The inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the brand new Yas Island track, which is all set to be the season finale for the 2009 season, will be moved to a Europe-friendly late evening timeslot after dubious plans from the FOM came to dubious fruition.
F1 officials have made plans for an evening start time for the Abu Dhabi race, around 5pm local time, in a move that will see the 2009 season draw to a close in darkness. The Abu Dhabi race organisers confirmed the switch of start time earlier today.
Previously the race had been scheduled to begin at 3pm local time, but the race will now be pushed back into the gloaming, as F1's flyaway rounds continue to bend over backwards in order to keep European audiences comfortable.
Despite the farcical conclusion to this season's evening race in Malaysia, which saw the race stopped after a seasonal torrential downpour and then abandoned when it became too dark to race, the trend towards later starts is growing. Australia's 2010 event will begin in the evening, and now the Abu Dhabi race has followed suit.
The Yas Island track does have an advantage over Albert Park and Kuala Lumpur, in that it will be equipped with lighting for night time racing, which will be necessary with a sunset time of 5.43pm predicted for the November 1st race date. The track chiefs confirmed in their statement today that the floodlights would be turned on from the start of each twilight session in order to ease the transition to darkness for the drivers.
The statement said that: "Subject to confirmation by the Race Director, all lights will be turned on prior to the Pit Lane opening before official practice, qualifying and race times. This ensures consistent lighting levels at all times for the drivers."
A FOM document distributed to TV producers at the Belgian GP weekend first revealed the proposed 5pm start time, which will mean the season finale will begin at the tradition time of 1pm GMT. Qualifying is also set to begin at 5pm local time on the Saturday.
Further to that, Saturday practice is pencilled in for 2pm, while Friday's pair of practice sessions have been pencilled in for 1pm and 5pm respectively.
Speaking about the move, Yas Island CEO Richard Cregan said that: "It is the best of both worlds, spectators and television viewers will see the stunning architecture of the world's newest Formula 1 circuit during the afternoon sunlight and then experience what it is like under floodlights. We hope that everyone will be impressed by what they experience and see."
He added that, as the Abu Dhabi race had promised, the GP will be a unique experience for F1. "This is the first time in Formula 1 history that a race is scheduled to start in daylight and end during night-time. The difference between Singapore and Australia is that Singapore is a full night race and Australia, due to daylight saving hours, is raced during daylight hours."
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