Yas Marina Circuit facts: track layout, lap record and the 2021 changes explained
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix venue is shorter and faster than the track that opened in 2009. Here are the numbers that matter.
Yas Marina Circuit has hosted the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since 2009, when the race joined the calendar as the season finale. The venue was designed by Hermann Tilke, and Wikipedia lists its capacity at 60,000.
The Grand Prix starts in daylight and finishes under floodlights. Racing Circuits notes that the permanent lighting system was billed as the largest permanent sports venue lighting project in the world. The track also runs underneath the Yas hotel, and the pit lane exit dives under the circuit through a tunnel.
The layout used today dates from 2021. The chicane before the north hairpin was removed and the hairpin reshaped, the slow Turns 11 to 14 became one long banked curve, and the final corners through the hotel section were opened up to carry more speed.
Those changes cut the lap from 5.554 km to 5.281 km and the number of corners from 21 to 16. The race runs over 58 laps, a distance of 306.183 km.
The race lap record is 1:25.637, set by Kevin Magnussen for Haas in 2024. The fastest lap ever on the current layout is Max Verstappen's 1:22.109 from qualifying in 2021. Sports Illustrated's track guide picks out Turns 6 and 7, a heavy braking chicane at the end of the long straight, as the best place to overtake.
Formula 1 is not the only series on the track. The circuit also hosts the Formula 2 finale in December and endurance racing such as the Asian Le Mans Series. The 2026 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix runs from 4 to 6 December.
Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix4 to 6 Dec · Yas Marina Circuit See ticketsSource: Wikipedia: Yas Marina Circuit, Racing Circuits, Sports Illustrated, Lights Out
