Mugello Circuit (Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello) is a motorsport race track in Scarperia e San Piero, Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The circuit length is 5.245 km (3.259 mi). It has 15 turns and a 1.141 km (0.709 mi) long straight.[1] The circuit stadium stands have a capacity of 50,000.
The first race of the A1GP 2008–09 season was originally planned to be held at the Mugello circuit on 21 September 2008. However, the race had to be cancelled due to the delay in building the new chassis for the new race cars.[3]
The start-finish line of historic road circuit (1955).
Road races were held on public streets around Mugello from the 1920s. The start was in the village of Scarperia, less than half a kilometer from the current permanent circuit. The circuit went north up the SP503, twisting and turning through mountains through multiple villages, up to the town of Firenzuola. The circuit then went west from Firenzuola, continuing on the SP503 towards the village of Pagliana. The circuit then made a left on the SR65, heading south through the villages of Covigliaio, Selva and Traversa, where the circuit got a bit faster. The circuit then went past a German military cemetery (from 1946 onwards) and entered the famous Futa Pass, which was used for the prestigious Mille Miglia. After this twisty section, the course stayed on the SR65 and went down multiple short straights and fast curves before getting to the villages of Le Maschere and Colle Barucci. The circuit then crossed a bridge going over a narrow section of the Bilancino Lake, going through an ultra fast left hand curve and 2 long straights before turning left onto the SP129, heading towards the town of San Piero a Sieve. The circuit then went north back onto the SP503, heading back to Scarperia to end the lap.
The 1970 event brought about the end of the 66.2 km (41.1 mi) Mugello public road circuit; a seven-month-old baby was killed when Spartaco Dini [de] crashed his Alfa Romeo GTA into a group of people in Firenzuola during a private test there, when the roads were open to the public (the roads were only closed on race day and for qualifying). Four other people, including two young children, were seriously injured. Although there had only been one previous fatality at the original Mugello circuit (that of Günther Klass in 1967), the incident badly damaged the event's reputation, and the 1970 race turned out to be the last one held on the public road circuit, which was won once again by Merzario. After the incident, Dini spent two months in prison, and after his time served he left Italy and did not return for many years.
Permanent circuit (1974–present)
The main straight of permanent circuit (2011).
The present-day closed Mugello circuit was constructed in 1973 and opened in 1974, about 5 km (3.1 mi) east from the easternmost part of the original road circuit.
The circuit was used for the in-season test during the 2012 Formula One season, by all teams except HRT. An unofficial track record of 1:21.035 was set by Romain Grosjean during the test.[6] The track was praised by Mark Webber, who stated that he "did 10 dry laps today around Mugello, which is the same as doing 1000 laps around Abu Dhabi track in terms of satisfaction".[7] Four-time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel said “unfortunately we don’t have this track on the calendar. It’s an incredible circuit with a lot of high-speed corners”.[8]Vitaly Petrov was however critical of the decision to test at Mugello, claiming the circuit was "unsafe".[9]
At the 2021 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix, Moto3 rider Jason Dupasquier was killed in an accident. The 19 year old Swiss rider fell at Arrabbiata 2 on his final qualifying lap and was struck by the bikes of Jeremy Alcoba and Ayumu Sasaki. The latter two riders escaped without injury, but Dupasquier was immediately airlifted to Careggi hospital in Florence, with his condition described as “very serious”. He would undergo emergency thoracic surgery that evening, but died of his injuries the following day.
The official lap record for the current circuit layout is 1:18.833, set by Lewis Hamilton in the 2020 Tuscan Grand Prix. The unofficial all-time track record is 1:15.144; also set by Lewis Hamilton during final qualifying for the aforementioned race. As of October 2023, the fastest official race lap records at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello are listed as:
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W11, 2020, F1)
Nanni Galli, Lola T210, 1970, Group 6)
