GridpediaDetroit Street Circuit
- Location
- Detroit, USA
- Races held
- 7 (1982 to 1988)
- Most wins, drivers
- Ayrton Senna (3), Michele Alboreto (1), Nelson Piquet (1), Keke Rosberg (1), John Watson (1)
- Most wins, teams
- McLaren (2), Team Lotus (2), Williams (1), Tyrrell (1), Brabham (1)
- Most poles
- Ayrton Senna (3), Nigel Mansell (1), Alain Prost (1), Nelson Piquet (1), René Arnoux (1)
- Fastest race lap
- 1:40.464, Ayrton Senna, 1987 (race laps since 1982; layouts change over time)
- Map
- OpenStreetMap
What is a lap of Detroit Street Circuit like?
A temporary street circuit in downtown Detroit around the Renaissance Center and Cobo Arena, including part of Woodward Avenue; its narrow concrete-walled streets had tight 90-degree corners, a railroad track crossing and a tunnel next to the river that enclosed a gentle right-hand bend. It was regarded as the hardest race of the 1980s on car and driver: drivers braked hard more than 20 times and changed gear 50 to 60 times a lap on a bumpy surface that broke up in the heat, and at least half the field retired in every race. The 1982 layout (4.168 km) had a tight hairpin on Jefferson Avenue that drivers disliked; for 1983 it was bypassed with a faster corner and the lap became 4.023 km, the layout used until 1988, on which Ayrton Senna won three races in a row (1986-1988). Formula 1 left after 1988 when FISA ruled the temporary pit area below World Championship standard; CART raced on the same streets in 1989-1991 without the chicane before the pits, and IndyCar returned downtown in 2023 on a new, shorter layout that reuses only two of the old circuit's corners.
- Lap length
- 4.023 km
- Direction
- anticlockwise
- Layout described
- Downtown Detroit street circuit around the Renaissance Center as revised for 1983 (the Jefferson Avenue hairpin bypassed), 4.023 km, used by Formula 1 from 1983 to 1988
| Order | Name | Side | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Left | hairpin |
Sources for the checked facts (8)
- formula1.com/en/results/1988/races/532/detroit/race-result
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Street_Circuit
- racingcircuits.info/north-america/usa/detroit.html
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Grand_Prix_(Formula_One)
- commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Downtown_Detroit_Street_Circuit.svg
- liquipedia.net/formula1/Detroit_Street_Circuit
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Detroit_Grand_Prix
- f1.fandom.com/wiki/Detroit_Street_Circuit
Does pole position win at Detroit Street Circuit?
The pole sitter has won 3 of 7 races here (43%). Across all circuits since 1950 the pole sitter wins 44% of races. The winner started from the front row (P1 or P2) in 4 of 7 races (57%) and from the top three in 4 (57%). Lowest grid position to win: 17th, John Watson in 1982.
| Winner started from | Wins | Share |
|---|---|---|
| P1 | 3 | 43% |
| P2 | 1 | 14% |
| P5 | 1 | 14% |
| P6 | 1 | 14% |
| P11 or lower | 1 | 14% |
Where the winner started, every race at this circuit. Pole sitter means the driver who set the fastest qualifying time (first on the grid where no qualifying data exists); a grid penalty can move the pole sitter back, and that race still counts for them. Compare every circuit.
Lap times over the years
All races at Detroit Street Circuit
| Race | Winner | Team | Pole | Fastest lap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 Detroit Grand Prix | Ayrton Senna | McLaren | Ayrton Senna | Alain Prost (1:44.836) |
| 1987 Detroit Grand Prix | Ayrton Senna | Team Lotus | Nigel Mansell | Ayrton Senna (1:40.464) |
| 1986 Detroit Grand Prix | Ayrton Senna | Team Lotus | Ayrton Senna | Nelson Piquet (1:41.233) |
| 1985 Detroit Grand Prix | Keke Rosberg | Williams | Ayrton Senna | Ayrton Senna (1:45.612) |
| 1984 Detroit Grand Prix | Nelson Piquet | Brabham | Nelson Piquet | Derek Warwick (1:46.221) |
| 1983 Detroit Grand Prix | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell | René Arnoux | John Watson (1:47.668) |
| 1982 Detroit Grand Prix | John Watson | McLaren | Alain Prost | Alain Prost (1:50.438) |