Lewis Hamilton is confident the new Abu Dhabi circuit will suit his McLaren car and give him a chance to end a difficult season on a high.
The Woking squad has struggled to be competitive on fast circuits where a lack of overall downforce has hampered it, but has been much stronger on slower tracks such as the Hungaroring and Singapore, where Hamilton was a dominant force.
The Briton, who saw the mantle of world champion pass to compatriot Jenson Button in Brazil, thinks the tight and twisty 3.45-mile Abu Dhabi layout should be ideally suited to the MP4-24 and its Kinetic Energy Recovery System.
“We’ve had a fantastic second half of the season, and it would be perfect to end the year with a win – it would send us into the winter fully motivated and pumped up for the 2010 season,” he said.
“All the signs point to Abu Dhabi being another strong track for us – there are plenty of slow corners leading onto long straights, where KERS will be very advantageous.
“Seeing as it’s likely to be the last race for KERS, it would be fantastic to send it off with a perfect result – that would be a very fitting farewell for all the engineers who have worked so hard to make the McLaren Mercedes system the best in the business.”
McLaren ahead of Ferrari into third place in the constructors’ championship courtesy of Hamilton’s podium finish at Interlagos, but with only one point separating the arch-rival teams, the battle is still very much joined.
Heikki Kovalainen says he is determined to help McLaren seal third place, and can’t wait to sample the new circuit.
“I had a very strong race in Brazil and I’m determined to rack up a points finish in Abu Dhabi to make sure we hold on to third position in the constructors’ championship,” said the Finn.
“From what I’ve seen of the track, it looks pretty good – it’s got a couple of fast corners at the start of the lap, but then there’s a real low-speed, technical section towards the end.
“It still looks like it will be a tough track for overtaking, but the facilities look amazing – totally world-class – and I think the idea of a dusk race is very good for our sport.
“Singapore has set the standard very high with its night race, but Abu Dhabi looks like it will set new standards in Formula 1. I can’t wait to get out there.”
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