Formula 1 drivers race on some amazing tracks. Silverstone. Spa. The new Circuit of the Americas in Texas. Each offers its own challenges—epic corners, high speed, something that makes every race exciting. But for our money, nothing beats a street circuit.

A street circuit, for the uninitiated, is a race track comprised largely of normal, city streets. There are four of them on this year's calendar, including this weekend's Canada Grand Prix. What makes them awesome is they tend to be narrow, with tight corners and a great many places where a driver can get into trouble. Nelson Piquet once said racing at Monaco—by far the most famous street circuit of them all—was "like trying to cycle around your living room." That's as good a description as any for why street circuits rock.

Which brings us to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, which hosts the Canada Grand Prix this weekend. The 2.71-mile track is on an island in the middle of the St. Lawrence River in Montreal. It's narrow, with long straights—cars top 200 mph there—and tight turns. The walls are right there, the most famous (and intimidating) of them being the Wall of Champions on the final corner. Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher, and Sebastian Vettel are among the drivers who have whacked it trying to negotiate the tricky right-left chicane at 80 mph or so. When guys at that level get into trouble, you know it's tough.

"Montreal is an old-school circuit," McLaren hotshoe (and two-time champion) Fernando Alonso told reporters. "The speeds are high and the walls are close, so you need total commitment to extract the best lap time."

Racing is inherently dangerous, but modern purpose-built tracks designed by the likes of Hermann Tilke feature wiiiide runoff areas so mistakes won't automatically result in horrific crashes. Street circuits, on the other hand, reward those who take risks—but punish those with more courage than skill.

"It’s just a ridiculous amount of fun," Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo told reporters at the track. "You can jump across the curbs and really get the car bouncing around. It’s like getting back to go-kart days, you really feel like you own it—and I love that."

And about that wall?

"It’s a clear choice: some guys will play it safe and sacrifice half a tenth to get through there cleanly; others who will take a risk and go flat out trying to find a little bit," Ricciardo said. "The nearer you are, the faster you’ll go. Give the wall a kiss and you feel pretty good: Kiss it too hard and that's it!"

That's it, indeed. And that is why street circuits are so wonderful. Melbourne and Montreal with their high speed, Monaco with its tight turns and historic tunnel, Singapore because it's at night—which makes the race that much more dramatic (and a bridge, too!). Street courses force drivers to reach just a little deeper, push themselves just a little harder. Ayrton Senna through pouring rain in Monaco in 1984. Jenson Button's amazing drive in the rain in Canada (skip to 41 seconds in) in 2011, when he went from 21st to first in the rain. In 2003, David Coulthard outlasted the rest of the field at the Australian Grand Prix on the streets of Melbourne, winning a classic race from 11th place and helping to shut out the then-utterly dominant Ferraris from the podium.

Street races are the essence of why we love Formula One. We want to watch drivers pushing themselves and their cars to the utter limit, taking advantage of every inch of track with zero margin for errors. That is what it's all about, and we hope to see more of them soon.