Interlagos, Sao Paulo (Brazil)

The Brazilian Grand Prix provides a fitting end to any Formula 1 season, with the carnival atmosphere at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace meaning the year ends on a high even if the World Championship has already been settled.

Better known as Interlagos, the circuit, set in the suburbs of Sao Paulo, is underdeveloped compared to most modern-day venues. The pit-buildings are old and small, the paddock is cramped, and the track surface is very bumpy. Yet for all of that, drivers and fans still absolutely love it.

Playing host to the very first Brazilian Grand Prix in 1973, the track remained on the calendar for seven years before it re-appeared again in 1990, albeit this time in truncated form.
Major resurfacing work in 2009 smoothed the asphalt slightly, but in comparison to plush new venues like Abu Dhabi, the surface is a rumble strip. But that only adds to the charm of a circuit which makes up for its lack of refinement with bags of character and passion.
In the build up to the 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix, FIA Race Director Charlie Whiting said: "What a great circuit and great atmosphere - the fans here are wild and it's always a sell-out, so the atmosphere is always pretty special. It's a pleasure to work here, partly because the circuit is so good and we nearly always get an entertaining race." Well said that man.
As Whiting says, Interlagos has provided its fair share of entertaining fare - no more so than in the melodramatic closing seconds of the 2008 season when Lewis Hamilton stole the title from local hero, and race winner, Felipe Massa's grasp going into the final corner.
The long climb up the hill from Juncao, through a left kink and over the start-finish line leads into a good - if slightly risky - overtaking spot at turn one. If a driver is brave enough to stay on the outside he can try and fight back immediately as the cars twist through the Senna-S, so named after Brazilian's legendary three-time champion Ayrton, a winner at Interlagos in 1991 and 1993.
Turn four is another overtaking spot while turn eight and Juncao (turn 12) have also seen passing action in the past.
Changes were made ahead of last year's race, with grandstands through the fast turns 14 and 15 moved back to improve safety. But such is the passionate locals' enthusiasm for racing that they will continue to flock to Interlagos every year regardless.

Circuit of The Americas (USA)

It's a huge compliment to the Circuit of Americas in Austin that Formula 1's long-awaited return to America was hailed as a big success.

With the sport's preceding five-year absence from one of the one of the largest markets in the word having been widely recognised as being far too long, there was understandably an element of apprehension as CoTA geared up for its inaugural event.

But while there were a few contract scares in the year leading up to the 2012 opener, once the F1 fraternity arrived in the welcoming Texan state capital they soon realised there was no need to worry.
With the local Austin community having firmly embraced its shiny new motorsport acquisition, the 3.427-mile circuit itself quickly won over both drivers and fans alike owing to its unique combination of corners.
The layout, the brainchild of the man who originally secured the race, Tavo Hellmund, and later refined by F1's resident designer Hermann Tilke, had more than than 'something borrowed and something new' about it with inspiration taken from some of F1's some famous venues.
An Esses section reminiscent of the legendary Maggotts and Becketts complex at Silverstone, a reverse triple-apex challenge in the style of Istanbul Park's Turn Eight and a Hockenheim-style arena section all featured in the exciting anti-clockwise lap.
The circuit even had its own signature feature in the form of a steep uphill run to the first corner, characterising the kind of sudden elevation changes seen through the 3.4 miles.
Race day drew a bumper crowd of just under 120,000 and fittingly the battle for the inaugural victory proved an edge-of-the-seat classic as Lewis Hamilton stalked Sebastian Vettel for the whole race before passing the World Champion with 14 laps to go.
All in all it was therefore a fitting debut for the first purpose-built F1 facility in the United States and with a second US round on the streets of New Jersey, originally scheduled for 2013 but since postponed to 2014, to follow the sport's long-held quest to infiltrate the wider American consciousness has the chance to belatedly gain some momentum.

Yas Marina Circuit (Abu Dhabi)

Costing a staggering £800m, Abu Dhabi's space-age Yas Marina circuit was designed to showcase the country on a world stage. In terms of jaw-dropping architecture and state-of-the-art facilities it certainly achieved that, right from the moment it was first revealed to the world in 2009.

What took a little longer - four grands prix in fact - was for the Middle East venue to prove that it could produce a race to match the surroundings, after some turgid, and processional, affairs in its first few years.
That, however, all changed in 2012 as Yas Marina played host to a chaotic 55 laps of racing that witnessed numerous collisions, two safety cars, some brilliant overtaking moves and a pitlane to podium charge from Sebastian Vettel.
Throw in the first win of Kimi Raikkonen's comeback - and his hilarious "leave me alone, I know what I'm doing" radio remark - and Abu Dhabi could rightly claim to have played host to the most entertaining race of the year.
Entertainment had certainly never been in short supply off the track at Yas Marina owing to the country's ambitious attempt to bring the glamour of picturesque Monaco to the Middle East.
The venue's facilities are certainly unparalled in F1: the surrounding harbour is capable of hosting over 150 yachts, whilst a five-star hotel which lights up at night (and changes colour) straddles the circuit.
Developers also included a novel F1 'first' in the track's design in the form of a pitlane exit tunnel which filters cars under the track and to a safer point of release at Turn Three.
In its first two years Abu Dhabi was given the honour of hosting the season finale, and while they missed out on the title showdown in 2009, the following year delivered the first four-way decider in the history of the sport.
However, rather than being able to fully bask in the glow of the unfolding drama as pre-race outsider Sebastian Vettel clinched his first title, the circuit was on the receiving end of criticism for its lack of overtaking opportunities after championship favourite Fernando Alonso spent lap after lap bottled up behind Vitaly Petrov's slower Renault.
The addition of two DRS Zones for 2011 and 2012 helped improve things and the success of that latter race suggests Yas Marina has finally arrived

New Delhi (India)

India stands as one of the few popular Herman Tilke designs to have been introduced to the Formula 1 calendar in recent times.

Making its debut in October 2011 after years of anticipation, India received an enthusiastic thumbs-up both on and off the track, with 95,000 spectators in attendance to see Sebastian Vettel - who romped to victory again last year - take the chequered flag and the drivers, almost to a man, approving of their new place of work.
Hailed as "great fun to drive" by Jenson Button, and "awesome" by Nico Rosberg, the 3.18-mile Buddh International Circuit proved a rare instant hit.
Anything but an 'off-the-shelf' replica, the circuit boasts lots of elevation changes, and a good mix of high-speed corners with slow and medium speed turns.
The turn 10 and 11 sequence is slightly banked providing an unusual challenge for drivers and the long fast right-hander is similar to the triple apex turn eight at Istanbul Park.
It also contains the Tilke trademark: an ultra-long straight followed by a hairpin - which duly provided a healthy amount of overtaking opportunities into turn four during its debut race. A further attempt to promote passing came with a number of partcularly wide corner entries.
With Force India seen as a national team, and Bollywood stars turning out to add showbiz glamour, Formula 1 took the country by storm, unlike in other new venues on the calendar.
Expect the Indian GP to become an essential item on the calendar for many years to come

Suzuka (Japan)

Even to enthusiastically endorse Suzuka as a drivers' favourite is to do the circuit something of a disservice. Arguably on a par with both Spa and Monza, the long-time home of the Japanese GP is an incredible track - one to make the hair stand on the back of your neck.

Located, more or less, in the middle of nowhere, passionate fans are guided to the circuit's high-speed corners by the giant Ferris wheel that is the venue's iconic image. Once there, they are treated to a stunning layout, designed around a figure of eight with the cars looping back on a high-speed overpass.
Owned by Honda and opened in 1962, the circuit first hosted the Japanese GP in 1987. When it was dropped for two years in 2007 and 2008 in temporary favour of the Toyota-owned Fuji Speedway, F1 lost one of its greatest attractions and both fans and drivers rightly mourned its loss.
Part of that attraction is that Suzuka remains virtually unaltered from its original design. Despite a major face lift to the pits and grandstands to secure the grand prix's return in 2009, the track itself is still almost entirely faithful to its first appearance on the schedule.
In the 130R - don't be deceived by the prosaic-sounding name - the track hosts a corner that rivals Spa's legendary Eau Rouge for commitment, while the lovely sequence between turns three and seven tests the grip and downforce of even the best-designed car.
Spoon corner is another classic - so called as its curvature resembles a tea-spoon - as the long left hander feeds onto the long run to 130R.
Suzuka's perennial position near the end of the season has ensured the compelling circuit has played host to many of the sport's most famous title deciders. Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost's controversial collisions of 1989-90 have gone down in legend, while Damon Hill, Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher have all been crowned champion at Suzuka.

Yeongam (Korean)

The Korean Grand Prix has struggled to establish itself on the Formula 1 calendar since its debut in 2010.

Located more than four hours away from the country's capital, Seoul, the event has failed to really capture the imagination of the nation and officials have already indicated a desire to renegotiate their contract with Bernie Ecclestone after running at a loss so far.
The venue's original blueprint included the construction of a new marina complex around the final sector of the lap, with the track becoming public roads during the rest of the year. However, these plans have yet to materialise, leaving something of a soulless circuit stuck in imperfect isolation and surrounded by marshland.
This lack of development has also made it incredibly difficult for teams, media and fans to find accommodation in surrounding Yeongam, with many forced into so-called 'love hotels' in the nearby city of Mokpo.
The 3.49-mile circuit itself is another Hermann Tilke design and typically features his trademark long straight followed by a hairpin between turns two and three. The straight is the longest in F1 and very arguably too long as cars driving in a straight line for a prolonged period is not an entertaining or invigorating sight for fans.
The pit entry and exit have also come in for major criticism. Cars slowing down to pit have to do so on the racing line of a blind corner, which is normally taken flat, meaning there is a major risk of a car being run into. The pit exit, meanwhile, feeds into the middle of turn one, meaning any driver who doesn't make the corner's apex could collect someone coming out of the pits.
Despite the seemingly permanent cloud under which the race hangs, it remains on the calendar for 2013 and has a contract for three years after that. The Korean Grand Prix is backed by the local government - who see it as a way of bringing investment to the area - meaning it's future could well be linked to their own. A change of office might bring about a chance of heart - but even then there would be cancellation fees to consider.

Singapore

Singapore created Formula 1 history when it joined the calendar in 2008 by running a grand prix at night and, six years on, the lights show no sign of going out on the sport's most spectacular event.

Hailed as "the jewel in F1's crown which keeps getting polished" by Bernie Ecclestone, Singapore swiftly established itself as a favourite among the paddock and, handily, F1's corporate sponsors. Cast against the backdrop of the city's skyscrapers, the sport has arguably never looked better.
The numbers behind the floodlit race underline just how complex an event it is to put on: 108,423 metres of power cables, 240 steel pylons and around 1,600 light projectors with a total power requirement of 3,180,000 watts are used to light the track for the drivers. The effect is that the track is lighter than at midday on a sunny day and four times brighter than a football stadium.
The lights are designed to reduce glare - even if it is raining - while the clear visors used by the drivers for the race provide an opportunity to see their eyes as they tackle Marina Bay's streets from the onboard cameras, giving a unique glimpse of the concentration required to dart between the Armco at 200mph.
Although last year's race saw Singapore have its contract extended until 2017, the event is not without its flaws. The track's Turn Ten chicane, which quickly became christened the 'Singapore Sling' and was originally envisaged as a fast left-hander before a lack of run-off space prompted a rejig, has been subject to intense criticism over the years owing to its vicious kerbs and was disparaged as the "worst corner I've ever driven in Formula 1" by Lewis Hamilton.
The Englishman was being more complimentary, though, when he described the overall circuit as "twice as hard as Monaco", and there's no doubting that it represents a tough challenge for competitors.
Although remarkably wide for a street circuit, it maintains the traditional twisty nature of a road course, is notoriously bumpy and you've got to be good - or very bold - to overtake.