Yas Marina 2012 - GP Preview - Marussia Cosworth

The sport has made the journey from New Delhi to the Middle East and one of its favourite racing destinations - Abu Dhabi. There are hardly words to describe the magnificent Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island and the incredible showpiece that is the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It’s a track that both Timo Glock and Charles Pic are familiar with, Timo having raced here on two occasions previously and Charles having secured his 2012 race seat here at the Young Driver Test last season. It is partly due to that circuit familiarity that the Marussia F1 Team have chosen this venue to put its Reserve Driver Max Chilton through his paces on Friday morning during Free Practice 1, in order to ensure preparedness for his current role. With effect from FP2, Charles will be back in car #25 and hoping to pick up where he left off in India after a storming race at the Buddh International Circuit. The whole team effort will be focused on consolidating 10th place in the Constructors’ Championship and continuing to put mileage on the team’s most recent car developments.

Timo Glock: “Abu Dhabi is a special race. It’s like a night race but with the added factor of starting the race in full daylight, but being dark by the time we finish. So it’s something different and very impressive to be out on the track when the light is changing and the track is fully lit at the end. Technically it’s a nice track. We have some good experience here across the whole team, but of course things change from year to year, so we still have to do our homework to get up to speed. Naturally I’m hoping for a better race so we can all really enjoy the experience and set ourselves up for the last few races of the season.”

Charles Pic: “Abu Dhabi is a circuit I love to drive at and a racing destination I really enjoy. After a few days of training and fun with the team, I can’t wait to start running here on Friday. I will take over the car from FP2 for the rest of the weekend and I will be very focused on picking up from a great race for me in India. If we can perform at least as well as we did there on race day, I will be happy, but the wider objective continues to be to catch up to Caterham, which is now within our sights. We also need to work on our preparation on Friday and Saturday as we need that improvement to put us in the best possible position for the race. It’s a tough track technically and also we have the factor of the heat and the track direction, but by the time we start racing we will be used to both. I’m looking forward to another great performance for the team.”

John Booth, Team Principal: “Abu Dhabi is a race we all enjoy, so despite it being another tough back-to-back for the team, we arrived here full of enthusiasm after a very positive race in India. Everyone is well-rested - the team having enjoyed a bit of relaxation time with the drivers - so we now turn our attentions to the hard work ahead this weekend. It’s a very demanding and technically interesting track and of course there is the added factor of the fierce heat. Our first priority will be to ensure a better start to the weekend than we experienced at New Delhi; it all came good on race day for Charles but we need to do a better job on Friday and in qualifying to put us in the best possible position on Sunday. We welcome Max Chilton to the car for FP1 and we will be interested to see how he performs at a track he knows well. Thereafter, Charles will be back in the car and helping us towards our overall objective, which is now a familiar story - competing with Caterham and maintaining our current advantage over them in the Constructors’ Championship.”