Gunning for a sign-off that befits their enhanced stature,Force India drivers Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi are pushing hard in the simulator to get a hang of the spectacular anti-clockwise virgin circuit ahead of Sunday's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. A new venue on the calendar,the 17th leg of the 2009 Formula One Championship is arguably the most talked about events of recent years on account of the sheer scale of the work involved in constructing the state-of-the-art Yas Marina circuit. In just two years,the organisers have built a 25km sq man-made island known as Yas Island with 17km sq of luxury apartments,hotels,retail parks,theme parks and the circuit. The track itself is an engineering marvel,with unique facilities including a pass through a hotel lobby,underground pit lane exit and a straight running parallel to an airplane landing strip. Both Sutil and Liuzzi are spending extra hours in the simulator,trying to master the layout. "The first step is always to look at the track map and the conditions you can expect at the event. Is there anything that looks different or challenging in the corners,is there something that you need to prepare for physically? I'll speak to my engineers about what they expect in terms of set-up and then the next step is to put it all together in the simulator," Sutil said. "This gives a head-start as you can make a basic set-up from this and use as a starting point in practice. You also know what to expect when you get on track," added the German. With a straight of almost one km and three successive quick corners from turns two to four,average speeds are expected to be similar to Valencia,thus demanding a medium to low downforce configuration. As Force India has been competitive in these conditions before,the team is expecting is good showing to end the season on a high. "I don't think the track will be massively challenging. It has a long straight,but there are a lot of second gear corners as well,which might hurt us a little bit. The good thing is everyone is starting from the same platform,so it will be a little bit of a surprise when we arrive," Sutil explained. Liuzzi was of the opinion that the track might suit his team. "We really want points - it's important for the team and for myself. We'll be giving 100 percent until the end,in practice,qualifying and the race. We have done some laps of Yas Marina in the simulator and it looks like a great facility. "The track seems very interesting and could suit the VJM02 very well as there are a few long straights and a tricky middle section. It's also good to visit new venues so I'm looking forward to this race," said the Italian.
