The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix TV Schedule and Chat

[TVC_Colwal]

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The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Yas Marina Circuit

Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, 11-13 November

Friday 11 November

Practice one: 0855-1035, BBC Red Button TVCatchup
Practice two: 1255-1435, BBC Red Button TVCatchup

Saturday 12 November

Practice three: 0955-1035, BBC Red Button TVCatchup
Qualifying: 1215-1420, BBC One TVCatchup

Sunday 13 November

Race: 1210-1515, BBC One TVCatchup
Highlights: 2300-midnight, BBC Three TVCatchup

Circuit information

Lap data
Lap length: 5.554km
Race laps: 55
Race distance: 305.361 km
Lap Record: 1:40.279 - S.Vettle (2009)

The visual drama of the Yas Marina Circuit at twilight is already so embedded in our minds that it’s hard to believe the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is only in its third year. Last season it hosted the championship decider - the first four-way title showdown in Formula One history. This year they have made some changes to the track, so we have yet to see if we can get some exciting racing on this track.

Quick look at Last race (2010)

The 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was held on 14 November 2010 at the Yas Marina Circuit on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. It was the 19th and last round of the

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2010 Formula One season. The race, contested over 55 laps, was won by Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel after starting from pole position. Lewis Hamilton finished second in a McLaren, and team-mate Jenson Button completed the podium, in third place.

A second race win in succession – as well as a second consecutive Abu Dhabi Grand Prix win – for Vettel, coupled with other championship contenders Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber finishing second, seventh and eighth respectively, allowed him to become the youngest World Drivers' Champion, at the age of 23 years, 134 days. Button's third place allowed him to finish fifth in the championship standings, having been eliminated from championship contention at the previous race in Brazil.

Yas Marina a closer look

Average turn angle at the Yas Marina circuit is 1000 – which is below average for the season.
Yas Marina also has the 3rd slowest average lap speed of any of the tracks on the calendar.
The Abu Dhabi track ranks as having the 4th slowest EOS (end of straight) speed on the 2011 calendar.
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.
The Yas Marina circuit was new in 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.
Abu Dhabi is at sea level and therefore has the equal highest average pressure (1,013 mbar) of any race venue in the 2010 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.


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 2011 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 strategy
The pitlane length and profile contribute to the determination of the optimum 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 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 2010 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.

News

Virgin to run Wickens in practice
Razia added to Lotus test line-up
Hamilton bullish on Abu Dhabi chances
Red Bull fully committed to Formula 1
Sauber: Stronger qualifying form is key
Tilke says Austin is on schedule
Ceccon joins Toro Rosso test line-up
Renault appoints new team manager
F1 chiefs approve team name changes
Rossi joins Lotus for Abu Dhabi test
HRT extends technical deal with Williams
Webber wants more lenient stewards
Grosjean ready to seize F1 opportunity
Formula 1 meets to discuss key issues
Coletti to test for Toro Rosso
Chandhok: India success a boost for F1
Renault still in the dark over Kubica
Ecclestone: Hamilton will bounce back
Herbert: Massa deserved penalty
Virgin applies for name change
Formula 1 to consider qualifying tweaks
Vergne to test with RBR in Abu Dhabi
F1 chiefs to discuss calendar concerns
Grid penalty for Maldonado in Abu Dhabi
Q & A with Williams's Mark Gillan
Williams appoints duo for board

Website: Abu Dhabi GP website

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Abu Dhabi Weather:

The Yas Marina Circuit

Designed as an Arabian version of Monaco, 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 four grandstand areas (Main Grandstand, West Grandstand, North Grandstand and South Grandstand) 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 a few potential overtaking spots. The pit straight down to turn 1 is good for a KERS car. 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 longest straight on the Formula One calendar, the DRS zone, and is ended with a heavy braking chicane at turn 8. Finally the long curve down to turn 11 as the potential for overtaking especially for a KERS car. 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.

Last year's race

The conditions on the grid were dry before the race, the air temperature at 29 °C (84 °F), track temperature at 33 °C (91 °F); and no rain expected. The race's formation lap commenced at 17:00 local time (UTC+4), with all 24 drivers getting away cleanly. Vettel retained his pole position lead into the first corner, followed by Hamilton, with Button moving into third after Alonso made a slow start. At turn six, Schumacher tried to pass team-mate Rosberg around the outside, while battling for eighth position. Rosberg spun Schumacher's Mercedes, which meant he faced the rest of the oncoming field on track and was collected by Liuzzi, causing both drivers to retire on the spot and the safety car to be deployed. This was one of the most terrifying crashes I have seen in years as Schumacher was so close to being decapitated by Liuzzi's car riding up like that and thank god it didn't happen. In order to aid any losses that a pit stop may have cost under normal racing conditions, six drivers – Rosberg, Petrov, Jaime Alguersuari, Bruno Senna, Lucas di Grassi and Christian Klien – made pit stops at the end of lap one, and rejoined the circuit between 17th and 22nd. Racing resumed at the end of lap five when the safety car pulled into the pit-lane. The top five remained static until the end of lap eleven.
Early pit-stops by Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso did not help their championship chances, as progress up the order was slower than expected.

Webber – who brushed the armco with the right-hand side of his car three laps previously – pitted after struggling for grip on the super-soft, option tyres. He rejoined the circuit 16th, and behind the early-stopping trio of Rosberg, Petrov and Alguersuari. Four laps later, Alonso also brushed the Turn 19 barrier before pitting. He rejoined just in front of Webber, who had moved up the field steadily, and was running 13th – and set the race's fastest lap at the time – by the time Alonso pitted. With Vettel and Hamilton still setting quicker lap times than their championship rivals, despite being on heavily-worn option tyres compared to the fresher, hard tyres of Alonso and Webber. That pairing caught up with Petrov towards the end of lap 18, a battle that would go on until the race's conclusion, with the Renault driver having already stopped for tyres. Five laps later, Alonso tried to overtake Petrov under braking for Turn 11 but had to back out of the manoeuvre, narrowly avoiding the back of the Renault. On the same lap, Hamilton pitted from second place. Vettel pitted from the lead on the next lap, and rejoined the circuit comfortably ahead of Hamilton, but in second place behind Button, who had still to stop on track. Hamilton had filtered back into the race in fifth position, behind Kubica and Kobayashi who were running similar strategies to Button out front. After passing Kobayashi, Hamilton closed in behind Kubica but found it hard to pass the Renault, akin to what Alonso had been suffering behind Petrov. Despite having nearly 40 laps on the harder tyre, Kubica's pace was still of a substantial level to hold off the advances of Hamilton.

Button pitted on lap 39 to release Vettel back into the lead, holding a lead of nearly twelve seconds over Kubica. Button rejoined in fourth place behind Kubica and Hamilton, with Kubica ever increasing his margin over Petrov and Alonso, who were running inside the points again in seventh and eighth respectively. Kubica finally pitted on lap 46 from second place, and came back on track in sixth place, crucially ahead of team-mate Petrov, Alonso and Webber; the latter pair seeing their championship chances dwindling with every passing lap. In clean air, Hamilton set the race's fastest lap on lap 47 – 1:41.274 – as he closed slightly on Vettel. No further passing attempts were made on track, and thus, Vettel led the race to the end, to take his fifth win of the season. The McLarens of Hamilton and Button completed the podium ahead of Rosberg, the Renaults of Kubica and Petrov, Alonso and Webber. On the wind down lap Alonso showed his frustration at Petrov who was driving his own points race. Rounding out the points were Alguersuari and Massa, the Ferrari driver having never got ahead of his rival in 40 laps of battling. With the poor results of Alonso and Webber, Vettel claimed the championship to become the youngest Championship winner in the sport and became the first driver to simultaneously lead the championship for the first time, and as a result win the championship since James Hunt in 1976. His championship-winning margin was four points over Alonso, with Webber a further ten points behind in third. An emotional Vettle was totally overcome at his winning the world championships.

[adamtemp64]

Glad I got in first on the preditctions lots of sheep this week lol

[TVC_Colwal]

Glad I got in first on the preditctions lots of sheep this week lol

Baaa, hardly any choice TBH and tartist must be careful this week as it all depends on kerrs selection, going to be tight I think

[tartist]

Neat YouTube trick in post #1!

[TVC_Colwal]

Neat YouTube trick in post #1!

lol someone actually noticed

[stuart08]

Apologies for the late reply - Just it seems my joker hasn't been noticed in my original post. Seems like it was in white writing - Ooops! Damn computer changing the colour of my writing

[Frederick]

Hi,

I was extremely disappointed this morning having sat down to watch P1, only to realise it was Thursday! Oh well, we'll give it another go tomorrow

Have fun, frederick...

[tartist]

Hi,

I was extremely disappointed this morning having sat down to watch P1, only to realise it was Thursday! Oh well, we'll give it another go tomorrow

Have fun, frederick...

the number of times I've done similar... It's something to do with being over 21 ;-).

[TVC_Colwal]

Hi,

I was extremely disappointed this morning having sat down to watch P1, only to realise it was Thursday! Oh well, we'll give it another go tomorrow

Have fun, frederick...

hehehe oh that has made my night my friend. My brother is fed up as he hates F1 and lives one mile from the Yas Circuit and he doesn't only have to put up with it this weekend but all next week they have the young drivers trials

[tartist]

Apologies for the late reply - Just it seems my joker hasn't been noticed in my original post. Seems like it was in white writing - Ooops! Damn computer changing the colour of my writing

I've noticed that when super moderators edit their posts, unlike lesser plebs, the post shows no mention of the fact and that this could be used by lesser mortals than yourself for cheating purposes. Thankfully you're not one of them. Cough, snigger, chortle......