8 Circuits that should DEFINITELY be on the F1 calendar

Without doubt one of the world's most iconic racing venues and home to Australia's biggest motorsport event, Bathurst - or Mount Panorama Circuit to give it its full title - is also one of the most unforgiving. With the hilly terrain taking drivers up one side of he mountain and down the other - via a fast but walled shimmy through the Dipper in the middle - Bathurst has it all... including a vicious bite when you overstep the limit. The sheer peaks and troughs mean V8 Supercars are certainly better suited than F1 machines but you can get an idea of what it is like thanks to Jenson Button here... looks quite the thrill!

Admittedly, Laguna Seca's reputation is forged largely on the quality of just one corner... but what a corner it is! The Corkscrew is a mesmerising bend from which to watch cars and bikes. Climbing up to the circuit's summit, the track drops away to the left in a steep downhill bend before twisting quickly into a banked right-hander for its exit... it is the motorsport equivalent of a rollercoaster bend and one that would test the physics of any F1 car but it would at least look spectacular doing so.

The F1 circuit that never was, Autopolis was built in 1991 and intended to host a round of the world championship in 1993 before running into financial difficulties and closing its doors altogether soon after. The ambitious vision of entrepreneur Tomonori Tsurumaki, who wanted to create a motor racing resort with F1 as the jewel in its otherwise flawed crown, Autopolis' premise might have been wild but the circuit itself was in fact a rough diamond. Fast, sweeping and undulating, Autopolis demonstrates traits of Suzuka and Fuji in its layout, which came as a welcome surprise to competitors when it was bought, updated and reopened by new owners Kawasaki in 2005. Check out the video to see just how much of a handful it can be!

Whilst it would take some stretch of the imagination for many of these listed circuits to host F1 in their current guise, the Algarve International Circuit - better known as Portimao - is both race ready and much-revered. Opened in 2008, Portimao was primarily intended as a motorcycle racing circuit and regularly hosts world championship events, but it is also become a popular jaunt amongst the four-wheel fraternity. Likened to a more challenging version of the Circuit de Catalunya, Portimao adds in dramatic crests and drops to heighten the thrill for riders and drivers. Furthermore, Portimao's long, fast right-hander leading onto a huge home straight - which bears similarities to the famous last corner on Portugal's only F1 race track in Estoril - has been hailed as one of the world's most exhilarating.

Is this the most spectacularly beautiful setting for a racing circuit anywhere in the world? A long, wending circuit traversing a water reservoir in the hills of San Luis, the Portrero de los Funes in Argentina appears to be something lifted straight from GranTurismo. Surrounded by soaring volcanic mountains stretching as far as the eye can see, the circuit was originally built in the 1980s but used just once before a much welcomed revival in 2008 for international GT racing and domestic touring cars, where it was hailed for its challenging pseudo-street layout, fast corners and - of course - 'that' scenery. Make sure you watch the video to imagine how incredible F1 would look and sound against that landscape...

Of the United Kingdom's four most utilised circuits - alongside Silverstone, Brands Hatch and Donington Park -, Oulton Park is the only one not to have hosted an F1 race. Granted it is unlikely you will ever see an F1 car plunge into Cascades, climb Clay Hill or squirm under braking into Old Hall... but you can bet the driver will loved every single moment of attempting it! Perhaps Thruxton instead...

The Mugello Circuit could - in theory - host a round of the F1 World Championship next week if it wanted to. It's one of an exclusive list of circuits with the FIA Grade 1 listing needed to host grand prix standard events despite having never done so. Of course Mugello remains one of Italy's most iconic venues as host of the annual Italian MotoGP event headlined by a certain Valentino Rossi. Famous for its long, slightly kinked home straight, Mugello's winding, sweeping bends might leave the overtaking to DRS, but the cars will never look like anything but on the edge.

It has given us 3 F1 world champions but remarkably Finland has never hosted a grand prix. Perhaps more to the point, it hasn't had a circuit capable of doing so... until now potentially. Currently under construction, though the Kymi Ring - no relation to a certain Kimi Raikkonen - can only truly prove itself once the first wheels are turned, is it not about time we saw Finns competing on home soil?