20/11/2019
NEWS STORY
There are no big surprises in terms of tyre choice for the season finale in Abu Dhabi next week.
With nobody risking the full complement of ten sets of the softs, Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Williams opt for 9 sets while the rest take 8.
In terms of the medium and soft, a number of teams split their choice between drivers, most notably at Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault.
Last year's race was won by Lewis Hamilton, the Briton on a one-stop strategy. Indeed, only one driver, teammate Valtteri Bottas, opted for a two-stopper, the Finn going on to finish fifth.
The track surface at Yas Marina is smooth and not especially demanding on tyres, thereby allowing the softest compounds to be used, which means the C5, C4 and C3 only making their fourth appearance of the year, having previously been seen at Monaco, Canada and Singapore.
The race starts in the late afternoon and ends in the evening, which affects the usual evolution of track temperature during the grand prix, while the anti-clockwise circuit is all about traction and braking rather than lateral force.
There's a wide variety of speeds and corners so the cars tend to run a compromise set-up, with medium downforce levels.