Formula 1’s go-to circuit designer Hermann Tilke has defended tracks which produce “boring races” after criticism following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The season finale was voted the worst race of 2020 by fans, as the action was subdued after the wave of pit-stops under the early Safety Car caused by Sergio Perez’s retirement.
Yas Marina though has hardly built a reputation for exciting races since debuting in 2009 and calls for changes to be made aren’t new either.
But Tilke claims the layout was the best he could come up with given the limitations placed upon him.
“The Yas Hotel, which is integrated into the circuit, has two hundred rooms,” he explained to Germany’s Der Standard. “But nine months before the end of construction it was said that it should be twice as big.
“Then we built the same hotel again and put it in the water in front of it. A city district was actually supposed to be embedded on part of the race track, but this was never realized.
“That’s why we couldn’t play with the camber of the corners, which would have brought in more dynamics.”
Before the final sector, however, comes two of the longest straights on the calendar into tight chicanes, however, even this doesn’t significantly improve the racing.
“If the corners before [the straight] don’t allow you to catch up with the car in front far enough, it’s no use,” Tilke claimed.
“Faster cars can’t make up this gap on the straights. The Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi suffers from this phenomenon. It’s also due to the aerodynamics of the cars. That may change with the new rules [in 2022].”
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More broadly, Tilke has left his mark on 14 current F1 circuits on the 2021 schedule, including fully designing nine of them.
And he explained why it’s not always possible to make a track that will produce great racing.
“There is no such thing as the perfect track, and not every football game is exciting,” he said.
“Some circuits tend to be more boring races, some to be more exciting. A good example is the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. It has good racing dynamics and is ideal for overtaking. The races there are often exciting.
“But Sochi tends towards more boring races, yes. It is located in the middle of the Olympic grounds and is built like a street circuit. We didn’t have a lot of leeway, the 2014 Olympics had priority back then. It wasn’t an easy project.”
Tilke though has been criticised for creating an era of ‘Tilkedromes’ which all carry similar features.
“The [use of] long straights and sharp corners are due to the overtaking opportunities created, and if you break it down to these elements, yes, but if you compare the total routes, no. They are different in character,” he said in response.
“We cannot build 10 Red Bull Rings just because it works well.”