Pirelli takes F1 tyres 'full circle' to Abu Dhabi

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has the peculiarity of a late start at dusk with the finish at night, meaning that track temperatures tend to fall and then stabilize. This usually extends the tyre life. There is some degree of track evolution over the course of the weekend, as the sand that sweeps in from the surrounding desert gets cleaned off the surface. Overnight the sand will often settle again, meaning that the track can start off dirty on each day.

 

As usual, the teams will have 11 sets of slick tyres at their disposal for the race weekend (six sets of medium and five sets of soft) as well as four sets of intermediate and three sets of wet tyres. On top of the usual allocation, the teams will be given two extra sets of an experimental soft compound tyre for use during free practice on Friday.

  

“At this point in the season, our emphasis is obviously on refining our tyre choices for next year, which is why we are seeing some new tyres during free practice here and [a] young driver test,” said Pirelli Tire’s Director of Motorsport Paul Hembery. “With very limited opportunities for testing during the season, this is important for us to collect information as we develop our strategy for 2012, which will feature tires that are a bit different from this year’s range. We’re very familiar with the Yas Marina circuit as a testing venue so we’re confident that the tire choice we have made for the race should suit the characteristics of the track. Abu Dhabi is an absolutely fantastic facility with some good overtaking opportunities, so we’re very pleased to be celebrating our first anniversary there.”

 

Pedro de la Rosa (McLaren Mercedes) added: “I’ve got some fantastic memories of Abu Dhabi from the time I spent testing there with Pirelli before the season started. I learned a lot and, given how the season has progressed, the work was very positive. One of the main reasons for the success of this F1 season is down to Pirelli and the tyre design…We saw that in Korea. Everyone thought that the supersoft and the soft would be too aggressive a choice but in the end it was a fantastic choice: we only had two pit stops. I think everybody is going to enjoy racing at Abu Dhabi again: it’s a nice track with two good overtaking opportunities. You have some high-speed corners and also some heavy braking for the chicanes, plus a slower and technically demanding final sector. What’s good as well is that Abu Dhabi is a very safe track with lots of good-quality asphalt run-off. This means that it’s possible to experiment without taking a big risk.”

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