Yas Island Circuit
Encyclopedia
The Yas Marina Circuit is the venue for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
. The circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke
, and is situated on Yas Island
, about 30 minutes from the capital of the UAE, Abu Dhabi
. Yas Marina is the second Formula One track in the Middle East
, with the first being in Bahrain
. A two day GP2 Asia Series
test was held to officially open the circuit, which was held a week before the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It also hosted the opening event for the Australian V8 Supercars series, the Yas V8 400
, in February 2010
.
, the twenty-one corners twists through the man made island
off the Abu Dhabi coast, passing by the marina and through the Yas Marina Hotel
designed and conceived of by New York
based architects Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture, Asymptote Architecture
, and winding its way through sand dunes, with several long straights and tight corners.
The marina
-based development includes a theme park, a water park
, as well as residential areas, hotels and beaches.
The circuit has five grandstand areas (Main Grandstand, West Grandstand, North Grandstand, South Grandstand and Marina Grandstand (aka Support) and part of its pit lane exit runs underneath the track. It also houses a team building behind the pit building, Media Center, Dragster Track, VIP Tower and Ferrari World Theme Park
. Additionally, one of the gravel traps runs underneath the West grandstand.
The circuit has few potential overtaking spots. From turns 2, 3, 4 down to 5 will be a good place as a car which has good speed out of Turn 4 could get beside a fellow driver and outbrake them. After turn 7 the second longest straight on the Formula One
calendar (after the Korean GP) is ended with a heavy braking chicane at turn 8. Finally the long curve down to turn 11 as the potential for overtaking.
The pit exit of circuit runs under the actual track through a tunnel. Also, part of the track runs through one of the on site hotels.
The circuit was built by main contractor Cebarco-WCT WLL, under contract from developer Aldar Properties
. Among the sub-contractors involved were KOH AH HING from Malaysia (Structural contractor), as well as specialised subcontractors; Voltas
(MEP), PKE-Siemens (MEP), Able-Middle East (Earthworks), Hamilton International (Interior), Bau Bickhardt (Track) and Unger Steel (Steel structure).
The circuit was constructed with a permanent lighting system provided by Musco Lighting
, similar to that also installed at the Losail Circuit
in Qatar
. Yas Marina Circuit is the largest permanent sports venue lighting project in the world; previously that title was held by Losail.
The surface of the track is made of Graywacke aggregate
, shipped to Abu Dhabi from Bayston Hill
quarry in Shropshire
, England
. The surface material is highly acclaimed by circuit bosses and Formula 1 drivers for the high level of grip
it offers. The same aggregate material is used at the Bahrain International Circuit
for the Bahrain Grand Prix
.
On 7 October 2009, the circuit was granted final approval to hold Formula One races by the FIA. Bruno Senna
was the first driver to complete a test run on the circuit.
, the circuit was welcomed by the drivers, with Nico Rosberg
commenting that every corner was 'unique', while double World Champion Fernando Alonso
echoed his sentiments, stating that it was enjoyable because there was always something to do. Force India's
Adrian Sutil
rated the circuit as being better than Formula One's other night race in Singapore as he felt there was too much light at Marina Bay.
Not all of the drivers were complimentary, with Giancarlo Fisichella
expressing a particular dislike of the pit exit, which dips under the main circuit by way of a tunnel. Although the pit exit remained free of incidents for the early practice sessions, Fisichella claimed that it was both very difficult and dangerous.
The circuit came under much criticism from drivers following the 2010 race
for a lack of suitable overtaking opportunites, despite the lack of high speed corners, which cause the cars to spread out somewhat. Fernando Alonso
was unable to pass Vitaly Petrov
for much of the race, with Mark Webber
also remaining behind Alonso. The organisers were urged to modify the circuit for the 2011 race, in order to create more legitimate overtaking opportunities. While initially agreeing to make changes, organizers have since postponed any changes following the massive increase in overtaking seen in the 2011 Formula One season
caused by new tyre strategies and the DRS & KERS systems.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is a Formula One race. It was announced in early 2007 at the Abu Dhabi F1 Festival in the United Arab Emirates...
. The circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke
Hermann Tilke
Hermann Tilke is a German engineer and auto racer, who has designed numerous Formula One motor racing circuits.-Racing:...
, and is situated on Yas Island
Yas Island
Yas Island is an island in Abu Dhabi.The island is the site of a US$36 billion development project by Aldar Properties. It occupies a total land area of 2,500 hectares, of which 1,700 hectares will be claimed for development. The island contains the Yas Marina Circuit, which hosts the Formula One...
, about 30 minutes from the capital of the UAE, Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
. Yas Marina is the second Formula One track in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, with the first being in Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
The Bahrain International Circuit is a motorsport venue opened in 2004 and used for drag racing, GP2 and the annual Bahrain Grand Prix. The 2004 Grand Prix was the first held in the Middle East. Since 2006, Australian V8 Supercar has been raced at the BIC and the V8 races are named as the Desert 400...
. A two day GP2 Asia Series
GP2 Asia Series
The GP2 Asia Series is a form of open wheel motor racing based on the GP2 series.The series was officially announced during the weekend of the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix. GP2 series organiser Bruno Michel commented that "It is of great importance that the GP2 Asia Series maintains a strong and viable...
test was held to officially open the circuit, which was held a week before the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It also hosted the opening event for the Australian V8 Supercars series, the Yas V8 400
Yas V8 400
The Yas V8 400 is a V8 Supercar motor racing event and presently one of two V8 Supercar events held outside of Australia or New Zealand. The race is held at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates...
, in February 2010
2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series
The 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series was an FIA sanctioned international motor racing series for V8 Supercars. It was the twelfth V8 Supercar Championship Series and the fourteenth series in which V8 Supercars have contested the premier Australian touring car title...
.
Design
Designed as an Arabian version of MonacoCircuit de Monaco
Circuit de Monaco is a street circuit laid out on the city streets of Monte Carlo and La Condamine around the harbour of the principality of Monaco. It is commonly referred to as "Monte Carlo" because it is largely inside the Monte Carlo neighbourhood of Monaco.The circuit is used on one weekend in...
, the twenty-one corners twists through the man made island
Artificial island
An artificial island or man-made island is an island or archipelago that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means...
off the Abu Dhabi coast, passing by the marina and through the Yas Marina Hotel
Yas Marina Hotel
Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi is a hotel facility built across the F1 Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.-Design: Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi is located within the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi...
designed and conceived of by New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
based architects Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture, Asymptote Architecture
Asymptote Architecture
Asymptote is a New York-based architectural office founded in 1989 by principals Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture.-Overview:Asymptote Architecture recently announced the opening of the Yas Marina Hotel, a 500 room Hotel complex in Abu Dhabi. The Yas Hotel is the world's first building designed...
, and winding its way through sand dunes, with several long straights and tight corners.
The marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
-based development includes a theme park, a water park
Water park
A waterpark is an amusement park that features waterplay areas, such as water slides, splash pads, spraygrounds , lazy rivers, or other recreational bathing, swimming, and barefooting environments...
, as well as residential areas, hotels and beaches.
The circuit has five grandstand areas (Main Grandstand, West Grandstand, North Grandstand, South Grandstand and Marina Grandstand (aka Support) and part of its pit lane exit runs underneath the track. It also houses a team building behind the pit building, Media Center, Dragster Track, VIP Tower and Ferrari World Theme Park
Ferrari World
Ferrari World is a Ferrari themed amusement park on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The park is situated under a roof making it the largest indoor amusement park in the world. Ferrari World officially opened on November 4, 2010...
. Additionally, one of the gravel traps runs underneath the West grandstand.
The circuit has few potential overtaking spots. From turns 2, 3, 4 down to 5 will be a good place as a car which has good speed out of Turn 4 could get beside a fellow driver and outbrake them. After turn 7 the second longest straight on the Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
calendar (after the Korean GP) is ended with a heavy braking chicane at turn 8. Finally the long curve down to turn 11 as the potential for overtaking.
The pit exit of circuit runs under the actual track through a tunnel. Also, part of the track runs through one of the on site hotels.
- Seating Capacity – 41,093
- Area – 161.9 ha
- Length – 5.5 km
Construction
Aldar Properties
Aldar Properties PJSC is a real estate development, management and investment company with headquarters in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates...
. Among the sub-contractors involved were KOH AH HING from Malaysia (Structural contractor), as well as specialised subcontractors; Voltas
Voltas
Voltas Limited is an engineering, air conditioning and refrigeration company based in Mumbai, India. It makes stuff for industries in areas such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning, refrigeration, construction equipment, materials handling, water management, building management systems,...
(MEP), PKE-Siemens (MEP), Able-Middle East (Earthworks), Hamilton International (Interior), Bau Bickhardt (Track) and Unger Steel (Steel structure).
The circuit was constructed with a permanent lighting system provided by Musco Lighting
Musco Lighting
Musco Lighting is an American privately owned company, based out of Oskaloosa, Iowa that is noted for providing permanent or temporary lighting at major sports events and stadiums including the Super Bowl and Olympics....
, similar to that also installed at the Losail Circuit
Losail International Circuit
Losail International Circuit is a motor racing circuit located just outside Doha in the Persian Gulf State of Qatar.Built in just under a year by 1,000 workers at the cost of $US 58 million, the track opened in 2004 to the inaugural Marlboro Grand Prix of Qatar, won by Sete Gibernau...
in Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
. Yas Marina Circuit is the largest permanent sports venue lighting project in the world; previously that title was held by Losail.
The surface of the track is made of Graywacke aggregate
Construction Aggregate
Construction aggregate, or simply "aggregate", is a broad category of coarse particulate material used in construction, including sand, gravel, crushed stone, slag, recycled concrete and geosynthetic aggregates. Aggregates are the most mined material in the world...
, shipped to Abu Dhabi from Bayston Hill
Bayston Hill
Bayston Hill is a large village and civil parish in central Shropshire, England. It is south of the county town Shrewsbury and located on the main A49 road, the Shrewsbury to Hereford road....
quarry in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The surface material is highly acclaimed by circuit bosses and Formula 1 drivers for the high level of grip
Grip (autoracing)
Grip is a term describing the total cornering envelope of a race car by the friction of the tire as a function of i.a. the mass of the machine and the downforce generated.-See also:*Lift *Downforce*Bernoulli's principle*Ground effect in cars...
it offers. The same aggregate material is used at the Bahrain International Circuit
Bahrain International Circuit
The Bahrain International Circuit is a motorsport venue opened in 2004 and used for drag racing, GP2 and the annual Bahrain Grand Prix. The 2004 Grand Prix was the first held in the Middle East. Since 2006, Australian V8 Supercar has been raced at the BIC and the V8 races are named as the Desert 400...
for the Bahrain Grand Prix
Bahrain Grand Prix
The Bahrain Grand Prix is a Formula One Championship race which first took place at the Bahrain International Circuit on 4 April 2004.The Bahrain Grand Prix, sponsored by Gulf Air, made history as the first Formula One Grand Prix to be held in the Middle East...
.
On 7 October 2009, the circuit was granted final approval to hold Formula One races by the FIA. Bruno Senna
Bruno Senna
Bruno Senna Lalli is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver and the nephew of the late three-time Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna. His mother is Ayrton's older sister, Viviane. His father, Flávio Lalli, died in a motorcycle crash in 1996. He wears a slightly modified version of his uncle's...
was the first driver to complete a test run on the circuit.
Reception
After the first practice sessions at the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was the seventeenth and last race of the 2009 Formula One season. It took place on November 1, 2009 at the 3.45-mile Hermann Tilke-designed Yas Marina Circuit. It was the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and also the first ever day-night Grand Prix...
, the circuit was welcomed by the drivers, with Nico Rosberg
Nico Rosberg
Nico Erik Rosberg is a racing driver for the Mercedes GP Formula One team. He races under the German flag in Formula One, although he competed for Finland earlier in his career...
commenting that every corner was 'unique', while double World Champion Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari....
echoed his sentiments, stating that it was enjoyable because there was always something to do. Force India's
Force India
Sahara Force India Formula One Team, the trading name of Force India Formula One Team Limited, is a Formula One racing team based in Silverstone, United Kingdom which currently holds an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 2007 when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and...
Adrian Sutil
Adrian Sutil
-Biography:Sutil is the son of professional musicians Monika, a German, and Jorge, a Uruguayan. He has two brothers named Daniel and Raphael. He weighs 165 pounds and is 6 feet tall. A talented pianist, Sutil started karting at 14 before moving up to Swiss Formula Ford 1800 in 2002...
rated the circuit as being better than Formula One's other night race in Singapore as he felt there was too much light at Marina Bay.
Not all of the drivers were complimentary, with Giancarlo Fisichella
Giancarlo Fisichella
Giancarlo Fisichella , also known as Fisico, Giano or Fisi, is an Italian racing driver. He has driven in Formula One for Minardi, Jordan, Benetton, Sauber, Renault, Force India and Ferrari. Nowadays, he drives for AF Corse's GT2 Ferrari in various sportscar events...
expressing a particular dislike of the pit exit, which dips under the main circuit by way of a tunnel. Although the pit exit remained free of incidents for the early practice sessions, Fisichella claimed that it was both very difficult and dangerous.
The circuit came under much criticism from drivers following the 2010 race
2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 14 November 2010 at the Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island, an island on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. It was the 19th and last round of the 2010 Formula One season...
for a lack of suitable overtaking opportunites, despite the lack of high speed corners, which cause the cars to spread out somewhat. Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time World Champion, who is currently racing for Ferrari....
was unable to pass Vitaly Petrov
Vitaly Petrov
Vitaly Alexandrovich Petrov is a Russian Formula One racing driver, currently driving for the Lotus Renault GP team. He is known as "Vyborg Rocket" in Russia. He is, to date, the only Russian to have competed in the Formula One World Championship....
for much of the race, with Mark Webber
Mark Webber
Mark Alan Webber is an Australian Formula One driver.After some racing success in Australia, Webber moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 to further his motorsport career...
also remaining behind Alonso. The organisers were urged to modify the circuit for the 2011 race, in order to create more legitimate overtaking opportunities. While initially agreeing to make changes, organizers have since postponed any changes following the massive increase in overtaking seen in the 2011 Formula One season
2011 Formula One season
The 2011 Formula One season was the 62nd FIA Formula One season. The original calendar consisted of twenty rounds, including the inaugural running of the Indian Grand Prix before the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Pirelli returned to the sport as tyre supplier for all teams, taking over...
caused by new tyre strategies and the DRS & KERS systems.
See also
- Abu Dhabi Grand PrixAbu Dhabi Grand PrixThe Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is a Formula One race. It was announced in early 2007 at the Abu Dhabi F1 Festival in the United Arab Emirates...
- Formula OneFormula OneFormula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
- List of Formula One circuits
- Yas IslandYas IslandYas Island is an island in Abu Dhabi.The island is the site of a US$36 billion development project by Aldar Properties. It occupies a total land area of 2,500 hectares, of which 1,700 hectares will be claimed for development. The island contains the Yas Marina Circuit, which hosts the Formula One...