Following ongoing complaints that the Yas Marina circuit was boring and did not allow for a good F1 show, track officials gave the go-ahead earlier this year for a major overhaul.
The end result is modifications made to three key areas of the circuit: a different hairpin on the back straight, a new, slightly banked Turn 9 and other changes to the hotel complex. Individually, the changes may seem minor, but added together, they will be very important.
As Mercedes chief strategist James Vowles said on the iRacing Downshift podcast: “In Abu Dhabi, people may not see it as a different circuit, but mark my words, I think we’ll see that with the changes it will be about 10 seconds faster, if not faster, because they’ve completely changed the design.”
The overall goal of the modifications is to try and improve racing , but it is wrong to say that the track designers have limited themselves to creating three corners that offer obvious overtaking opportunities.
Instead, a more comprehensive approach has been taken, where the entire pace of the circuit will change. This should allow the cars to track each other better, take different lines and not suffer as much from their tyres.
Changes to Abu Dhabi have been overseen by circuit design consultancy MRK1 , in coordination with sports venue architects Driven International.
MRK1 Managing Director Mark Hughes praised Abu Dhabi for acknowledging that the original layout was not perfect.
“It flows much better,” he said of the new setup. “In 2009, I think there was a different idea around the layout of the track and the cars were very different.
“I think Yas has been very brave in acknowledging that they have amazing architecture, they have the marina, they have great concerts and parties. The only ingredient that failed them was the track.”
“Not everyone would have taken it on and said, ‘Yeah, we’re going to change it.’ But they have, and I think it’s a very, very good thing.”
As part of their work, MRK1 and Driven International enlisted the services of former F1 driver and Sky commentator Karun Chandhok to help test the planned changes to the simulator.
Chandhok was pleased that what has been done will be a step forward for both drivers and fans.
“Having put hundreds of laps in the modified Yas Marina, I’m sure the drivers will find a smoother and more enjoyable track to drive,” he said.
“Modifying an existing circuit is never easy, it’s like renovating a house rather than building it from scratch, as there are some key parts that cannot be changed. In the case of Yas Marina, the position of the pit building, the marina and the hotel is obviously fixed”.
Here are the key changes and why they were made.
The fork
North Hairpin – 1
One of the most notable changes that have been proposed since Yas Marina first arrived on the calendar was the hairpin at the start of the back straight.
It was long argued that the entry chicane separated the cars, and that meant drivers could not get close enough to use the narrow left-hander as a potential overtaking point, nor use it as an opportunity to open up and get a track with better traction.
However, the chicane was an original element because, at the speeds at which the cars were arriving at this point, without it, the barriers and grandstands were too close to do anything else, and it helped to slow things down.
Moving the guards and stands backwards to remove the chicane was not an option, so the hairpin was moved forwards instead.
Driven International’s Ben Willshire managed to make the changes, saying: “The only way to make this work is to create more run-out on the track. So we’ve had to move the corner up about 42m, as well as improve the barriers according to the FIA”.
“Although being close to the cars was part of the attraction in that area, where the single-seaters now brake, it will be even more spectacular for those on both sides of the hairpin. Also, with a 20-meter-wide corner, it is Hopefully there will be some action and overtaking.”
The new banked curve
Marsa Corner -1
MRK1 and Driven took an in-depth look at the nature of overtaking in the two back straight sequences.
While the first chicane was a good place to make moves, the second back straight opened up the possibility of overtaking. So, in effect, there was no benefit.
So when looking to replace the sequence of negative-banked corners at the end of the circuit, a high-speed corner was preferred over another hard-braking zone.
Chandhok said: “With the change we’ve made to the new Turn 9, we’ve created a challenging high-speed corner that the circuit lacked, and we’ve also gotten rid of four corners that were frustrating for the drivers.
“We were looking at options in the final sector, because the negative camber corners put the rear tire temperatures through the roof.”
Willshire added: “The philosophy here is to try to keep the momentum of the cars as high as possible to allow them to follow each other closely.”
“Also, the Yas Marina circuit doesn’t have any challenging high-speed corners apart from the Turn 2/3 section. We wanted to create an iconic twist, like the Parabolica at Monza, where the drivers would contain the breath on every lap.
“And being banked, rather than negative lean, should build confidence rather than encourage errors. This means drivers can try different lines to stay close, and possibly run wheel to wheel, which should help enable overtaking. in other parts of the track”.
“I think it generates a different type of thinking, and gives two different characteristics to the circuit. That’s what we wanted to achieve.”
The tweaks in the hotel section
Hotel Section – 1
Although the changes in the hairpin and in the new banked curve are very evident, the most complex adjustments have been made around the hotel that characterizes the track so much.
The circuit is limited by the surrounding buildings, however the tight sequence through this location was felt to not only affect flow but also overheat the tyres, which hampered the rest of the lap.
The removal of the negative camber corners was not possible , because it would have involved a huge construction job to modify the barriers and run-outs on the track. Therefore, it was decided to change the curbs to widen the layout.
Chandhok said: “Opening up the radius of the double left under the hotel (Turns 13/14) and making the 15 more open was the best alternative.”
Willshire added: “I would say that work zone was one of the most complex parts of the design and construction, as it involves millimeters in the pavement.”
“The old turns 17/18/19 have been widened on the inside, which has improved fluidity. We wanted to remove the brake-accelerate sequence that prevented cars from following each other, and ride over the crest of the curb On a wider line it means the drivers can carry more speed and momentum.”
Other ideas
Marsa Corner – 2
As part of their evaluation process, MRK1 and Driven also looked at other changes that could help, including a modified chicane design that runs between the two back straights.
One of the ideas was to soften the angle of the second right turn to see if it improved track fighting, but the current design was felt to be good enough to allow parallel action.
Also, there was thought to be the possibility of the last corner becoming an overtaking point, but the cars wouldn’t be closing in fast enough from the hotel complex for it to work.
Due to the tight timeframe for revisions, the possibility of staggering the final three changes was also considered. However, Hughes was convinced that this was not the right way to go and considered it essential that all three corners be changed at the same time.
“We went through a process with F1’s Craig Wilson and at one point there was an internal discussion about whether, because of the schedule, we should drop one of the changes and maybe make one of them later,” he said.
“That would have increased costs in the first place, because you end up moving everything twice. But really, when you check the simulation data, all three elements work together to create a better lap overall.”
“Removing one of them would have undone the other two changes. So there was no easy way to reduce the amount of work we were doing.”
Comprehensive track improvement
North Hairpin – 2
With all three modifications, the new Abu Dhabi is expected to be something the drivers are excited about. Willshire said: “We’ve cut almost 300 meters off the length of the circuit, the average speed is up and the lap time is down.”
“All the changes are going to alter tire wear, and the drivers will feel a different experience from what we hope will be a faster, smoother and more fun-to-drive circuit.”
Chandhok knows that only Sunday’s F1 race will show how much the changes have helped improve the show, but he is sure the new Yas Marina layout is a step forward.
“Overall I think we have to see how much it really helps overtaking when the Big Circus comes to town,” he said. “However, it is definitely a better circuit layout to drive on.”
