Silverstone, Spa and Suzuka all star in “The Greatest Track on Earth”

• Sky Sports polled sports fans on their dream Formula 1® track and ultimate driver ahead of the 2024 season

• With fans voting in their thousands to have their say, AI has brought to life their favourite straights, corners and chicanes

• Lewis Hamilton (28%) was picked to be in the driver’s seat to manoeuvre all the twists and turns of the track

• The Greatest Track features the legendary Parabolica from Monza as well as epic landmarks like the iconic Suzuka ferris wheel in Japan

• To celebrate the start of the 2024 Formula 1® season, Sky Sports polled over 4,000 fans on their favourite straights, turns and landmarks from iconic racing locations around the globe to create the ultimate F1® track.

Ahead of the season opener in Bahrain on Sunday (2 March) exclusively live on Sky Sports and streaming service NOW, cutting-edge AI technology has brought the track to life which features sections associated with some of the most memorable moments in F1® history, from the Swimming Pool chicane and Grand Hotel hairpin turn in Monaco, to the Senna ‘S’ at Interlagos in Brazil.

With Lewis Hamilton set to depart Mercedes for Ferrari after this season, fans selected the joint-record holding seven-time World Champion, as the ultimate driver in his 2015-2020 Mercedes, a car that won five consecutive titles, to navigate the challenging circuit.

Racing fans also voted on the famous landmarks they would like to feature around The Greatest Track, with the Observation Tower at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin (48%) and the instantly recognisable Suzuka ferris wheel in Japan (48%) topping the poll.

Sky Sports’ electrifying track gives fans the opportunity to experience the spectacle of Formula 1® like never before, with the circuit winding its way through the narrow castle section in Baku (Azerbaijan), as Mount Fuji and torii (Japan) are pictured towering in the distance.

Designed using the most popular fan selections, the track comprises of 10 different circuits that encapsulate the global nature of the sport, with the legendary Eau Rouge of Spa, in Belgium and the uphill climb of Circuit of the Americas’ first straight forming part of the dream track. And, as AI clearly has a sense of humour, Silverstone is displayed in the pouring rain, but with the revered RAF Red Arrows flying overhead to bring some colour to a typical dreary British summer day.

As Lewis Hamilton will no doubt soon experience, the Tifosi bring the passion, so it comes as no surprise Italian fans (39%) were in pole position when people were asked about which nation would bring the most noise and colour to The Greatest Track, with Brits (28%) coming second and the Dutch (11%) ranking high in third.

Speaking about the track, F1® World Champion and current Sky Sports analyst, Jenson Button said: “The best things about Formula 1 are the passionate fans, the variety of circuits across the globe and the demands each one brings, so for Sky Sports to have used AI to design the ultimate track really does get the imagination racing.

“I would have loved the opportunity to compete on this track as it combines many of the things that make F1 the most unique sport in the world – the glamour of Monaco, the speed of Monza and not forgetting the unpredictable weather of Spa!”

The 6km track combines real-world imagery and, with the help of AI creative platform Midjourney, more fantastical and computer enhanced elements. As well as the hyper realistic images, Sky Sports has created a spectacular drive-through video, with the footage following a Formula 1® car navigating the track alongside the voice of F1® in David Croft.

The Greatest Track is set to get engines revving ahead of the new season, with the full track comprising the following elements:

• Straight into turn 1 – Circuit of the Americas, United States
• Parabolica – Monza, Italy
• Acque Minerali – Imola, Italy
• Swimming Pool – Monaco
• Grand Hotel Hairpin – Monaco
• Eau Rouge into Raidillon – Spa, Belgium
• Kemmel Straight – Spa, Belgium
• Castle Section – Baku City Circuit, Azerbaijan
• Maggots, Becketts, Chapel Curve – Silverstone, United Kingdom
• Esses – Suzuka, Japan
• Brabham, Jones – Melbourne, Australia
• The Senna ‘S’ – Interlagos, Brazil
• T14 to finish line – Interlagos, Brazil

Sky Sports is the home of F1® in the UK & Ireland as it brings fans 24 action-packed races from across the most glamorous and iconic destinations around the world. The first F1® race weekend of the 2024 season is live and exclusive on Sky Sports F1® & NOW from Thursday, 29th February.

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