The Yas Marina Circuit (Arabic: حلبة مرسى ياس) is the venue for the

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ( ar, سباق جائزة أبوظبي الكبرى) is a Formula One motor racing event. It was announced in early 2007 at the Abu Dhabi F1 Festival in the United Arab Emirates. The first race took place on 1 November 2 ...

. The circuit was designed by

Hermann Tilke Hermann Tilke (born 31 December 1954, in Olpe, Germany) is a German engineer, racing driver and circuit designer, who has designed numerous Formula One motor racing circuits. Racing During the 1980s, Tilke competed in touring car racing, mainly ...

, and is situated on

Yas Island Yas Island ( ar, جزيرة ياس) is an island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It occupies a total land area of . It is a popular leisure island and one of the top tourism projects in Abu Dhabi. Yas Island holds the Yas Marina Circuit, wh ...

, near

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, the capital of the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

. Yas Marina was the second of four Formula One tracks in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, with the first being in

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

and subsequent tracks in

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. A two-day

GP2 Asia Series The GP2 Asia Series was a form of open wheel motor racing as a result of a spin-off from the GP2 series. The series was officially announced during the weekend of the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix. GP2 series organiser Bruno Michel commented that "It ...

test was held to officially open the circuit, which was held a week before the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It also hosted the opening event for the Australian

V8 Supercars The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australian ...

series, the

Yas V8 400 The Yas Marina Circuit V8 Supercar Event was a V8 Supercars motor racing event held at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The event was held from 2010 to 2012. History The inaugural Yas V8 400 in 2010 was the opening event ...

, in February 2010. Outside motorsport the circuit was used for the final stage of the inaugural

Abu Dhabi Tour The Abu Dhabi Tour was a men's cycling stage race that took place in the United Arab Emirates, held annually between 2015 and 2018. In 2019 The Abu Dhabi Tour merged with the Dubai Tour to become the UAE Tour. History When inaugurated, it was p ...

cycle race in 2015. The circuit has an

FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backst ...

Grade 1 license.

Design

Yas Marina Circuit, October 12, 2018 SkySat (cropped)

The circuit is located on

, a headland that was cut off from the mainland by a canal. It has sixteen corners and several straights, and passes by the marina and through the Yas Hotel Abu Dhabi designed by

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

-based architects Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture of

Asymptote Architecture Asymptote Architecture is an American architecture practice, based in Long Island City, New York. Asymptote Architecture is known for multidisciplinary architectural designs that often incorporate digital technologies. History Husband and wife ...

with a facade lighting design by

Rogier van der Heide Rogier van der Heide (born 1970 in Bennebroek, the Netherlands) is a designer born in the Netherlands who lives in Liechtenstein. He is noted especially as a C-suite design executive and as a lighting designer of public and commercial projects a ...

. The circuit has five grandstand areas (Main Grandstand, West Grandstand, North Grandstand, South Grandstand, and Marina 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 and VIP Tower. Additionally, one of the run-off areas runs underneath the West grandstand. This changed when the previous turns 4, 5 and 6 were redesigned and the previous turns 11, 12 and 13 were also reconfigured in time for the

2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix The 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021) was a Formula One motor race held on 12 December 2021 at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Contested over a dista ...

Construction

The circuit was built by main contractor Cebarco-WCT WLL, under contract from developer Aldar Properties. Among the sub-contractors involved were KOH AH HING (KAHBINA) from Malaysia (structural contractor), as well as specialised subcontractors like Voltas (MEP), PKE-Siemens (MEP), Able-Middle East (earthworks), Hamilton International (interior) and Bau Bickhardt (track) to name a few. The circuit was constructed with a permanent lighting system provided by

Musco Lighting Musco Lighting is a privately owned American company that specializes in design, manufacture of sports and large area lighting systems. Based out of Oskaloosa, Iowa, Musco is responsible for lighting a full range of sports facilities, from Dayton ...

, similar to the one installed at

Losail International Circuit The Losail International Circuit or Lusail International Circuit (Arabic: حلبة لوسيل الدولية) is a motor racing circuit located just outside the city of Lusail, north of Doha, Qatar. Built in just under a year by 1,000 workers ...

. Yas Marina Circuit is the largest permanent sports venue lighting project in the world; previously the title had been held by Losail International Circuit. The surface of the track is made of

graywacke Greywacke or graywacke (German ''grauwacke'', signifying a grey, earthy rock) is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness, dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or lit ...

aggregate, shipped to Abu Dhabi from a

Bayston Hill Bayston Hill is a large village and civil parish in central Shropshire, England. It is south of the county town Shrewsbury and located on the main A49 road, the Shrewsbury to Hereford road. Occupied continuously since before the Middle Ages, ...

quarry in

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The surface material is highly acclaimed by circuit bosses and Formula One drivers for the high level of grip it offers, though at the expense of a higher rate of tyre wear. The same aggregate material is used at the

Bahrain International Circuit The Bahrain International Circuit ( ar, حلبة البحرين الدولية, Ḥalba al-Baḥrayn ad-Dawliyya) is a motorsport venue opened in 2004 and used for drag racing, GP2 Series (now FIA Formula 2), and the annual Formula One Bahrai ...

for the Bahrain Grand Prix. On 7 October 2009, the circuit was granted final approval to hold Formula One races by the FIA.

Bruno Senna Bruno Senna Lalli (, born 15 October 1983) is a Brazilian professional racing driver. He is the nephew of the late Ayrton Senna, three-time Formula One world champion. He is also the first man to win a race in every WEC class, and was the 2017 W ...

was the first driver to complete a test run on the circuit. GP3 visited Abu Dhabi for the first time at the end of the 2013 season.

Reception

After the first practice sessions at the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the circuit was welcomed by the drivers, with

Nico Rosberg Nico Erik Rosberg (born 27 June 1985) is a German-Finnish former professional racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 2006 to 2016, winning the World Drivers' Championship in with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport. The only child of Fi ...

commenting that every corner was 'unique', while double World Champion

Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...

echoed his sentiments, stating that it was enjoyable because there was always something to do. Force India's

Adrian Sutil Adrian Sutil (; born 11 January 1983) is a German-Uruguayan racing driver who raced in Formula One for seven seasons: from 2007–2011, then 2013–2014. He drove for the Spyker F1 Team, Force India F1 Team and the Sauber F1 Team. He was also t ...

rated the circuit as being better than Formula One's other night race in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

as he felt there was too much light at Marina Bay. Not all of the drivers were complimentary, with

Giancarlo Fisichella Giancarlo Fisichella (; born 14 January 1973), also known as Fisico, Giano or Fisi, is an Italian professional racing driver, also captain of the official ''Nazionale Piloti'' association football team (composed of the racing drivers). He has d ...

expressing a particular dislike of the pit exit, which dips under the main circuit by way of a tunnel. Although the pit exit remained free of incidents for the early practice sessions, Fisichella claimed that it was both very difficult and dangerous.

Kimi Räikkönen Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "The Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One Wo ...

notoriously gave his thoughts on the circuit, stating "the first few turns are quite good, but the rest of it is shit". After the 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix the designer

said that they were considering making changes to the track to present more overtaking opportunities.

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...

's Andrew Benson called the racing in the 2020 event "dreary" with Matt Beer of ''The Race'' naming the track layout as one of 6 reasons why the races in Abu Dhabi "consistently disappoint". Drivers such as

Daniel Ricciardo Daniel Joseph Ricciardo ( "Ricardo", ; born 1 July 1989) is an Italian-Australian racing driver who last raced in Formula One driving for McLaren, under the Australian flag. He made his debut at the 2011 British Grand Prix with the HRT ...

have also added their support for track changes. In June 2021, Saif Al Noaimi, acting CEO Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management, said modifications to the track's layout had been approved, with the modifications completed in time for the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Turns 4, 5, and 6 were replaced by a single, less severe hairpin, turns 11 through 14 were replaced by a sweeping banked curve, and turns 18 through 20 were made less tight to allow more speed to be carried through them.

Events

; Current * January:

Gulf 12 Hours The Gulf 12 Hours is a 12-hour annual GT endurance racing event that usually takes place at the Yas Marina Circuit in the United Arab Emirates except in January 2021 when it was held at the Bahrain International Circuit. It has been held since 2 ...

, 6 Hours of Abu Dhabi,

Formula Regional Asian Championship The Formula Regional Asian Championship is an FIA-certified regional Formula 3 racing series, which started in 2018. On 26 January 2018 it was confirmed that pan-Asian promoter Top Speed would organise the championship. Despite using Formula Re ...

Formula 4 UAE Championship Starting in the 2016–17 season, the all new Formula 4 UAE Championship was launched by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, and its national affiliate the Automobile & Touring Club of the United Arab Emirates (ATCUAE), who acted as t ...

, Ferrari Challenge Asia-Pacific, Gulf Radical Cup * February:

Asian Le Mans Series The Asian Le Mans Series is an Asian sports car racing endurance series created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and based in Asia. It is the successor to the defunct Japan Le Mans Challenge which folded in 2007 after its second season. ...

''4 Hours of Abu Dhabi'',

Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East The Porsche Sprint Challenge Middle East is the Middle East motor racing series based on the famous Porsche 911 GT3 Cup launched in 2009. Due to summer temperatures in the Middle East, the races are held in the winter to have regular temperature ...

, UAE Procar Championship, Gulf Radical Cup * November:

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

'',

FIA Formula 2 Championship The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier single-seater championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the rebranding of the lo ...

'' Yas Island Formula 2 round'',

* December:

Intercontinental GT Challenge The Intercontinental GT Challenge is a sports car racing series developed by the SRO Group in 2016. It consists of international endurance races for grand tourer racing cars complying with the FIA's GT3 regulations. Format The series is aimed ...

'',

TCR Middle East Series The TCR Middle East Touring Car Series is a touring car racing series based in the Middle East. History On 15 November 2016, WSC announced that the creation of the TCR Middle East Series. The series was officially launched on 2 December 2016 at th ...

; Future *

24H Series The 24H Series is a sports car racing and touring car racing series developed by Creventic and with approval from the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It features GT3-spec cars, GT4-spec cars, sports cars, touring cars and 2 ...

''6 Hours of Abu Dhabi'' (2023) ; Former * Ferrari Challenge Finali Mondiali (2014) *

FIA GT1 World Championship The FIA GT1 World Championship was a world championship sports car racing series, developed by the SRO Group and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), that was held from 2010 to 2012. It featured multiple grand to ...

(2010–2011) *

FIA World Rallycross Championship The FIA World Rallycross Championship (official abbreviation is World RX) is a rallycross series organised by the FIA in conjunction with series promoter Rallycross Promoter GmbH (founded by Red Bull and KW25). From the inaugural season in 2014 ...

'' World RX of Abu Dhabi'' (2019) *

Formula Renault Eurocup Formula Renault Eurocup was a Formula Renault motor racing championship. Eurocup raced only on European circuits. It served as a support series to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series as part of the World Series by Renault from 2005 to 2015. Renault Sp ...

(2019) *

GP2 Series The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccle ...

(2010, 2013–2016) *

(2009–2011) *

GP3 Series The GP3 Series, or GP3 for short, was a single-seater motor racing series launched in 2010 as a feeder series for the GP2 Series, introduced by GP2 organiser Bruno Michel. GP3 followed the entire European leg of the Formula One series and the ...

(2013–2018) * MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship (2015, 2017) *

Porsche Supercup The Porsche Supercup (officially known as Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, known as Porsche Michelin Supercup prior to 2007) is an international one-make sports car racing series supporting the FIA Formula One World Championship organized by Porsche ...

(2009, 2011, 2013) *

'' (2010–2012)

Lap records

The official fastest lap records at the Yas Marina Circuit are listed as:

Gallery

File:YasMarina2.jpeg, The main straight File:YasMarina1.jpeg, Turn 7 (2009–2021) File:Circuit Yas-Island.svg, Grand Prix Circuit (2009–2021) File:Circuit Yas-Island 2nd config.svg, North circuit and south circuit layouts shown in Grand Prix Circuit track map (2009–2021) File:Yas Marina Rallycross circuit.svg, World RX layout of Yas Marina Circuit, used in 2019 File:Yas Marina 2021.jpg, Differences between the 2009 and 2021 layouts

References

External links

Yas Marina Circuit

the track designer's page

Abu Dhabi to stage 2009 F1 finale

Asymptote Architects

Yas Marina Circuit on Google Maps (Current Formula 1 Tracks)

Guide to Yas Marina Circuit 2018 F1 Grand Prix
* {{GP3 Series circuits Formula One circuits Supercars Championship circuits World Rallycross circuits Drag racing venues Motorsport venues in the United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Tourist attractions in Abu Dhabi Sports venues in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi Racing circuits designed by Hermann Tilke 2009 establishments in the United Arab Emirates Sports venues completed in 2009