Abu Dhabi GP Preview

27 October 09

At a Glance When: Friday 30 October to Sunday 1 November, 2009 Where: Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi Round: 17 of 17 Standings:     AT&T Williams 34.5pts (6th), N Rosberg 34.5pts (7th), K Nakajima -

Abu Dhabi’s Hot Topics
Will Yas Marina deliver on its promise?
Will the driver market heat up in the desert?
Who will take victory at the last race of the 2009 season?

Race Data
Friday    
Practice 1: 13:00 - 14:30
Practice 2: 17:00 - 18:30
Saturday     
Practice 3: 14:00 - 15:00
Qualifying: 17:00 - 18:00
Sunday    
Race: 17:00
Lap Distance: 5.554km
Laps: 55
Distance: 305.470kms

Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi
Formula One is poised for its second event in the Middle East – and the new Yas Marina Circuit features a number of innovative features, including a five star hotel that straddles the track. On the ground, its 5.55 kilometres (run anti-clockwise) incorporate long straights leading into tight corners, to encourage overtaking, plus a series of fast sweeps that will contribute to average lap speeds approaching 200kph. Contemporary protocol dictates that two-stop strategies will almost certainly be the preferred tactic.

Talking technical
Car dynamics
Average turn angle indicates the average angle of a circuit’s corners expressed in degrees. The higher the average turn angle, the more acute the corners in the circuit’s configuration and the greater propensity for understeer to compromise lap time. Average turn angle at the Yas Marina circuit is 1000 - which is below average for the season. The circuit predominately features low speed corners which are linked by two long straights.

Based on simulation work, the end of straight (EOS) speed at the Yas Marina circuit is 300kp/h. The Abu Dhabi track ranks as having the 4th slowest EOS speed on the 2009 calendar, and this is one indicator of the wing level typically selected to optimise the downforce/drag ratio. Meanwhile, Yas Marina also has the 3rd slowest average lap speed of any of the tracks on the calendar.

Pitlane & refuelling strategy
The pitlane length and profile contribute to the determination of the optimum fuel strategy. The pitlane loss at Abu Dhabi is approximately 18.5 seconds, which is the 10th most penalising pitlane in the Championship. To complete a normalised distance of 5km around the Yas Marina circuit requires 2.43kg of fuel against an average of 2.42kg per 5km across all circuits this season, ranking the circuit as being averagely demanding in terms of fuel consumption.

Safety car
Another key contributor to the determination of race strategy is the likelihood of safety car deployments, which are influenced by weather considerations, the availability of clear run-off areas that allow racing to continue while recovery takes place and the circuit profile, especially the character of the entry and exit into turn one at the start of the race. The Yas Marina circuit is new for 2009. It has large run-off areas with additional tarmac sections laid outside the turns, so the circuit’s character is unlikely to induce a safety car period.

Temperature, pressure & humidity
As an example, it is a long observed tradition that drivers arriving at Interlagos complain about a lack of grip and an absence of engine power. Having become acquainted with a baseline of engine and aerodynamic performance during the season, the climb to 750 metres above sea level for one of the final races can, courtesy of the reduction in air density, rob a Formula One car of engine power, aerodynamic performance and cooling. The losses can come close to double digit percentages and thus have a very real impact on car performance.  

Air density is a factor of the prevailing ambient temperature, which varies most significantly by season, air pressure which is closely linked to altitude and, to a much smaller degree, by humidity. Thus if races are run at the same time each year, the factor that tends to have the greatest bearing on air density is elevation. Abu Dhabi is at sea level and therefore has the equal highest average pressure (1,013 mbar) of any race venue in the 2009 Championship. Engine power will be high due to the ambient pressure, although there will be a small reduction as a result of the high ambient temperatures.

What the drivers say
What we did after Brazil
Kazuki    “As it was my home race in Japan at the start of the month, I’ve pretty much spent the whole of October there. I then travelled straight to Brazil from Tokyo so, after the race last weekend, I finally went back home to Oxford after a full month away. It was nice to finally be home as it was a really busy trip. I’ve had a quiet week or so, catching up with friends and spending some time at the factory with my engineers.”

Nico     “I finally made it home after some technical issues with the plane to London on Sunday after the race and since then have had quite a busy week. On Thursday, I joined a karting day with some guests of Thomson Reuters before going to the factory on Friday to use the sim to prepare for Abu Dhabi. On Monday, I’m in Munich with Randstad and then I fly to Abu Dhabi. I’ll arrive on Tuesday morning and have a day to get used to the heat and time difference before another appearance for RBS in Dubai on Wednesday.”

About Abu Dhabi and the all new Yas Marina Circuit
Nico     “I am really looking forward to going to Abu Dhabi. With the amount of time and effort that has gone into building it, I think it’s going to be a fantastic venue with stunning facilities and a great experience for Formula One. I’ve heard it’s a sell-out too so it should be a really exciting race weekend for the teams and the fans and a great way to end the year.”

Kazuki    “It’s really exciting to be going to a brand new circuit. The organisers certainly look like they’ve put a lot of thought into developing the track and the facilities. It all looks very impressive and the perfect place to end the championship.”

Abu Dhabi from a technical perspective
Kazuki    “As we haven’t driven the circuit yet, it’s difficult to give an accurate breakdown of the track but our simulator has provided us with some really invaluable data. It looks like set-up will veer towards a medium to high downforce configuration to cope with the long straight (which will require good top speeds) and tight corners which we expect to see on a street circuit. Good grip levels for balance and to cope with the sand will also be crucial. One of the most interesting things for me is that we will drive under a hotel which I can’t wait to experience.”  

Nico     “Abu Dhabi is going to be a new experience for all of us so the simulator at Grove has been a real help and I’m pleased I had it at my disposal this week. There are some things like the bumps and kerbs that you can’t completely replicate, but braking, oversteer and understeer are all very similar. It’s definitely a big advantage having a sim like ours as I will be able to drive out of the pits on Friday and know the track pretty much straightaway. The one consideration I’ll be interested to see play out is the fact that we will start the race in daylight and then move into the night time.”