Double DRS zone for Yas Marina

Two DRS zones will be on offer for this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, promising much overtaking on a track where passing has traditionally been notoriously difficult.

Yas Marina debuted on the Formula 1 calendar in 2009 although, as demonstrated by the inability of Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber when trying to overhaul Vitaly Petrov in last year’s championship finale, overtaking spots are sparse. However, this weekend’s penultimate round of the campaign promises more on-track action.

The first DRS zone will be the long back straight between Turns 7 and 8, which gradually thins towards its end; for this area, the detection beam – measuring whether a chasing car is within the necessary one second window – will be placed before the hairpin, in the spot of the 2010 crash between Schumacher and Liuzzi.

As soon as the first DRS zone ends, a second detection beam will be positioned in the middle of the Turn 8-9 chicane, with the next activation zone coming between the fast-sweeping Turn 10 and tight left-hander at Turn 11.