(Pirelli Motorsport Media)
Pirelli have confirmed that they will bring the Soft and Super Soft tyre to this weekend's Formula One title showdown at the Yas Marina circuit for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
It is the sixth time this season that this tyre combination has been used with the Singapore Grand Prix in September the time the combination was used which saw Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team's Lewis Hamilton take the win.
Pirelli are bringing these tyre's to the race this weekend as the smooth track surface at the Yas Marina circuit is extremely well suited to the two compounds.
The weather forecast for this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is set to be extremely warm and very dry. This year as with previous season's the race will held in the late afternoon and will finish in the evening which means that the track temperatures will have dropped substantially over the course of the race which will have an affect on the performance of the Yellow walled Soft and Red walled Super Soft tyre compounds.
Pirelli have substantial data from Abu Dhabi having carried out much of the testing prior to their entry into Formula One in 2011.
Speaking ahead of this weekend's race, Pirelli Motorsport Director Paul Hembery stated:
'It’s always a pleasure to return to Abu Dhabi and this year’s event will be even more significant than usual, with the drivers’ championship being decided and double points available.
The strategy is normally greatly affected by the unusual track evolution, due to the falling temperatures caused by the late afternoon start. This was the case in Bahrain as well, which turned out to be one of the most exciting and unpredictable races of the season earlier this year.
As a result, the free practice sessions will be particularly crucial, as the teams try to gather as much information as possible about how the car will perform on both compounds: not just with different fuel loads, but also with different track temperatures. As so many points are on offer, there is a big opportunity for teams that have less to lose to try an unexpected strategy, in order to make some potentially significant gains.'
Former Formula One driver and Pirelli consultant Jean Alesi commented on the upcoming season finale saying:
'I’ve never driven a Formula One car in Abu Dhabi but I like the track, especially because of its high levels of safety and the long straight that provides a few overtaking opportunities, thanks also to the use of DRS.
As the race starts at 5pm, with ambient and track temperatures gradually dropping, the ability to adapt to a changing situation is essential. These varying conditions affect tyre pressures too. Having said that, the biggest stress for the drivers this year will be the fact that the race counts for double points.
Even with his normally quite important point advantage, current Championship leader could see it all taken away from him by just a simple mistake.'
© Ben Johnston 2014
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