Tilkedromes

[Circuitmaster]

Two weeks is way too long to wait for a Grand Prix (Especially the Spanish Grand Prix) so I've been thinking about modern F1 circuits. Especially considering that the new Grand Prix in Baku is approaching, which I'm anticipating more than any other new Grand Prix since I started watching F1 back in the late nineties.

Unfortunately I started watching at a bad time for circuit enthusiasts, as the majority of the circuits to have entered F1 have been designed by Tilke, and are, to say the least, uninspiring. Here's my ranking of the Tilke creations to have entered F1 since 1999.

1: Marina Bay. Aside from the Singapore Grand Prix being a beautiful, interesting and unique (At the time) addition to the calendar, it also is a pretty good circuit. It's wide and fast in places, slow and narrow in others. Often bumpy. It feels like an old fashioned street track, rather than a carefully crafted, over designed piece of work like a lot of modern circuits. It's a little generous to give Tilke all the credit, as street circuits take away the 'blank canvas' aspect for the designer, but I do admit I look forward to this one more than any other recent calendar addition.

2: Circuit of the Americas. The USA has had so many different spots on the calendar over the years, and there's no telling exactly how long we'll be racing at this venue, but it would be a shame to lose it as it's a great track. There's a good blend of corners, elevation change, and it just flows really nicely. I've never been a fan of the whole 'copying corners from other tracks' technique.. it feels like a Black Eyed Peas approach to track design, but you can't argue with the final product.

3: Istanbul. Yep, everyone loved Istanbul. I think I actually loved it less than most people, but it was pretty good, and very good for a Tilke creation. Turn 8 was the obvious jewel in the hat. (I wouldn't call the rest of the track a crown) It's a shame we lost this one so soon, and hopefully we can return some day.

4: Valencia. I liked Valencia. Despite the fact that the races were often processional and uninteresting which I don't think was entirely down to the track, I thought that the circuit itself was quite a good one. Some interesting features like the little swing bridge, and some fast kinks towards the end of the lap. A little more run off than street circuits usually offer was probably my biggest beef, but layout wise I thought it was a little over-criticised.

5: Buddh Circuit. Another Circuit that other people seemed to love a little more than I did. It had some interesting parts, but nothing really memorable. I must admit I don't really miss it from the calendar.

6: Sochi. Ok now we're getting to the hard part. It's hard to say much about Sochi. It's a street circuit with a couple of good bits, and a lot of bits in between those good bits. Not terrible, but not great.

7: Sepang. Quite a popular venue but I was never a massive fan. It doesn't have much character, I don't feel as if it flows very well, and there are only a couple of mildly interesting sections. This is the first circuit I remember that felt truly 'designed', and as such I think I perhaps have a slight grudge against it.

8: Korea/Yeongam or whatever it was called. Now we're scraping the barrel. At first I thought it had a bit of potential. There was an interesting sequence of turns that all fed into each other, and I thought it might be quite challenging, but it was such a crude layout. The straight hairpin straight hairpin combination stuck out like a sore thumb, and meant that overtaking was pretty much just a press of the button. The location was awful, I don't think anyone really liked this one, and no one really misses it.

9: Yas Marina. Not a fan, very uninteresting, lots of uninspired turns just running out the yards until you start another lap. I can't quite put my dislike of this circuit into words. Perhaps it's not dislike. I just 'nothing' it.

10: Sakhir. Again, I don't care for it. It has no soul, no character, nothing really worth remembering. I feel like if this circuit was axed tomorrow, we'd all have forgotten it by 2017. And considering it's been with us since 2004, that's quite a statement. It's almost as lackluster as..

11: Shanghai. I don't think people tend to dislike this one too much but it's my number one all time least favourite Tilke creation. I can't think of another circuit with as few redeeming factors as this one, and I can barely think of a turn that I like.

Well those are my thoughts. As you can tell, I was a little bored so I thought I'd spill my thoughts - what are other people's opinions on the Tilkedromes?

[Andy]

Sepang was the last halfway good Tilke'o'drome, from then he went downward copying himself over and over.

[Tom]

I have to admit, the new track in Baku had me scratching my head and wondering exactly what was being smoked when it was conceived.



I approve - don't get me wrong. It looks properly mental, in a hopefully good way.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Circuit of the Americas seems to not be especially awful, and I felt the same about Istanbul. Singapore is interesting but flawed, particularly the pit in and exit setup. Oh and the dreadful humpy kerbs (which I think they had to change one year after practice so may not be relevant now.

Other than that they range from boring, even more boring, to dreadful, abominable and horrendous.
Uninspiringly repetitive is way too complimentary. They produce F1 races of interest only when weather intervenes. He needs to upgrade his stock corner library and sequencing, reduce the run offs and include more gravel and actual areas that offer an impact to a drivers result. And more than a stray bollard a driver must not drive around like at Sochi.

[kals]

The issue I have with all of these circuits is that they all follow the same formula... medium speed bends- sharp turn - long straight - sharp turn, etc... and they have no real flow or soul. Sepang is the expection to the rule.

Looking at the Sochi layout during last weekend's race, the circuit could have a much better flow and character if every corner wasn't virtually the same and unnecessarily technical.

[Antonov]

after seeing a 'simulated' lap of Baku, I am with my head in my hands already...

[Circuitmaster]

Ah yes I saw that. Gives you a basic idea of the types of turns they'll be dealing with, but lacks the finer details such as width/elevation/setting/runoff. Judgement: Reserved.

[Puhis]

I actually find Sepang quite enjoyable. Couple of friends who've been there say that the track is good, too. Only part that's a bit iffy is the right-hander before the penultimate straight. Otherwise, it's not half bad.

[John]

I for one would put the Red Bull Ring/A1-ring on top of my list. No chicanes either, huzzah! Yes, it pales compared to the old Ö-ring, but it's still one of the few tracks on the calendar that still has a "natural" feel to it.

With that said, a few (if not all) of Tilkes tracks would benefit hugely from having the tarmac run-offs removed.

[SBan83]

I wouldn't really place Red Bull Ring as a Tilkedrome as he took an awesome track and reduced its awesomeness a bit. It's still awesome but we're just praising how little he fucked up a masterpiece than something he actually created from scratch.

[PTRACER]

I classify Sochi, Valencia and Abu Dhabi as 'Arena' circuits and I consider these to be the absolute worst kind of track. I think Tilke got it right when he designed Sepang and Shanghai, I would probably put Sepang at the top of my list of road courses. Marina Bay is probably second best, but it's tempting to put Baku in second place instead.

I never understood the love for Istanbul, it's practically as soulless as the new Hockenheim, but with elevation changes. I'm also going to point out Hockenheim won our Worst Of Tilke poll by a long margin:
The Best Of Tilke - viewtopic.php?f=17&t=6242
The Worst Of Tilke - viewtopic.php?f=17&t=6283

[Antonov]

Aside from my obvious Russia preference, I would say the first part of the Sochi track is fun. It's the last 4 corners which are really dire. Do you have a ps4? I really urge you to do some time trials on Sochi - you will come to agree with me it is fun to drive. Also, the track is victim of its smooth track surface, condemning it to a 1 stop snoozer. That is not really the fault of the track, but rather the Pirelli tyre compounds which are (still) too hard.

I will always hold Sepang in high regard. It debuted the year I started watching F1, amazingly some 17 years ago!
But it will also forever haunt me with those scenes of Simoncelli sliddering across the track.

There is no excuse for Abu Dhabi. They had all the funds and money to make something great, and instead they came up with an atrocity of a track. The track surroundings and sunset are nice, mind you, but that is not the prime reason I watch F1 for. Add to that the white-dressed sheiks and a humanitarian disaster taking place just a few 100 miles away, and I remember why this is possibly my least favourite race.

[kals]

None of Sochi is fun, it's bland and lifeless.

[erwin greven]

There are two good Tilke tracks in F1:

• Austin
  Sepang

The rest is bad or just shit (Sotchi)

[XcraigX]

There are two good Tilke tracks in F1:

• Austin
  Sepang

The rest is bad or just shit (Sotchi)

True.
I liked Istanbul a great deal. But the FIA decided it was too much fun and dropped it.