5 Venues We'd Love to See Added to the F1 Circuit

Last week, a 21-race calendar was revealed ahead of the 2015 Formula One season.

It featured each of the events that took place during the 2014 campaign as well as two "new" additions: Mexico, returning to the calendar for the first time since 1992, and, curiously, Korea.

The Korean Grand Prix was previously a presence on the schedule between 2010 and '13, when the Yeongam track fell off the calendar having consistently produced dull races and failed to gain any popularity among competitors and spectators alike.

The news of its return, then, was met with despair and a feeling that the Korean GP was a waste of the 21st spot given the quality of other race circuits across the globe.

The successful return of the Austrian Grand Prix in 2014 proved that old circuits can be revived, while there is always room for F1 to explore new venues as it searches for its next Spa-Francorchamps. 

With that in mind, here are five circuits we'd like to see added to the calendar, from the tracks of previous years and those F1 still hasn't visited, to those it might travel to in the future.

Istanbul Park, Turkey

The Istanbul Park circuit, home of the Turkish Grand Prix, was a fixture on the calendar from 2005 until 2011.

It might not have produced the most thrilling races in its time—the 2010 event, which saw Red Bull team-mates Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber collide while battling for the lead, was its most memorable grand prix—but its layout was impeccable.

With no shortage of blind-entry corners and elevation changes, the track provided a great challenge for drivers and remains among the best venues created by Hermann Tilke, Formula One's resident circuit architect.

Its signature corner, the quadruple-apex left-hander known simply as Turn 8, was arguably the most difficult corner in F1 at one stage and it would provide an even sterner test today with the new-spec cars, their increased torque and poorer downforce levels.

The Turkish Grand Prix was mooted to return in 2013, but this failed to materialise and a comeback now seems highly unlikely.

A track as great as Istanbul Park, though, deserves better than to be left gathering dust.

Imola, San Marino

"There is blood on this track and time cannot wipe it away," wrote the Mirror's Oliver Holt upon his return to Imola earlier this year, almost 20 years to the day since the weekend that forever changed Formula One.

The home of the San Marino Grand Prix was the forgotten victim of the sport's darkest weekend, which resulted in the deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna, the three-time world champion.

Since then, Imola has resembled a memorial site rather than a motor racing venue, costing F1—which has not held an event there since 2006—a high quality race track.

Previously the first race of the European season, the San Marino GP was a popular race among spectators and drivers, who had the privilege of hurling their cars around the fast, flowing old-school circuit.

It should be up there with the likes of Monza, Spa, Silverstone and Suzuka, but the events of May 1, 1994, leave it stuck firmly in Formula One's past.

We'd have it back tomorrow, though.

Macau, China

Formula One has misunderstood the true meaning of "street circuit" in recent years.

It sent its competitors to a Valencia sea port between 2008 and 2012 before taking them to race around the buildings of Russia's Winter Olympics this year.  

With wide track surfaces and huge run-off areas, they are anything but street circuits, giving Monaco, still the sport's premier road course, nothing to worry about.

So why not hold a race at Macau, one of the most iconic venues in motor racing, to make F1 streetwise once more?

The Macau Grand Prix is synonymous with the Formula Three junior series, with the winners of the race—both Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher were victorious as youngsters—deemed to be stars of the future.

And it is easy to see why.

The extremely narrow nature of the track requires drivers to thread their cars between the barriers with precision, make no mistakes and find the perfect balance between caution and aggression.

With brick walls lurking on the outside of some corners, an F1 race at the Chinese track is probably a no-goer from a safety perspective.

But Macau is among the few street tracks in the modern era where the drivers really make the difference.

Laguna Seca, United States

Over the years, Formula One has raced at 10 different venues across the United States of America, but has never visited Laguna Seca.

The 11-turn California track, a regular fixture on the MotoGP calendar until 2014, is one of the best venues on the planet, despite its lack of genuine overtaking spots.

What it lacks in terms of passing, however, it makes up for in difficulty, with the track's Corkscrew corner—which sees the track fall suddenly and sharply downhill—up there among the most iconic in motor sport.

F1 has displayed a willingness to stage two races per year in America—Bernie Ecclestone told ESPN F1 last year of his desire to include a New Jersey event—but the chances of the sport appearing at Laguna Seca are remote to say the least.

London, UK

As the world's eyes began to focus on London ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games, Santander, a partner of the McLaren team, brought to life a Formula One circuit on the streets of the English capital.

An animated video showed how a London street circuit would look and featured Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, the two most recent British world champions, discussing the fantasy track as if they'd driven it with their eyes shut.

Despite the slightly unrealistic nature of the track—the final turn at Admiralty Arch is a ready-made death trap—the project captured the imagination and highlighted just how wondrous a London race would be.

A major step toward the dream becoming a reality was made earlier this year when Prime Minister David Cameron, as per the BBC, announced plans to allow motor racing to occur on public roads.

And with Formula E, the electric-powered series, set to host its season finale in London next June, an F1 visit to the city could soon become a matter of time.

And money. Lots of money.