F1 Fanatic

I can only think that changing a track after only two races held at it signifies that the original layout was really bad and that Tilke should’ve thought more before planning it.

Obvious thing, take away that chicane before the hairpin. And they should plant some trees or something, the track looks so dull. F1 shouldnt even have races in the desert anyway, its not a good place for a race. Theres no soul on this circuit
Basically I think they should try to make it more simple and flowing

Sorry to be the party pooper, but I don’t think we should expect very much. I can see little more than the circuit being widened in places, or apexes moved slightly to make certain corners faster, or something minor like that.

There are only so many places where the circuit could actually change. Realistically, the chicane before the hairpin isn’t going to be moved, because that would leave a huge braking zone into the hairpin followed by about metres of run off. They aren’t going to bypass the complex, or the chicane at Turns 8-9, because that would be a waste of several thousand grandstand seats.

The only place which seems to have plenty of space to make major changes is at Turn 10, at the end of the second back straight. And the problem there is that the circuit is designed to run as close to the Marina as possible so the fatcats on their boats get as good a view as possible. Any changes at Turn 10 would take the track away from the sea.

In Autosport last month they said they are going to make changes at Turns 6/7, Turns 8/9 and Turns 11-14 only. And, I quote, to “improve the spectacle and safety”, so due to the run off area at turn 7 I can’t see there being a straight from turns 3-6… They said the main area they are looking at changing the most is turns 11-14.

EDIT:
Oops sorry! Didn’t click the link in the first post!

This is how I’d do it:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4416567

There are three major changes: 1) the chicane, 2) the switchback and 3) the bottom of the circuit.

Let’s be honest here: with the wall so close on the outside of the hairpin and the grandstands right behind the wall, the cars are never going to go into that corner at speed. The chicane is likely to stay. But what I’ve done is reversed it (and added an extra corner to the reverse Eau Rouge). This will make both the chicane and the hairpin slightly faster than they already are, as well as give the drivers a little extra space bewteen the two to accelerate.

In the case of the switchback, there is nothing wrong with the left – the right is the problem. Because the right is there, the complex automatically favours the defending driver. What I’ve done is iron it out so that it’s now a left flick. It removes an overtaking point, but it also creates what I hope will be one of the ballsiest corners on the calendar and one that plays on the strengths and weaknesses of the Pirellis. The corner can be taken flat out … if you have fresh rubber. The older your tyres are, the more you’re going to have to brake to be able to take it. Hopefully, as drivers run on tyres in different conditions, this will play an important part going into the next corner.

As for the bottom of the circuit, I’ve taken a slightly different approach. I couldn’t find any configuration that made things interesting with a hairpin, so I cut through the chicane with a tightening-radius left, made the far corner tighter and then changed the exit to be another long corner. The idea is to take three seaparate corners that all have their own individual racing lines, but if you were to string them together that way, it would be horrendously slow. The fastest line through this sequence is the most unorthodox, not until turns 12-14 at Sepang. The faster exit also makes the run up to the hotel a little more interesting; I made that ninety-degree right-hander a pair of open corners like the two before it. A bit of a rip on Istanbul, but there wasn’t much else I could do there. So I figured it would be best to make fast corners with next to no run-off.

Really? Would you change Sepang, or Istanbul? Both of them are circuits the drivers really enjoy. And a lot of the feedback from Korea was very positive, too, simply because Tilke didn’t waste time with subtleties (the first sector is all about raw speed, the second is about a driver’s skill, and the third is about set-up).

PM, I think your layout’s pretty much spot on what they should do!

About the other Tilke tracks, I think I’d probably leave Sepang alone, but I’d probably change Istanbul a little bit.
Something like this: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4417505

(Yes, I know I’ve kinda veered off topic a bit but oh well)