Hermann Tilke and his engineering office have built dozens of Formula 1 race tracks all over the world – including the new track in Las Vegas. Letting the premier motorsport class race through the glittering metropolis was a special challenge even for the 68-year-old and his team. Before the F1 premiere on the Vegas strip, Tilke speaks in an exclusive interview with sport.de about the mammoth project, the characteristics of the track – and remembers a motto that Michael Schumacher once gave him.
Hermann Tilke sees Formula 1 in a new dimension of spectacle at the upcoming night race in Las Vegas.
“Yes, that’s definitely the case,” said the track engineer: The racing series was still missing a Grand Prix in the gambling stronghold with its world-famous strip. “We’ve been trying to realize the Vegas Grand Prix for ten years, have looked at what feels like thousands of tracks and made several drafts of where it could be done. But now right on the Strip – it couldn’t be better.”
After Formula 1 chugged around unspectacularly in a parking lot in front of Caesar’s Palace twice in the 1980s, the comeback in 2023 is scheduled to take place on a 6.2-kilometer-long route with 17 corners in the heart of the city. Among other things, a 1.8 kilometer long straight runs across the Strip, past the famous hotels and casinos.
“It will be very spectacular. The Bellagio Hotel has even put stands in its famous fountains,” said Tilke in an interview sport.de. The high-speed ride is not the only passage with a wow effect. After the back straight, the drivers drive past the new “MSG Sphere Arena”, a huge sphere that shines like the moon or earth, for example.
Tilke and his team had to take the interests of “a whole lot of stakeholders” into account during the design, explained the route engineer. “You have to imagine it: There are 25,000 hotel rooms and of course a lot of interests that play a role. We and Formula 1 had to bring them all together.” The large hotels and casinos insisted that cars speed past their buildings.
Formula 1: Tilke sees risk of crash immediately after strip passage
The issue of traffic is also a huge effort. “Las Vegas said: We can’t close the whole city. That means we have to close the track beforehand for every session and reopen it to normal traffic afterwards.
It must be passable again two hours after each training session or race. “It’s an incredible effort logistically and in terms of time,” said Tilke, describing the special challenges of the Vegas GP.
Hermann Tilke’s model of the Las Vegas Circuit: The straight across the Strip past the Bellagio Fountain and the passage around the giant ball “Sphere” are clearly visible.
When it came to the route characteristics, he and his team would have had to adapt to the “conditions” of the city. “We tried to get in some interesting passages and curves and combinations of curves. We’ll see how it turns out, but I think it’ll be fantastic,” said the 68-year-old.
“Michael Schumacher once told me: We don’t want tracks that are fun, we want tracks where good racing happens,” Tilke remembered the F1 icon’s advice. “He’s right. We want to see overtaking maneuvers. We want to see action.”
And Tilke sees action and crash potential in Las Vegas, especially in the curve after the strip straight, where the cars are expected to have speeds of up to 350 km/h. “It’s a right-angled curve that then leads into a meandering path. It’s going to be tight. Of course there will be overtaking here. If two people don’t agree on that…” warned Tilke.
Hülkenberg senses his chance
Basically, Tilke expects an exciting race in Las Vegas – behind Max Verstappen. “There’s no match for Max this year. Of course he has a good car, but he drives simply outstandingly,” he praised the three-time world champion.
Tilke, a former racing driver himself, is certain that under “normal circumstances” Verstappen will also win in the Nevada desert. The fight for the podium and the fights in the midfield will be exciting, especially on the long straight. In addition, the temperatures could upset the balance of power.
The race takes place on Saturday evening, “by the way, it can go down to four degrees,” noted Tilke. The weather forecast is still around ten degrees, but the cool November temperatures will be a challenge for the driver and tires. “For some more, for others less,” says Tilke. This means: Cars that are considered tire eaters could thrive in Las Vegas.
“I spoke to Nico Hülkenberg and he told me that he was fine with the temperatures because he always had the problem of the tires overheating,” reported Tilke. In this respect, too, Las Vegas is “something different. It’s really nice that others might have a greater advantage than those who usually always have the advantage.”
Martin Armbruster conducted the interview.