Formula 1 track designer Hermann Tilke has confirmed talks are ongoing regarding a possible layout change for the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi to try and aid overtaking.
Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix offered little in the way of on-track action as Valtteri Bottas took a commanding victory for Mercedes ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton, who vented his frustration over the difficulty of following other cars and the lack of overtaking spots.
Speaking to Sky Sports following the race, track designer Tilke confirmed a layout tweak was under consideration in the hope of making overtaking more viable.
“We have an idea to change one corner. It’s a very small change but maybe it has a lot of impact for overtaking,” Tilke said.
“We are in discussions.”
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner agreed there was a need to investigate what changes could be made to the Yas Marina Circuit to improve the on-track spectacle.
“It is something that we should certainly look at. It is such a wonderful setting and a fantastic background to sign off the season,” Horner told reporters in Abu Dhabi.
“If there was a couple of tweaks that could be done, that would introduce better overtaking opportunities, I am sure the commercial rights holder would be interested to do that.
“Today was not F1 at its best. We have seen more exciting races this season.”
Daniel Ricciardo was the only driver who qualified in the top 10 not to score a point in Abu Dhabi on Sunday following his retirement, which accounted for the single position gain through the race of those finishing fourth to eighth.
Fernando Alonso was the only points scorer to gain multiple places, rising from 11th to ninth after passing Williams’ Felipe Massa.