Abu Dhabi is one of the newest circuits on the calendar and the venue is spectacular – particularly with the twilight timing, starting off as the sun sets and finishing in complete darkness. The Abu Dhabi grand prix gets better and better every year. It’s slowly becoming a highlight of the year, with more fans turning up to watch as each season goes by. There are more and more activities around the race too, with live music and all sorts of other things happening around the harbour. Of course, it’s the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi this year and also double points.
Circuit Layout
The Yas Marina circuit contains very little high speed content. Aside from Turns One to Four, the majority of the 21-corner lap comprises low-speed corners and straights. One surprising result of the track layout is the lack of overtaking, as demonstrated particularly prominently during the title-deciding race in 2010. Although there is an extremely long straight between turns Seven and Eight, speed onto and along that straight is entirely dependent on being able to stay close to the car in front through the preceding low-speed, low grip grandstand section. The 2014 breed of cars have proven to be easier to follow than their predecessors, with overtaking more prevalent that seen in recent years. However, making a pass will still be far from an easy task around this particular circuit.
Turns One/Two – The drivers will need to make sure that they get the car all the way over to the right-hand side of the track and brake just before the 100m sign. He’ll then need to be flat-out through the exit and uphill through Turn Two.
Turns Three/Four – A long right-hander, which is fast and seems to keep going and going. It then switches straight into a slight left-hand kink, dropping the car down the other side of the hill and into the stadium complex.
Turns Five/Six – A tight chicane which offers very low grip.
Turn Seven – A hairpin which will need to be taken with a wide entry to the corner and it’s absolutely crucial to carry as much speed as possible, due to the long DRS straight which begins on exit.
Turns Eight/Nine/Ten – The drivers will brake late into the first part of the chicane where it’s so easy to lock either the rears or the fronts. The driver needs to take a really tight line into the first apex so that he can carry as much speed as possible through the second and down another DRS straight, which features the slight turn of turn Ten. This is another prime overtaking opportunity and, the none Mercedes-Benz power unit cars are probably going to wish they had the engine.
Turns Eleven/Twelve/Thirteen – This combination of corners is very low speed and the car will skate around through here.
Turn Fourteen – Drivers can brake late for this left hander but, hitting the apex is important as it’s so easy to run wide and ruin the exit.
Turns Fifteen/Sixteen – This double right is taken flat out.
Turn Seventeen – It’s important to get the steering straight as quickly as possible out of T15/16 as it’s easy to lock the right front under braking here.
Turns Eighteen/Nineteen – The drivers can carry quite a lot of speed through these two left handers taking a lot of kerb and running wide on the exit of 18 in particular, before a short blast down the straight.
Turn Twenty – The drivers will have to brake just a little bit into here, carrying as much speed as possible.
Turn Twenty One – The driver will back right off for this, the final corner – he’ll use all of the run off as he heads down across the start/finish line to complete his lap.
Tyres
The past two seasons have seen the medium and soft tyre allocated for Abu Dhabi, with 2012/2013 proving to be predominantly one or two stop races respectively. This time around, however, the soft and supersoft have been nominated – an aggressive choice given that the previous years’ race saw the option tyre complete just a handful of laps before being replaced by primes for the following two stints. Although the 2014 compounds are, as a guide, around half a step harder than their predecessors, this season could well see a three stop race in Abu Dhabi. As demonstrated in Brazil, this can lead to differing strategy calls, multiple changes of position and the potential for plenty of entertaining battles throughout the field.
Fuel Consumption
Abu Dhabi lies towards the upper end of the scale in terms of fuel consumption. However, there have yet to be notable dramas at any circuit from a fuel perspective – and there have been a number where this should be more of a factor than at the Yas Marina. The drivers have coped impressively well with restrictions on fuel usage this season so, while theoretically a consideration, this is not a pressing concern.
Twilight Running
This is one of a growing number of races which take place going into dusk, resulting in significant variations in track temperature between sessions across the weekend. Whereas, at a more regular event, ambient and track temperatures may fluctuate by between five and ten degrees, the shift in Abu Dhabi is far greater. This can affect track performance by over half a second per lap which, while not of concern, is a factor which must be accounted for in an appropriate manner to ensure that a team does not lose its way on setup. An overheating problem in P1, for example, will not be as prominent during P2. Over-compensating for this would therefore risk taking the wrong path in terms of balance. Teams will have Singapore and Bahrain in particular to draw from in terms of prior experience of this phenomenon, however it is certainly a noteworthy consideration.
Reliability
By the final race, every team will see a number of elements of their cars reaching the end of their life cycle. This is the nature of a season, with parts designed to last just long enough to complete the calendar but very little beyond. Of course, every effort will be made to ensure the best possible spec is installed in the car so as to reduce the reliability risk. However, as the multiple red flag periods in Brazil demonstrated, everything is running right on the limit. Unknown failures become increasingly commonplace at this stage and more of the same can be expected in Abu Dhabi. This makes it difficult to get into the usual rhythm of a race weekend, with running time frequently disrupted.
External Influences
In the final throes of a long season, fatigue has well and truly set in for everybody involved in the sport. Add to this the pressure of a World Championship title decider – both internally from team stakeholders and externally from the media – and the scrutiny on each and every move of the team intensifies. Of course, dealing with pressure is part and parcel of working in Formula One and something every team member is accustomed to. But in the pressure cooker of Abu Dhabi, the heat really is on.
The final chapter, what next?
Barring any major upsets, the Constructors’ Championship positions are now more or less settled throughout the field. Teams will therefore now be shifting their focus very much towards 2015 in their approach to Abu Dhabi. While each team will, of course, still put every ounce of effort into the race weekend, it would not be a surprise to see Friday running dominated by preparations for next season. New parts may well appear on certain cars, while a priority for others may be on finding the best baseline setup from which to work during the two day test which follows the Grand Prix weekend itself. As the final chance to gather on track data before the winter break, the extended Abu Dhabi trip as a whole could prove a key tool in providing a platform for performance in 2015.
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