Adding variety to circuit design

Last week the Chief Executive of Abu Dhabi Motorsport Management, Richard Cregan, confirmed that changes will be made to the Yas Marina circuit before the next Grand Prix to be held there in November. There have been two races held in Abu Dhabi but neither has produced much overtaking, and this has resulted in criticism of the circuit’s layout. The organisers should be highly commended for taking the initiative to make improvements to their venue, but the fact that it requires changes should also be a cause for concern. Herman Tilke designed Yas Marina from a completely blank canvass, and with the wealthy backing of the local Emirati, so the fact that it is being altered to address the quality of racing is somewhat embarrassing.

Changes to Yas Marina

Autosport Magazine has suggested the changes being made to Yas Marina might include banking at Turn 9, and a new corner replacing Turns 13 and 14. Perhaps a simpler and more effective idea would be to remove Turn 9 altogether and simply eliminate the chicane that makes up Turns 12 and 13.

Quite why such a modern circuit has three chicanes anyway is something of a mystery. Sam Michael recently noted that “chicanes are the bane of F1. They destroy any chance of overtaking because the guy in front can just go into the apex, protect the corner and not hurt his exit. You can’t do that with a hairpin. If he protects on a hairpin he loses on the exit but with a chicane he just backs the guy up, sorts himself out, and off he goes again. They should just ban chicanes.”

Martin Whitmarsh has specifically criticised the circuit in Abu Dhabi for its use of chicanes by saying “I think it is a fantastic facility that we come to, but the end of the straight they need a wide challenging corner, not a chicane that has got one line through it. You could see that when we first saw the plans.”

If teams could see the circuit would not provide close racing before it was built, it’s a shame the people who designed the track couldn’t.

Herman Tilke in Formula One

Herman Tilke is responsible for developing eight circuits on the 2010 Formula One calendar (nine if you include Bahrain). All of his designs have resulted in world class facilities, but the circuit layouts have been frequently criticised for their sterile generic nature.

In his defence, many of Tilke’s designs are constrained by the available budget and the local geography. However the development of Yas Marina was limited by neither, so the fact that it is now being changed suggests Tilke’s design group may have fallen short of their potential.

Where it all began

The first Grand Prix venue created by Herman Tilke completely from scratch was the Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur. When the track was used for the first time in 1999 it was widely praised and its introduction was considered a huge success.

Sepang was a popular addition to the calendar because it was unique. It was much wider than regular circuits, contained a mix of corners, and a series of long straights and tight hairpins specifically designed for overtaking. It featured new pit facilities like no other racetrack, and an impressive grandstand from which spectators could view at least half of the circuit. Malaysia added some much loved variety into the F1 calendar.

Since then, many of Tilke’s designs have followed a similar formula. They generally include a mix of corners (most of them midspeed), long straights leading into tight corners, and fans clustered into groups where they can see much of the circuit. This philosophy has resulted in some exceptional racetracks, but unfortunately they lack variety.

Sepang was popular in 1999 because it was different, but now it’s just another Tilkedrome. Hindsight offers perfect vision, but it’s a shame that Tilke wasn’t able to create a mixture of completely different circuits given that he has designed almost half of the F1 calendar.

Variety is the spice of life

The old Hockenheim was memorable racetrack. It was as simple as it could get – pretty much just four straights joined together. It wasn’t in the shape of a fancy Chinese character, and it didn’t run past a marina, but it was still a classic Grand Prix circuit. Sometimes Hockenheim produced boring races because it was all about horsepower and any team with a strong engine could dominate the weekend. However, this was excusable because the track was different to all of the others, and the fact that an underdog team could perform well thanks only to their engine was part of its charm.

The new Hockenheim is a more compact facility and is neatly packaged for trackside fans. However, it lacks the character of the old circuit and it lacks variety. There’s nothing unique about Hockenheim anymore, and the same can be said for many of Tilke’s designs.

The man is a brilliant architect and all of Tilke’s tracks are very well planned. It’s just unfortunate that you can suggest all of his creations are essentially the same.

Adding variety to circuit design

It would’ve been great if Herman Tilke had designed at least one track that featured nothing but long straights and fast corners. The changes made to Silverstone last year prove that a new circuit can still be a fast one, so it would’ve been spectacular if Tilke had embraced this possibility. Such a racetrack might not have always produced exciting racing, but it would’ve been an exciting venue simply due to the fact that it would be different.

Tilke could also have mixed up his formula for generating overtaking. He currently uses lots of long straights and hairpins, but there are other ways of achieving this goal. For example, there is a popular theory that a corner with an early apex makes it easier for drivers to follow each other through the exit, whilst a corner with a late apex makes it easier for drivers to attack each other under braking. Positioning two of these corners in succession is one possible way to generate close racing. The newly reprofiled Brooklands corner at Silverstone was conducive to overtaking last year because it combined a late apex with extra tarmac on the inside allowing drivers to race each other late under braking. Tilke could’ve considered options like these instead of simply relying on long straights and hairpins.

Tilke could also have provided some variety in the appearance of his circuits by giving more attention to trackside fans. Whilst it might be a coincidence that none of Tilke’s designs have trees, it’s less of a coincidence that most of them have little general admission seating around the circuit. Cheap general admin tickets are a great way to enjoy Formula One. They offer fans the chance to walk around a circuit to see the cars in action at different vantage points, and also get close to the drivers working behind the wheel. It would be great to see fans spread all over a circuit, like they are in many traditional venues, instead of being grouped together in a cluster of grandstands opposite the pitlane.

As suggested previously on EnterF1.com, Tilke has missed the opportunity to do something special with trackside spectators.

The future

If Tilke’s tracks can be criticised for lacking variety, then why not build a circuit that has nothing but fast corners? Why not build a track that uses new idea to create close racing? Why not make a track that is fully surrounded by grass banks close to the circuit for trackside fans?

Why not make a circuit that’s different?

Abu Dhabi is a spectacular Grand Prix venue with incredible features such as a pitlane tunnel, a run-off area beneath a grandstand, LCD trackside banners, and it fully incorporates the Yas Hotel and Yacht club. In that respect it is truly unique. However, the circuit layout isn’t perfect, and perhaps if Tilke hadn’t followed his standard formula, there wouldn’t be any reason to change it today.

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