Preview 2011 Yas Marina Circuit, UAE GP

Yas Marina is the Grand Prix of UAE wich was designed by Hermann Tilke and is situated on Yas Island, about 30 minutes from the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is the second-largest city of the United Arab Emirates according to population and lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western coast. with a population of 896,751 in 2009. This city has a hot arid climate with Sunny blue skies can be expected throughout the year. The months of June through September are generally hot and humid with maximum temperatures averaging above 35 °C. During this time, sandstorms occur intermittently, in some cases reducing visibility to a few meters.
The weather is cooler from November to March and this period also sees dense fog on some days.

Technical detailes
Yas Marina Circuit has 5,5 km, 55 laps with a race distance of 305 km and racing direction - counter-clockwise; 5 highspeed straches, 5 slow turns, 3 ideal spots for overtaking and a top speed around 306 km/h.
Designed as an Arabian version of Monaco, the twenty-one corners twists through the man made island off the Abu Dhabi coast, passing by the marina and through the Yas Marina Hotel designed and conceived of by New York based architects Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture, Asymptote Architecture, and winding its way through sand dunes, with several long straights and tight corners.

The marina-based development includes a theme park, a water park, as well as residential areas, hotels and beaches.
The circuit has five grandstand areas (Main Grandstand, West Grandstand, North Grandstand, South Grandstand and Marina Grandstand (aka Support) 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, VIP Tower and Ferrari World Theme Park. Additionally, one of the gravel traps runs underneath the West grandstand.
Best track preview by Mark Webber:


Wikipedia History
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 from Malaysia (Structural contractor), as well as specialised subcontractors; Voltas (MEP), PKE-Siemens (MEP), Able-Middle East (Earthworks), Hamilton International (Interior), Bau Bickhardt (Track) and Unger Steel (Steel structure).
The circuit was constructed with a permanent lighting system provided by Musco Lighting, similar to that also installed at the Losail Circuit in Qatar. Yas Marina Circuit is the largest permanent sports venue lighting project in the world; previously that title was held by Losail.
The surface of the track is made of Graywacke aggregate, shipped to Abu Dhabi from Bayston Hill quarry in Shropshire, England. The surface material is highly acclaimed by circuit bosses and Formula 1 drivers for the high level of grip it offers. The same aggregate material is used at the Bahrain International Circuit 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 was the first driver to complete a test run on the circuit.

After the first practice sessions at the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the circuit was welcomed by the drivers, with Nico Rosberg commenting that every corner was 'unique', while double World Champion, Alonso, echoed his sentiments, stating that it was enjoyable because there was always something to do. Force India's Adrian Sutil rated the circuit as being better than Formula One's other night race in Singapore as he felt there was too much light at Marina Bay.

Not all of the drivers were complimentary, with Giancarlo Fisichella 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.
The circuit came under much criticism from drivers following the 2010 race for a lack of suitable overtaking opportunites, despite the lack of high speed corners, which cause the cars to spread out somewhat. Fernando Alonso was unable to pass Vitaly Petrov for much of the race, with Mark Webber also remaining behind Alonso. The organisers were urged to modify the circuit for the 2011 race, in order to create more legitimate overtaking opportunities. While initially agreeing to make changes, organizers have since postponed any changes following the massive increase in overtaking seen in the 2011 Formula One season caused by new tyre strategies and the DRS & KERS systems.

Statistics:
Lap record: 1:40.279 by Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing - in 2009
Sebastian Vettel: races - 2, victories - 2, podiums - 2, pole-laps - 1
Mark Webber: races - 2, victories - 0, podiums - 1, pole-laps - 0
Lewis Hamilton: races - 2, victories - 0, podiums - 1, pole-laps - 1
Jenson Button: races - 2, victories - 0, podiums - 2, pole-laps - 0
Felipe Massa: races - 1, victories - 0, podiums - 0
Michael Schumacher: races - 1, victories - 0, podiums - 0, pole-laps - 0

Nico Rosberg: races - 2, victories - 0,  podiums - 0, pole-laps - 0

Other informations:
Time zone: GMT +4
Owner: Government of Abu Dhabi
Operator: Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management
Broke ground: May 2007
Construction cost : €893 million
Seating Capacity – 41,093
Area – 161.9 ha

Now let's see last year pole by Sebastian Vettel (video):

Abu Dhabi 1:39.394