- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
Yes. That's exactly what I mean.
Tavo Hellmund wanted to revive the United States Grand Prix. He also had the idea that he could take bits and pieces from some of the greatest circuits in the world, throw them all together in a melting pot and see what he could make. He lifted bits from Silverstone, Interlagos, Istanbul and even the old Österreichring. He then worked with Kevin Schwantz, who suggested the inclusion of the double switchback, which is modelled on Hockenehim's stadium section.
When Hellmund got the contract for the United States Grand Prix, he and Schwantz approached Hermann Tilke. All they really had was the concept for the circuit, and the FIA has some fairly stringent rules on what Grade-1 circuits have to include. Tilke gave the project to one of his engineers, Johannes Hogrebe. Hogrebe had to take Hellmund and Schwantz's original concept and adapt it to fit the rules (and the land that had been purchased) while preserving as much of the concept as possible. Hogrebe took this:
And turned it into this (although a few minor alterations at Turn 2 and Turn 9 have since been made):
Once that layout was finalised and approved by the FIA, Tilke GmbH took control of the project. Because of the demanding nature of the FIA regulations and Tilke's experience with circuit design and construction, his firm served as project managers.
Sorry. Just Ryan definitely deserved the praise. Was on the edge of my seat, hoping he'd win after that spin at Sonoma.
