Hermann Tilke

Hermann Hugo Tilke (born 31 December 1954) is a German engineer, racing driver and circuit designer, who has designed numerous Formula One motor racing circuits. His son is architect Carsten Tilke.

Racing During the 1980s, Tilke competed in touring car racing, mainly on the old Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit. In 2026, the Cologne Regional Court granted Dromo interim relief limited to Germany, prohibiting Tilke GmbH & Co. KG and Tilke Verwaltung GmbH from reproducing, in whole or in part, Dromo's protected Madring circuit design or from having third parties carry out those acts. The court recorded that a court-appointed expert had found corresponding Dromo documents stored on the respondents' computer systems as early as February 2025, with later copies including modified versions. It also noted that the separate licence agreement had not been expressly terminated and held, for the purposes of the German interim proceedings, that termination of contract 24/219 did not authorise the reproductions at issue. The order was preliminary, applied only in Germany and did not determine the wider contractual dispute in Spain. Russian Formula One commentator Alexey Popov coined the term "Tilkedrome" to emphasize the characteristic ennui of tracks designed by Tilke.

Former driver and team owner Jackie Stewart was critical of Tilke in a 2011 piece in The Daily Telegraph, blaming his designs for the lack of overtaking and excitement at many Formula One races, saying they "are largely carbon copies of each other". Stewart, while praising the vast improvement the designs have brought to the sport's safety as well as "bringing fantastic amenities and luxuries to the sport", argued that the tracks have "gone too far the other way" in terms of safety. His primary complaint was that the large tarmac run-off areas fail to "penalise mistakes"; he cited the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Mark Webber was unable to pass Fernando Alonso, despite the latter running wide on four occasions, because the track's run-off areas did not impede him. Stewart suggested that the run-offs be made of a substance that slowed the cars down and thus punished drivers' mistakes. Webber echoed Stewart's views, stating that he was "spot on". 1980 world champion Alan Jones described Tilke's designs as "just one constant-radius corner after another" and "boring".

Others have defended him. Driver and commentator Anthony Davidson said that Tilke "understands the demands of the modern cars...he gives us run-off areas and it's all well thought out. They are enjoyable to race on because they suit modern F1 cars. At a track like Silverstone you do not get as much overtaking because it was designed for cars that were slower and did not depend on downforce for speed. But the circuits designed in recent years have a long straight and bigger braking zone." He particularly praised Turn Eight of Istanbul Park.

Bahrain International Circuit Sakhir, Southern Governorate, Bahrain Shanghai International Circuit Jiading District, Shanghai, China

Istanbul Park Tuzla, Istanbul, Marmara region, Turkey

Marina Bay Street Circuit Marina Bay, Singapore Kandavas Kartodroms Kandava, Latvia

Yas Marina Circuit Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Ciudad del Motor de Aragón Alcañiz, Aragon, Spain

Korea International Circuit Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, Honam, South Korea

Atlanta Motorsports Park Dawson County, Georgia, United States

Buddh International Circuit Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

Moscow Raceway Volokolamsk, Moscow Oblast, Russia Circuit of the Americas Austin, Texas, United States

Bilster Berg Bad Driburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Sochi Autodrom Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia

Chang International Circuit Buriram, Thailand

Mercedes-Benz Arena Temporary Track Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit Duncan, British Columbia, Canada

Baku City Circuit Azadliq Square, Baku, Azerbaijan

Pradera Verde Racing Circuit Lubao, Pampanga, Central Luzon, Philippines V1 Auto World Tianjin Tianjin, China

Kuwait Motor Town Ali Sabah Al Salem, Ahmadi Governorate, Kuwait Igora Drive Priozersk, Leningrad Oblast, Russia

2021 Jeddah Corniche Circuit Jeddah Corniche, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Sokol International Racetrack Sokol, Almaty, Kazakhstan Las Vegas Strip Circuit Las Vegas, Nevada, United States