The Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi is a significant venue for Pirelli as it is where the teams got to try out the P Zero compounds for the very first time, at a test following last year's grand prix.

That two-day test, along with other sessions carried out by Pirelli in Abu Dhabi, means that the 5.554-kilometre track is the place where Pirelli has the most Formula One experience - having tested a wide range of the P Zero tyres there in the past. For the penultimate grand prix of the season, Pirelli will bring the P Zero White medium tyre and P Zero Yellow soft tyre to Abu Dhabi, which should be well suited to the 21 corners and two straights that make up the lap.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has the peculiarity of a late start at dusk with the finish at night, meaning that track temperatures tend to fall and then stabilise. This usually extends the tyre life. There is some degree of track evolution over the course of the weekend, as the sand that sweeps in from the surrounding desert gets cleaned off the surface. Overnight the sand will often settle again, meaning that the track can start off dirty on each day.
The long straight puts plenty of energy through the inside shoulder of the tyre, with the sweeping sequence of Turns 2, 3 and 4 at the start of the lap also providing the rubber with a good work-out.

As usual, the teams will have 11 sets of slick tyres at their disposal for the race weekend (six sets of medium tyres and five sets of soft tyres) as well as four sets of intermediate tyres and three sets of wet tyres. On top of the usual allocation, the teams will be given two extra sets of an experimental soft compound tyre for use during free practice on Friday.

Following the grand prix, there will be a three-day young driver test from 15-17 November. The teams will have all four slick compounds available to them, and they will be able to choose their tyres from a total allocation of 100 sets of tyres per team allowed for testing during the year. Pirelli will also try out a limited number of prototype tyres during the test in preparation for the 2012 season.

Paul Hembery, Pirelli Motorsport Director: "At this point in the season, our emphasis is obviously on refining our tyre choices for next year, which is why we are seeing some new tyres during free practice here and the young driver test. With very limited opportunities for testing during the season, this is important for us to collect information as we develop our strategy for 2012, which will feature tyres that are a bit different from this year's range. We're very familiar with the Yas Marina circuit as a testing venue so we're confident that the tyre choice we have made for the race should suit the characteristics of the track. Abu Dhabi is an absolutely fantastic facility with some good overtaking opportunities, so we're very pleased to be celebrating our first anniversary there."