The Yas Marina Circuit is Formula 1’s modern finale under the lights. Built on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, it mixes smooth asphalt, technical corners and long straights in a setting that goes from golden sunset to full night during the race. With the 2025 championship on the line, this year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is set to be one of the most intense weekends of the season.
The soul of Yas Marina
Yas Marina is all about precision and traction. The modern layout measures 5.281 km with 16 corners, flowing from a short opening sector into a tight hairpin that launches the cars down a very long back straight before a heavy braking zone. Drivers need to rotate the car well in the slower corners while keeping enough speed to maximise the DRS zones.
The circuit was reprofiled to improve overtaking, removing some of the old stop-start chicanes and opening up faster, more flowing lines. Now, wheel‑to‑wheel battles through the hotel section and the final sector are far more common, especially as tyre wear and strategy start to bite in the closing laps.
Track facts
- Track Name: Yas Marina Circuit
- First Grand Prix: 2009
- Track Length: 5.281 km (16 turns)
- Number of Laps: 58
- Race Distance: Approximately 306 km
- Lap Record (race): 1:40.279 – Sebastian Vettel (2009)
- Characteristics: Smooth surface, two long DRS straights, technical low‑ and medium‑speed sections, sunset‑to‑night race.
Weekend schedule (Local Time – Abu Dhabi)
| Session | Date | Abu Dhabi (GST) | London (GMT) | Berlin (CET) | New York (EST) | Sydney (AEDT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practice 1 | Fri, Dec 5 | 13:30 | 09:30 | 10:30 | 04:30 | 01:30 (Sat) |
| Practice 2 | Fri, Dec 5 | 17:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 08:00 | 05:00 (Sat) |
| Practice 3 | Sat, Dec 6 | 14:30 | 10:30 | 11:30 | 05:30 | 02:30 (Sun) |
| Qualifying | Sat, Dec 6 | 18:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 09:00 | 06:00 (Sun) |
| Grand Prix Race | Sun, Dec 7 | 17:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 08:00 | 05:00 (Mon) |
Session times are based on the official 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix timetable and converted across key time zones.
What to expect this weekend
- Turn 5 hairpin: The heavy‑braking left‑hander at the end of Sector 1 is the main launch point for attacks onto the back straight. A good exit here decides how hard you can fight into the chicane at the end of the straight.
- Tyre management and strategy: The smooth surface hides how demanding Yas Marina can be on rear tyres, especially through the traction zones in the final sector. Managing degradation while timing your pit stops around safety cars and clear air is crucial.
- Sunset to night racing: As the light fades and the floodlights take over, track temperatures drop and balance shifts. Teams must chase the track evolution from FP1 in daylight to a cooler, grippier circuit in qualifying and the race.
Enjoy Abu Dhabi in Assetto Corsa
With the right combination of Yas Marina mods, current F1 cars and tools like Content Manager, you can recreate the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend at home. Fine‑tune your setup for the long straights, tricky braking zones and technical final sector to experience what the real drivers face in the title decider.
Yas Marina is not officially available for Assetto Corsa , so we’ve provided links, along with the car and Content Manager. To manage the rest, you can use:
We leave you with some amazing videos in Assetto Corsa:
See you on the track!
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