London GP?

[SeijaKessen]

Doesn't Tilke have to design to strict specifications from the FIA? He's designed some great circuits as well - Istanbul Park and Sepang are fantastic.

I'm just curious, why do you think Istanbul Park and Sepang are fantastic?

[allstaruk08]

hello people i just had a look at olympic park on google earth and did a super quick mock up of a track route. some areas would need reworking (like going over the middle of a roundabout) and adding tarmac for corners instead of loads of right angles well here it is, oh and i forgot to colour in the triangle furthest to the right its not 2 options to go around the track lol

[SeijaKessen]

God can we just go back to Imola and Mexico?

Enough of these shitty Tilkedromes.

[thearmofbarlow]

I think it's safe to say now that the bid has been announced and the official press conference is only a few hours away... I've had a peek at the proposed London GP circuit and holy crap is it good. Like really, PROPERLY, good. Just wait. You'll see.

On another note, I wonder how much involvement Tilke actually has with track layout. With CotA he's basically been the guy to come in and make the last couple tweaks on an already designed circuit. Wonder if that's the case elsewhere as well.

[ESPImperium]

God can we just go back to Imola and Mexico?

Enough of these shitty Tilkedromes.

Add Magney Cours to that list as well.

We have too many 5.something KM tracks that only give about 54 to 57 laps, we need more 4.5Km to 4.8Km tracks with more laps to keep the drivers buisy and always fighting for track space.

One track that is to be extended is Interlagos, however that is for a longer back straight, whitch will become the pit straight. That track will go from 4.3Km to arround 4.9 to 5.1Km.

[ds.raikkonen]

I just wish the San Marino GP is included in the F1 calendar, great track, still remember MSC's epic battle and Alonso's superb defensive driving after the iceman had to retire in 2005! Magny-cours, somehow, does not feel that exciting, just my opinion. You re right, MSC's 4-pit strategy did work owing to the shorter pit lane.

[Websta]

Doesn't Tilke have to design to strict specifications from the FIA? He's designed some great circuits as well - Istanbul Park and Sepang are fantastic.

I'm just curious, why do you think Istanbul Park and Sepang are fantastic?

Aside from the final corners of Istanbul, the track has a great flow and I like turn 8 a lot. As for Sepang, I think it is one of the most well-balanced tracks in the world. Both tracks have all the elements that make Suzuka, Spa and Silverstone great - the long, sweeping flat-out corners, fast s-bends, multiple-apex corners etc. Sepang was compromised a bit by the necessity of that mammoth grand stand, but the two long straights do spice up the racing and make the set-ups a bit more interesting. Just because these tracks don't have the heritage of Imola or Monza doesn't mean they aren't great tracks.

China has some good corners but the rest is pretty ordinary, and Korea is a bit too messy - there are too many corners crammed into the second and third sectors. Abu Dhabi is just dreadful, but Bahrain and India aren't bad IMO.

The baron landscapes surrounding Shanghai, Korea, Istanbul park and the Indian circuit detract from the atmosphere as well- the forests surrounding the European tracks make them a lot more atmospheric.

[bhallg2k]

So, after it's conclusively established that Ecclestone paid hefty bribes to Gerhard Gribkowsky over the sale of F1 to CVC, Bernie now says that he'd be willing to fund a London Grand Prix.

Does anyone else find it weird that he's trying to mitigate any potential PR damage from that bribe revelation with effectively yet another bribe?

[SeijaKessen]

God can we just go back to Imola and Mexico?

Enough of these shitty Tilkedromes.

Add Magney Cours to that list as well.

We have too many 5.something KM tracks that only give about 54 to 57 laps, we need more 4.5Km to 4.8Km tracks with more laps to keep the drivers buisy and always fighting for track space.

One track that is to be extended is Interlagos, however that is for a longer back straight, whitch will become the pit straight. That track will go from 4.3Km to arround 4.9 to 5.1Km.

Wait, why are they extending Interlagos?

What's wrong with the existing pit straight and the like?

[SeijaKessen]

So, after it's conclusively established that Ecclestone paid hefty bribes to Gerhard Gribkowsky over the sale of F1 to CVC, Bernie now says that he'd be willing to fund a London Grand Prix.

Does anyone else find it weird that he's trying to mitigate any potential PR damage from that bribe revelation with effectively yet another bribe?

No, I don't find it particularly weird.

He's just trying to do one good deed every few decades as an effort to mitigate the rest of the underhanded crap he has pulled for years. Of course I'm having trouble thinking of any prior good deed he has ever done. If someone else knows please do let me know.

"Hey, if I am willing to fund a GP out of my own pocket, I can't be all that bad guys, amirite????"

[bhallg2k]

Perhaps weird was the wrong word. Ironic? Typical? Pathetic?

And another thing, where's the calendar slot going to come from? F1 adds Austin this year, Jersey next year and Moscow in 2014. What gives?

[SeijaKessen]

Doesn't Tilke have to design to strict specifications from the FIA? He's designed some great circuits as well - Istanbul Park and Sepang are fantastic.

I'm just curious, why do you think Istanbul Park and Sepang are fantastic?

Aside from the final corners of Istanbul, the track has a great flow and I like turn 8 a lot. As for Sepang, I think it is one of the most well-balanced tracks in the world. Both tracks have all the elements that make Suzuka, Spa and Silverstone great - the long, sweeping flat-out corners, fast s-bends, multiple-apex corners etc. Sepang was compromised a bit by the necessity of that mammoth grand stand, but the two long straights do spice up the racing and make the set-ups a bit more interesting. Just because these tracks don't have the heritage of Imola or Monza doesn't mean they aren't great tracks.

China has some good corners but the rest is pretty ordinary, and Korea is a bit too messy - there are too many corners crammed into the second and third sectors. Abu Dhabi is just dreadful, but Bahrain and India aren't bad IMO.

The baron landscapes surrounding Shanghai, Korea, Istanbul park and the Indian circuit detract from the atmosphere as well- the forests surrounding the European tracks make them a lot more atmospheric.

Surprisingly I didn't mind Sepang...sometimes I get the feeling that the track is too wide.

Istanbul is decent. That first turn is a killer...I think if I drove on that track in real life I'd probably crash there.

I think Bahrain is awful and same with Abu Dhabi. I'm still unsure about India.

You are right though about the barren landscapes...I think I might be able to handle some of these tracks a little more if they actually had some scenery involved with them. I don't suspect they will bother adding anything to the tracks to actually make them look more aesthetically appealing.

I don't know, I'd still rather see most of the Tilke tracks whacked in favor of existing European circuits from the past. I might be in a minority, but I am really hoping that perhaps F1 does return to Paul Ricard again. The Mistral Straight is fantastic.

[SeijaKessen]

Perhaps weird was the wrong word. Ironic? Typical? Pathetic?

And another thing, where's the calendar slot going to come from? F1 adds Austin this year, Jersey next year and Moscow in 2014. What gives?

I think it's a combination of all three words. I wish I could say I was surprised by it, but it's Bernie. Self-preservation has always been his overriding concern regarding most everything he does. If it happens to benefit the rest of us peasants, it's more accidental than intentional.

That aside, I would expect to see one or two of the current tracks possibly whacked.

Isn't there a good chance we may not see any further races in the near future at Valencia?

I'm still hoping Korea and Bahrain might somehow disappear.

[bhallg2k]

Valencia will alternate with Barcelona as the Spanish Grand Prix. So, there's one spot. France is to alternate with Spa - which is a f'ing travesty, if you ask me. But, there's another spot. Anything else?

[forty-two]

I doubt this would ever actually happen.

For those of you who know London, it would look spectacular, and would draw in huge crowds, no doubt but the congestion etc. would probably make it impossible. Remember that us Londoners are about to experience how screwed up a city can become as a result of a major international sport event!

For the record, here's an image from the Guardian web article:



One more massive reason why the proposed route couldn't work is that part of it involves going through admiralty arch:


This looks a little narrow to form part of an FIA approved F1 circuit to me!
It would be interesting to watch though!

Almost certainly a distraction tactic on the part of Mr. E IMHO.