F1 22 Abu Dhabi Setups

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Abu Dhabi F1 22 Setup

Abu Dhabi in F1 22 requires a slightly different car setup to last year due to the track layout changes. The track layout changes that were made in F1 2021 are in F1 22 for the first time. Making F1 22 the first game where we can officially drive the new track layout.

The Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi saw one of the most controversial season enders in history with the titanic Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton battle.

The track layout features two very long straights, with both including DRS zones. This allows for a lot of overtaking around Abu Dhabi in F1 22. And the new changes make the circuit more enjoyable to drive.

Abu Dhabi F1 22 setup options

Abu Dhabi consists of two very long straights which require good straight-line speed to be able to efficiently attack and defend from other cars. However, the rest of the circuit would ideally require a relatively high downforce setup due to the mid-speed corners.

This means that any car setup for Abu Dhabi in F1 22 will be a form of compromise between straight-line speed and downforce. We would suggest prioritising your straight-line speed first as that is the part of the track where you will be vulnerable if you’re too slow.

The rest of the circuit is rather hard to overtake on, so if you lose a little lap time due to lower downforce levels, you shouldn’t be at risk of being overtaken. And you can gain a lot of lap time back on the long straights. Although don’t focus too heavily on straight-line speed as you will still require a car with decent levels of downforce.

Abu Dhabi aerodynamic setup

Prioritising top speed more than high aerodynamics will give you an overall lap time advantage. It’ll also allow you to be able to attack cars in front down the long straights. With the removal of two of the chicanes, the Yas Marina track becomes even more focused on prioritising top speed in our F1 22 setup.

In 2022, you can adjust your front wing angle after qualifying. This allows you to alter your aerodynamic setup in between sessions. I would recommend increasing your front wing angle ever so slightly for qualifying. This will give you the optimal front end downforce to attack the track across a single lap.

Then, for the Abu Dhabi race, you can decrease your front wing aerodynamics. This will increase your top speed allowing you to attack cars in front more efficiently.

The front wing increases drag at a higher rate than the rear wing. This means, that setting your car up with a higher rear wing will impact your top speed less than a higher front wing.

Because of this, I would recommend setting your front wing aero relatively low, while keeping your rear wing aero around a medium value.

In F1 22, Abu Dhabi is much more reliant on a stable and well-planted rear end than it is on the front. There are a lot of faster corners around Yas Marina. These corners require you to have confidence in the rear of your car. The last thing you want is your rear end stepping out of line through these faster corners.

This is the reason why I would recommend higher rear wing aerodynamics compared to the front wing. There are also a lot of bumps throughout the lap, especially through turn 3. A car with low rear downforce will struggle to keep stability through here.

Yas Marina is a rear limited track

The difference between being a front or rear limited track refers to the part of your car which limits your overall performance potential. In the case of Abu Dhabi in F1 22, the track is rear-limited. This means that your overall lap time is limited by the amount of rear grip you can produce.

It also means that your rear tyres will be punished harder than your front tyres. This will affect your overall tyre wear making your rear tyres wear at a faster rate than your front tyres.

The rear limited nature of Yas Marina is slightly less than in previous years. This is down to the change in track layout. The removal of the slow chicane at the end of the second DRS straight, and the increase in speed of the hairpin do help towards maintaining your rear tyre life.

Both of these corner sequences now rely much less on your rear grip and traction and therefore decrease the rate at which your rear tyres will wear.

There are still a few very heavy traction zones. These are parts of the track where you are accelerating hard from a low speed. For example, turn 7 is a good example of where you will be accelerating very hard from a slow speed. This puts a lot of stress through your rear tyres, increasing tyre wear.

Suspension setup

For your suspension setup around Abu Dhabi in F1 22, you will require a relatively stiff rear end. To be able to effectively attack the medium speed 90-degree corners that make up a lot of the Yas Marina circuit, your rear end needs to be stable and responsive.

You can achieve this by running a stiffer rear suspension and a slightly softer front suspension.

However, increasing the stiffness of your rear suspension will put more stress on your rear tyres, which will increase your overall rear tyre wear. For a track that is already rear limited, increasing rear tyre wear further with your suspension setup is not a good thing.

To achieve the goal of having a car that is stable and responsive at the rear while limiting rear tyre wear, you need to balance your rear suspension stiffness. Don’t push it too high and run too stiff, just enough to achieve the best of both of these objectives.

Abu Dhabi F1 22 car setup overview

Overall, Abu Dhabi is an extremely fun track to race around in F1 22. The new track changes remove a couple of awkward corners, making the track flow much better. With the right car setup, utilising the tips above, you can be extremely competitive around Abu Dhabi in F1 22.

If in doubt, utilise our Abu Dhabi setups above for an optimised car setup. There are race setups, wet setups and time trial setups above, created by our team and members of the community.