2009 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

[MagpieRacer]

Is a done deal.

Abu Dhabi will host a Formula 1 grand prix from 2009 in a calendar that could swell to 20 races, the sport’s CEO Bernie Ecclestone confirmed on Saturday.

Speaking at the ‘F1 festival’ event in the Gulf emirate, Ecclestone revealed that his Formula One Management company has signed a seven-year contract with the Abu Dhabi tourist board.

The race will be held on Yas Island, a 6,000-acre natural island that is in the process of being developed into a multi-faceted leisure complex, with a Ferrari theme park, hotels, apartments, restaurants and a golf resort.

“We’re very committed to Abu Dhabi,” Ecclestone told a news conference.

“It’s one of the great places in the world.

“We have a seven-year contract, but I’m sure the race will go on forever.”

The venue will be a 3.5-mile circuit designed by F1’s favourite architect Hermann Tilke, who was responsible for the new tracks in Malaysia, Bahrain, Shanghai and Istanbul as well as modifications to numerous existing circuits.

“It was initially a flat island, but we’ve created some man-made hills, so the track will rise up and down,” said Tilke.

“It will be exciting for the spectators because overtaking will be possible.

“It is unique in that the track will be divided into two parts. One part will be a permanent facility and the other is a 2.5km city track through the streets, and running in front of the marina.”

Ecclestone is confident the hybrid layout will be a hit with drivers and the public.

“The Tilke group has learnt its lessons from the tracks it built in the past and put all those lessons into this track,” he said.

“We consider it will offer the best F1 racing in the world.”

The F1 supremo said the new race in Abu Dhabi would not be a threat to the established event in nearby Bahrain, which joined the calendar in 2004 and recently agreed a long-term contract renewal.

“I am sure that Bahrain and Abu Dhabi will work closely together to make sure Formula 1 is very successful in this part of the world, which is very important,” he said.

“At the moment we have got five countries waiting to see if we can put a race there.

“We are aiming for 20 races.

“I think we are now well served in this part of the world.”

http://www.abudhabigp.com/english/the_circuit.aspx

I like the sound of half circuit half street circuit.

 

[SagarisGTB]

I wonder if Tilke had an epiphany in Istanbul. This elevation change thing sounds promising.

 

[m7ammed]

Thats good news for me 2 F1 races one is 40 mins away by car(Bahrain) , and the other is a 8 hours drive to Abu Dhabi by car or an hour by plane , hopefully I will be able to go to bahrain grand prix this year

 

[Roo]

With the mention of a city circuit, I rather assumed the city bit was already there...

The site.

Looks like a good circuit layout for the first half, but turns 12-20 look a bit processional. We'll see.

 

[Sureboss]

Anyone know how close to the first corner the starting grid is?

As it looks a bit hard to tell from the link in the opening post.

 

[ND4SPD]

That looks like an exciting fast backstraight!

 

[Blake]

It’s a nice looking circuit, but the hybrid permanent-circuit/street-circuit thing will get old really fast if he designs another one.

More GPs? Great for the fans, but I hope it doesn’t get out of hand (for the teams’ sake). One annoying things about having more races is that it makes it less and less likely that the championship will be decided in the final round.

That said, it usually means the true champions will usually win, because over the long term chance events don’t mean so much, and the true competitiveness shines through.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Looks like a good circuit. I dunno how well this hybrid will go down. Wont it have painted lines and whatnot on the city part?

 

[Blake]

You’d assume so.

 

[Tornado]

Looks like an interesting track, though if Bernie keeps adding races it will be more and more difficult for Suzuka to return.
*Obscure Reference* And the drivers may even see Nermal.*Obscure Reference*

 

[Roo]

Only if the track passes the mail depot.

 

[daan]

Looks like a good circuit. I dunno how well this hybrid will go down. Wont it have painted lines and whatnot on the city part?

Adelaide was kind of part street, part purpose built track. I thought that worked well.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I don't recall Adelaide's purpose-built section having a different consistency to the street sections. Albert Park doesn't really do it either. Maybe I'm just going to an extreme on this one, but when I read "half-city, half-circuit", I pictured a major surface change going from somewhere like Monaco's tarmac to something like Turkey's.

 

[liam2maps]

Well, at least the fuel will be cheap.

 

[Boundary Layer]

I'm of two minds about this.

The fact that it will be a (partial) city course is interesting. It helps give a little reference to the speeds the cars are travelling as building rush past in the background. I sometimes don't get a real sense of the speed of F1 on other Tilke trakcs because they're so flat and sterile feeling... too wide open.

On the other hand... the general layout of Tilke tracks are all the same. Two long straights, with a pretzel at either end. They always, always have a hairpin followed immediately by a chicane.
This new track looks too similar like Sepang to me... it's just kinda folded differently. Take Sepang, and make turn 6 a left instead of a right, then to complete the circuit make turn 15 a right instead of a left... voila! Abu Dhabi!

The only one that seems to stray from this formula is Turkey - and it also happens to be the only track of his design that I do like.



I just prefer the character of the older European tracks with a little bit of history. They follow the rise and fall of the land rather than relying on a few man made sand dunes to offer a little elevation. Some of the old tracks are criticized as not offering enough overtaking opportunity, or that modern F1 has generally just outgrown them... but to me that's part of why I enjoy watching. To see drivers come up with (or try to come up with) a pass where you think it's impossible is exciting (Alonso's pass on Schumi on the outside of 130R! 👍)
Thinking about this, what immediately comes to mind for me is San Marino 2005 and 2006. This track was always slammed for not offering enough chance to overtake... but those two races are two of the most exciting I've seen in recent years (Spa 2005 as well, was a great one) It's just too bad Imola has been dropped from the race calendar.

 

[Robin]

Im actually surprised there isnt a Dubai Gran Prix..... you would have thought thats where one would be hosted! But Abu Dhabi is just round the corner so...

 

[Philly]

Looks a little bland. I never have liked start, stop, turn, start... tracks, they look a little boring. And with too many straights, what's going to happen. You need a variety of radii and length in the corners, and this doesn't really seem to have that. I agree with BL on the passing bit too. That's what I like about GT4 tracks like Deep Forest, you have to be creative in your line and anticipate corners farther ahead. That's why I rarely drive Soeul.