Hermann Tilke

Someone has said it on this site before, I think it was Brogan, but the problem isn't that Tilke is necessarily a bad designer but the only one that is used to design tracks and therefore they all seem to be the same. This problem is further compounded when his hands are tied by Bernie - "you must have so and so corners and so many straights". So a creative man is not even allowed to be creative - a sad indication of the times

 

[Brogan]

Indeed Boyle, the documentary about Tilke was very telling.
Ecclestone has far more say on the circuit design process than many realise.

 

[teabagyokel]

Boyle - Well, the thing to remember about Tilke is that he's done very well regarding the restrictions put on him by Bernie. Just look at the Overtaking stats for this year so far:

See those top four-and-a-half? OK, so it doesn't prove anything, but it does show that they're not all bad. And this is the designer of the wonderful turn 8 at Istanbul, as well as challenging fast corners at most of his circuits, and a decent Chinese circuit despite being told it had to look like a character from the Chinese alphabet.

 

[Boyle]

Indeed TBY, I have never said he was a bad designer and as you say he has done well to be creative where there is no room for manoeuvre. And he is also pressured by the local government on what type of track they would like.

Perhaps we have tailed off on this thread slightly...

 

[teabagyokel]

Perhaps we have tailed off on this thread slightly...

Solved!

 

[landogeorgelewis1]

He'll always be the man that produced one of the finest corners in the world Turn 8 at Turkey. The other tracks really don't have legendary corners like that, shame he put it on one of the tracks that won't get used in F1 possibly again .

 

[Incubus]

There was that interview a few weeks ago when Alonso, asked about what he'd do when he retires, said he'd like to take part in designing new circuits. Tracks that are popular among the public tend to also be the ones drivers prefer driving on so it may not be a bad thing having a driver behind circuit layout.
Ayrton Senna designed the esses that bear his name at Interlagos, given the entertainment that take place there every year you can't argue with the result.

 

[Chris Stevens]

I think I liked Tilke tracks when he didn't start designing new tracks with a piece of tracing paper. That man has made some incredible circuits, but his new ones all have the same qualities: slow stuff in one sector, quick stuff in the other sectors, and a 1km back straight where we can put DRS