Rain follows F1 to Abu Dhabi desert

Even with the race taking place within sight of the Abu Dhabi sand dunes, the rain seen regularly at F1 tracks recently looks to have followed the F1 circus to the 2010 championship finale.

So rare is rainfall in this part of the world that it made local media headlines when light showers fell on Tuesday and Wednesday.

And the regional meteorological offices are predicting the possibility of more rain, and definite part cloud cover, over the course of the grand prix weekend at Yas Marina.

Rain affected the consecutive Japanese, Korean and Brazilian F1 events, but it was expected that Abu Dhabi was a sure bet for dry weather.

On balance, however, a hot and dry race on Sunday is expected, with the highest chance of significant rain forecast for Saturday.

So far on Thursday morning, the Yas Marina circuit is already very warm and dry.