F1 Fanatic

Hermann Tilke is the second best track designer ever.

Based on the quality of the tracks he has designed. The new Catalunya, the new Hockenheim, Circuit of the Americas, Abu Dhabi, etc.

Haters gonna hate. If Tilke built Monza or Silverstone (I know he didn’t, but as a comparison) you would probably claim to hate those, too. As if Tilke’s name somehow contaminates it. Admit it, you probably loved the Abu Dhabi layout until you discovered *gasp* it’s a Tilke track.

I think Istanbul Park could leave a mark on F1 history if it hosts a few more races. Even Circuit of the Americas, despite being in Texas, could also possibly leave a mark on F1 history. They both have one thing in common with almost all historic tracks: an extremely challenging corner. Think about it. Monza has the Parabolica, Spa has Eau Rouge, Monaco has the Tunnel and Hairpin, Suzuka has the 130R, Silverstone has Maggotts and Becketts. Istanbul Park has Turn 8 and COTA has the first turn at the top of the hill.

Istanbul Park also has other challenging corners, though, notably the first two turns (compared by some to Laguna Seca’s corkscrew) and ‘Faux Rouge’. There are some other ones as well, which is what happens when you have a track with so many elevation changes.

I’ll rate the jobs I think Tikle has done on his recent F1 circuits. Firstly though we must acknowledge that Tilke can’t just move heaven and earth to create another Spa, he is often quite limited in what we can design as often he is designing the only major permanent race track in many countries such as South Korea, Abu Dhabi & India and as such is no doubt briefed to design a “normal” racetrack for the country which means no chance for a unique track like Monza for example.

Sepang, Malaysia: 6/10
Pro’s: Blind difficult corners which many are quite flowing, quite good overtaking with many corners designed in a way which leaves the overtaker vulnerable at the next corner
Con’s: Very difficult to follow through the middle of the lap and the Turn 9 hairpin is horrible

Sakhir, Bahrain: 4/10
Pro’s: Nice long straights create overtaking, Turns 9-10 is a very difficult corner
Con’s: So many slow, boring hairpins, not a single half decent fast corner. Very flat and featureless

Shanghai, China: 3/10
Pro’s: For some reason always seems to produce awesome races
Con’s: Slow, long and horrible corners which are both annoying to drive and make overtaking very difficult

Istanbul, Turkey: 8/10
Pro’s: Like Malaysia the overtaking corners often create overtaking in the following corners. And of course Turn 8, surely one of the best corners in the world
Con’s: Turns 3,4,5 are tight and ruin the flow of the lap

Valencia, Spain: 2/10
Pro’s: Last sector has some nice quick corners
Con’s: So many boring horrible hairpins, and its incredibly difficult to pass on. Surely one of the worst all time circuits

Yas Marina: 1/10
Pro’s: Does the awesome motel and the tunnel pitlane exit count?
Con’s: Barely a half decent corner on it, very difficult to pass on thanks to that stupid chicane. So many incredibly slow boring chicanes, hairpins and tight useless corners.

Yeongnam: 5/10
Pro’s: Long back straight at the start of the lap makes for an awesome first lap. Second sector has some really nice flowing corners which are great to drive.
Con’s: Turns 4,5,6 are slow tight and horrible to drive. The pit entry and exit are probably the worst on the calendar.

Buddh, India: 8/10
Pro’s: I love this track, Turn 3 is very difficult and the massively fast chicanes and the long flowing Turns 10-11 are truly fantastic corners.
Con’s: Proving very difficult to pass which a large part is thanks to the dust and a very slow corner leading onto a straight.

COTA, USA: 9/10
Pro’s: I haven’t driven this track so its hard to make a proper judgement but the first half of the lap is incredible with fast corners and lots of elevation changes
Con’s: I can’t see the point of turns 13-15, really slow when the straight could just go straight from turns 11 to 15. I was a little sceptical about overtaking opportunities but so far this hasn’t been proven.

Sepang – 6/10
Pros – Turn 14 always provides a challenge for drivers, and the first two turns are difficult as well.
Cons – The majority of Sector Three should be replaced by faster corners or straightaways.

Sakhir – 5/10
Pros – Turns 9 and 10 are very difficult.
Cons – There are too many corners that are almost identical.

Shanghai – 5/10
Pros – A load of challenging corners, most notably 1-2-3, 11-12-13, and 16.
Cons – Doesn’t really have a good flow, slow corners are too close to fast corners.

Istanbul – 8/10
Pros – Elevation changes create challenging corners such as 1-2 and 3-4. Turn 8 is one of the best corners ever.
Cons – None

Valencia – 6/10
Pros – The entire lap is fun to drive, due to the variety of corners.
Cons – Turn 25 is challenging, but maybe a little too challenging. A faster Turn 25 would make Turn 1 more fun to drive and require even more concentration.

Abu Dhabi – 7/10
Pros – Turns 8 and 9 require very hard braking, and getting a good exit is key to set up a potential overtaking opportunity on the next straightaway. Turns 15 through 17 are a challenge as well.
Cons – Too many 90-degree corners.

Yeongam – 6/10
Pros – Every single turn is a true test of a driver’s skill, some of my personal favorites are 3, 4-5-6, and 8-9-10.
Cons – The pit entry and exit are unnecessarily challenging and dangerous.

New Delhi – 6/10
Pros – The second turn on the climb up the hill to Turn 3 is fun and difficult, and the entire second sector is one of the most challenging sectors in Formula One.
Cons – None

Austin – 7/10
Pros – Turn 1 is absolutely amazing.
Cons – Too many of the turns are (admittedly) copied from other tracks.