Formula One’s newest circuit in Abu Dhabi could prove trickier this weekend than any other track introduced in recent years, according to former racer David Coulthard.
The Scot, a grand prix winner with Williams and McLaren before retiring last year, said he had plenty of respect for the Yas Marina track after driving reporters around it earlier this month.
“There are a lot of challenges on this track,” he said. “It’s more difficult to learn initially than the likes of Turkey, Bahrain and Shanghai.”
The tight and twisty Abu Dhabi harbourside layout incorporates several novel features, including a hotel straddling the anti-clockwise track and a pit lane exit that brings cars back out on to the circuit after a tight left turn through a tunnel.
“The big surprise first of all is that it has a real street-circuit feel to it,” said Coulthard, who will be at the season-ending race as a pundit for BBC television.
“I think there will be a few of the drivers saying, ‘this looks a bit tight’.”
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