Pre-race Statistics of the Abu Dhabi GP

The Yas Marina Circuit in the United Arab Emirates is a 5.554km circuit, a 50 lap race with a race length of 305.470km. In the three races at the circuit all have been won from the front row, but only one from pole position, which was Sebastian Vettel in 2010. There are a total of 21 corners, which is the third most of any track on the grid.

Sebastian Vettel is the most successful driver in the UAE, winning twice, and possibly three times had he not suffered a puncture on the first lap of the race last year, forcing him to retire. In all three races the front row has been Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, with one pole for Hamilton in 2009 and two for Vettel in 2010 and 2011. Jenson Button has also been on the podium in all three races, coming third each time. Despite Jenson’s consistency Lewis has scored the most points at the circuit with 43 points, Jenson is second with 36 and Vettel third with 35, though Vettel would have the most if all three races had used the 2010 points scoring.

The fastest race lap at Yas Marina was set by Sebastian Vettel in 2009 with a time of 1:40.279, an average speed of 199kph, which makes it the fourth slowest circuit this year. The fastest qualifying lap was set just last year, again by Sebastian Vettel, a time of 1:38.481.

If Red Bull get both cars on the podium on Sunday they will win the World Constructors’ Championship, no matter where Ferrari or McLaren finish, which would make Red Bull the second Renault powered constructor to win three consecutive World Constructors’ Championships after Williams-Renault did it between 1992 and1994.

The Silly Stats

The Yas Marina Circuit has a track width between 12 and 16m wide, making the total track surface area around 77,756m². A dry Pirelli tyre has an area of around 0.342m² when flat, meaning that you would need between 178,503 and 227,290 dry tyres to completely cover the track surface with Pirelli rubber.

If you were to line up 13,666 falcons (on the emblem of the UAE) around the Yas Marina Circuit beak to tail they would lap the circuit once. A single Peregrine Falcon could fly a lap above the circuit in around 1:51.080, assuming that it can maintain an average speed of 180kph.