was one of the best races of the season in my opinion and the same goes for the IMSA Sportscar Championships 6 hours of The Glen the flowing nature of the circuit with high speed and some high braking zones leads to a lot of really great overtakes.
Now imagine watching modern Formula One and IndyCars go ripping through Watkins Glen International at speeds that have never been seen at this circuit. Of course, with this increase in speed, there have to be changes made to the circuit itself that will make it safer in the eyes of the FIA. The FIA has requirements for Formula One and the junior Formula series (Formula 2,3 or 4) the FIA requires circuits to be what they consider “Grade One”. For starters, there is no actual checklist…the grade one certification can be quite subjective track layout normally does not change much since the FIA does not have the power to change tracks only to suggest changes for better racing but this normally does not affect the inspection. However, there are parts that are required for driver safety this consists of things like a minimum track width of 12m with an increase to a minimum of 15m for the starting grid. Another section that has requirements is the idea of runoffs and protections. The FIA has to deem that there is an adequate amount of safety runoffs and that the barriers are up to what they consider to be safe.
I personally do not see a reason why the Glen cannot adhere to these requirements and on top of this, the FIA cannot ignore the fact that Watkins Glen International is an iconic racetrack and one that will lead to some amazing races.
For IndyCar on the other hand I never really understood why they do not race at Watkins Glen. They race at all different types of circuits ovals, road courses, and street circuits they race on all of them. They however do not actively race at Watkins Glen which I think they should.
I think it’s time for Formula One and IndyCar to Go Bowling.