Aug.19 (GMM) Plans to take F1 back to Las Vegas remain in the air for now.
That is the news from Dr Carsten Tilke, the son of grand prix circuit designer Hermann Tilke.
Carsten has a central role at his father’s circuit-designing company, which has been engaged to start work on a project in the casino city in Nevada, USA.
“We have already developed an interesting potential track layout, which we’d love to implement,” Dr Tilke told Spox.
“Las Vegas would surely be another spectacular highlight on the F1 calendar,” he added.
“The difficulty is to manage the project within the given area and the runoff,” Carsten explained. “Then you need a place for the paddock and the pits, and in the city there are very few options.
“The paddock is therefore a determining factor,” said Dr Tilke.
And another major issue is an actual deal with a promoter and Bernie Ecclestone.
“Supposedly there are talks between Bernie and the people in Las Vegas,” Carsten said. “We must simply wait until the contracts are signed. We will see what comes of it but we’d be very happy if it does end up taking place.”
Another circuit project Tilke is working on is in Kuwait, with a corner he says combines the iconic Carousel at the Norschleife with Laguna Seca’s Corkscrew.
As for any F1 ambitions for Kuwait, however, Dr Tilke said: “Although the track will be F1 standard, at the moment it doesn’t look like formula one will be there in the near future.”