Part 9

F1 26 Magny-Cours circuit guide with driving instructions for every corner, including the Adelaide hairpin and High School chicane.

The Magny-Cours circuit is characterized by long, sweeping straightaways and fairly quick corners. The Adelaide hairpin will almost definitely cause trouble, especially for aggressive drivers, and rivals the Turn 1 (La Source) hairpin at Spa-Francorchamps as the slowest corner in all of F1 racing. This is a very fun course to drive, but its layout can produce problems from the standpoint of hearing other cars: Three of its straightaways are almost exactly parallel to each other, sometimes making it difficult to determine where other cars are truly located around you as you try to anticipate where the next group of traffic that you will need to navigate is located. The circuit also has extremely wide areas along most of the main course to pull aside should your car have a major malfunction.

Pit Straight: Following the tight High School chicane, strong acceleration through the Pit Straight creates good passing chances through Great Curve and into Estoril. However, the tightness of the High School chicane and the incredibly close proximity of the Pit Lane barrier requires immense caution as you come onto the Pit Straight. The Start/Finish Line is about halfway down the Pit Straight; the Pit Lane rejoins the course from the left at this point.

Turn 1 (Great Curve): In accordance with its name, this is a wide left-hand corner which can be taken flat-out.

Turn 2 (Estoril): Depending on your set-up, either light or moderate braking will be needed for entering the VERY long right-hand 180-degree Estoril; in either case, you will almost certainly be tapping the brakes in Estoril. It is quite easy to roll the right-side tires off onto the grass, and it is just as easy to slip off on the grass on the outside of Estoril.

Straightaway (Golf): The Golf Straight if by far the longest of the course and includes several fades to the right.

Turn 3 (Adelaide): The right-hand Adelaide hairpin is EXTREMELY tight. The key here is to brake EARLY, as you will be downshifting from your top gear to your lowest gear rapidly; if you begin braking too late, you will be off in the grass. If you accelerate too soon out of Adelaide, you will be rolling through the kitty litter and losing valuable track position.

Straightaway: Acceleration out of Adelaide is important for passing other cars here. There are a few fades in the course here.

Turns 4 and 5 (Nurburgring): This is a right-left chicane which will require light braking. If using a high-downforce set-up, it is possible to fly through Nurburgring without braking by making use of the bright-green extension on the inside of Turn 5. However, if you remain on the bright-green extension for too long, you will be assigned a Stop-Go Penalty.

Turn 6 (180 Degrees): This is quite true - the official name of this corner is '180 Degrees' according to the official Web site of Magny-Cours. This is a wide left-hand hairpin nestled well within the Estoril hairpin. Running too wide here will put you out in the sand; running too close to the apex could put you up on the rumble strips and force you to lose control.

Straightaway: The third of the three parallel-running straightaways, this 'straightaway' has several fades before the Imola chicane.

Turns 7 and 8 (Imola): This right-left chicane should require light braking, except for cars with high-downforce set-ups and a flawless racing line. A short straightaway out of Imola sets up the Water Castle curve. There is not much CPU tolerance for running off the course here.

Turn 9 (Water Castle): Somewhere between a 'J' turn and a hairpin, this is an increasing-radius right-hand corner leading into the final straightaway of the circuit.

Turns 10 and 11 (High School): There is a false line of pavement to the right as you near the official chicane; this false pavement runs directly up to an immovable barrier. The official chicane requires light braking on entering, and allows for a VERY short burst of acceleration on exit. There is yet another bright-green extension on the inside of Turn 10, but taking this risks acquiring a Stop-Go Penalty. If you completely miss this chicane, you will both accumulate a Stop-Go Penalty and blast through the sand trap and break the front end on a barrier blocking direct access to Pit Lane.

Turn 12 (High School): On entry, the Pit Lane begins to the left. The official corner is a tight right-hand turn which requires moderate or even heavy braking; wheel lock is very much a possibility here. If you miss the corner, you will blast through the all-too-brief sand trap and ram directly against a barrier. If you roll up on the inside of the corner, the angle of the rumble strips to the pavement will almost certainly cause your car to spin.

Pit Entry: The Pit Lane begins to the left at the entry of Turn 12. The Pit Lane has its own right-left chicane.