GP Abu Dhabi, Yas Island circuit: Preview and weekend times

The Formula 1 World Championship comes to an end! Next weekend the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will take place, the nineteenth and final race of 2010 which will decide the name of the next world champion!

Last weekend, the Brazilian Grand Prix already awarded the constructors' title to Red Bull. The Austrian team clearly deserved the success by taking it with a one-two: Vettel led teammate Webber to the checkered flag. Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso reached the third step of the podium and continues to lead the drivers' standings with an eight-point lead over the Australian from Red Bull.

The protagonist of the Carioca Grand Prix, albeit for a few metres, was also Nico Hulkenberg. The young German Williams driver surprised everyone on Saturday by taking pole position on a damp track, the first of his career and the first for Williams since 2005. However, Hulkenberg immediately stopped at the start from Vettel and after a few corners to Webber, it was more difficult for Alonso to get the better of the young German who defended himself for a few laps, closing every possible space in a harsh but very correct manner.

The Brazilian Grand Prix also set a small record: apart from Liuzzi who was involved in an accident at Senna's S, there were no retirements. And perhaps this has caused many problems in terms of traffic and dubbing. There was a ridiculous scene when the Safety Car returned to the pits after coming out to restore order following Liuzzi's accident. Groups of five/six lapped drivers were intervening between those at full revs and even came close to having accidents.

Nick Heidfeld was penalized for not observing the blue flags, but more penalties would not have hurt. Alonso had to do the slalom with Sutil who didn't leave him any way; Hamilton was hindered in several corners and Webber had to overtake two cars to get back into the wake of his teammate Vettel.

The FIA ​​would do well to open a calm reflection on lapped drivers. This year, the rule (introduced a few seasons ago) which required lapped drivers during the Safety Car regime to double up and rejoin the group to leave the drivers free to battle at full revs has been abolished. In our opinion it was an error that should be remedied immediately.

The setting for the last Grand Prix of the season is therefore the Yas Island circuit in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, considered together with Dubai one of the cities with the most prosperous economies in the world.

The circuit is located in the eastern area of ​​the city on Yas Island and like many of the latest generation tracks it was designed by the architect Tilke, who among other things is already involved in the construction of the new facilities in New Delhi and Austin, which will host the Grand Indian Prix scheduled for 2011 and the United States Grand Prix scheduled for 2012.

The construction of the facility was carried out by the company Aldar Properties, which is also involved in the construction of the gigantic theme park dedicated to Ferrari which is located right next to the track and which came into operation a few days ago.

The circuit is characterized by two very long straights interspersed with a chicane and a final part which, due to its tortuosity, recalls some stretches of the Singapore circuit. However, it is not a city track, even if in the last corners the road is very narrow and you pass very close to the walls that delimit the track.

Another unique feature of the track is the exit of the pit lane which passes under the track with an underpass and enters directly into turn 3.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix also has the distinction of taking place at sunset. The decision was taken by the FIA ​​itself which, taking advantage of the fact that the track was already equipped with a lighting system, decided to impose such times on the organizers so that the European spectator could enjoy the weekend having committed the same hours as a classic Grand Prix of Old World.

All this leads to the race starting with the sun low on the horizon and then finishing at night. The lighting system was installed by Musco Lighting, the same company that carried out the same work for the Losail circuit in Qatar used by the MotoGP.

The 2010 world championship is therefore drawing to a close, with Ferrari driver Alonso leading the standings in contention for the title, followed by Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel. Mathematically in the running, but now out of the running, also Lewis Hamilton.

In any case, the current situation in the world championship is paradoxical. If Red Bull clearly triumphed in the team championship, the drivers' championship is as open as ever and, incredibly, it is not driven by a driver from the Austrian team. It is true that Alonso's advantage is only eight points, if we wanted to compare it with the old scores in use until last year the points would be three, but it is impressive to see how a team that literally managed to dominate the season was then unable to to clearly impose its own driver in the race for individual laurels.

If Alonso were to actually win this championship, the Red Bull leaders would have to ask themselves quite a few questions. The absolute obstinacy in not imposing team orders could prove to be a dangerous boomerang and paradoxically even their possible use in the last race would be detrimental for the Austrian team which has spent a year preaching loyalty and sportsmanship while deprecating the team games implemented by Ferrari in the German Grand Prix.

Winning the title for Webber is however not impossible, in fact Alonso necessarily needs second place if Webber were to win and against a Red Bull in this state of grace even second place seems like a chimera. So much so that last year at its debut in Abu Dhabi, Red Bull triumphed with a double. Vettel's chances are smaller and to win the championship he needs to win the race with Alonso no higher than fifth place.

Lewis Hamilton's chances of victory are almost zero. The Englishman is twenty-four points behind Alonso. To take home the world championship he would have to win and hope that Alonso, Webber and Vettel do not get points, practically a miracle.

At the end of the season it's also time to take stock of this championship. After a 2009 dominated by Brawn GP, ​​this world championship offered very exciting races often peppered with overtaking. The abolition of refueling during the race has slightly improved the situation on the entertainment side, but the feeling is that there is still a lot of work to be done. In fact, we have often witnessed races that were resolved during tire changes in the pits. In short, the work to be done mainly concerns aerodynamics, reducing the turbulence generated by the slipstream is the key to allowing us to have machines that are less sensitive and therefore more suitable for "extreme" situations that could arise during the Grand Prix.

Absolutely positive note of this 2010 which is about to end was the lack of scandals and controversies like those experienced in recent years for the spy story and the alleged alternative world. There was more focus on the track than in the courtrooms and this can only be pleasing.

The world championship that is about to end also marks the end of Bridgestone's adventure in Formula 1. The Japanese tire manufacturer leaves the circus after fourteen successful seasons. Taking up the baton left by the Japanese will be the Italian Pirelli which will make its new tires available to the teams for a collective test to be held on the Abu Dhabi circuit on 19 and 20 November.

After the checkered flag in Abu Dhabi, a long winter break awaits us. The teams will start warming up their engines again in February for the first tests of the 2011 season which promises to be very spectacular as well as demanding. 2011, in fact, includes a calendar of twenty races, never so many, which will start in mid-March and end on November 27th!

We just have to wait until Friday for the start of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend to find out the name of the 2010 world champion. After the race, teams and drivers will take a few days of rest awaiting the two days of testing with the new tyres, and then retreat to their respective factories to work on the new cars.

Obviously, don't miss consulting F1GrandPrix which will always keep you updated on the four-wheeled circus even during the winter break.

See you on March 13, 2011 for the Bahrain Grand Prix!

Domenico Della Valle

INFO
Circuit length: 5,554 km
Laps to go: 55
Total distance: 305,361km
Number of curves: 21 – 12 left, 9 right
Direction of travel: counterclockwise
Bridgestone compounds: super soft/medium

RECORD
Test lap: 1:39.695 – L Hamilton – McLaren Mercedes – 2009
Race lap: 1:40.279 – S Vettel – Red Bull Renault – 2009
Distance: 1h34:03.414 – S Vettel – Red Bull Renault – 2009
Driver victories: 1 – S Vettel
Team victories: 1 – Red Bull
Driver pole: 1 – L Hamilton
Pole team: 1 – McLaren
Km in the lead: 217 – S Vettel
Km in the lead team: 217 – Red Bull
Best driver laps: 1 – S Vettel
Best team laps: 1 – Red Bull
Driver podiums: 1 – Vettel, Webber, Button
Team podiums: 2 – Red Bull
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Hall of Fame

1. 2009 S Vettel – Red Bull Renault
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Times of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Friday November 12
13:00-14:30 (10:00-11:30) Free Practice 1 – Rai Sport 2
17:00-18:30 (14:00-15:30) Free Practice 2 – Rai Sport 2

Saturday November 13
14:00-15:00 (11:00-12:00) Free Practice 3 – Rai Sport 2
17pm-00pm (18pm-00pm) Qualifying – Rai Due

Sunday November 14
17pm (00pm) Race – Rai Uno

Italian times in brackets