F1 24 Abu Dhabi Setups

Abu Dhabi has been the season-closing Grand Prix in Formula 1 for many years, and this trend continues in 2024. Yas Marina circuit combines a little bit of everything to make for a fun circuit to drive in F1 24.

Long straights around Abu Dhabi make overtaking a real possibility. However, you cannot entirely focus your F1 24 Abu Dhabi car setup on straight-line speed. Most corners rely heavily on your car’s balance and aerodynamic setup.

Recently, Abu Dhabi underwent a few track changes that aimed to make the circuit more free-flowing and enjoyable. Removing the chicane before turn five makes the hairpin corner at the start of the second sector a good opportunity for an overtake. However, it remains a crucial corner to get right, as there is a long straight that follows.

Altering turn nine also makes the circuit much faster, and in previous Grand Prix, we have seen cars battle side by side all the way around the long corner.

What makes a good car setup for Abu Dhabi in F1 24?

A good car setup for Abu Dhabi in F1 24 is one which is well-balanced. You cannot focus too much on one area of the track; otherwise, you will be slower at others. Balancing your car setup between high speed and high downforce ensures you are competitive in all areas of the Yas Marina circuit.

Abu Dhabi is one of the rear limited circuits in F1 24, similar to Bahrain and Monza. There are a few slower corners that put a lot of strain on the rear tyres, often causing them to wear faster than the front tyres.

You should account for this in your Abu Dhabi car setup by lowering your rear tyre pressures and adjusting the suspension geometry not to be too aggressive.

Again, a balanced approach to the suspension setup is a good one. In my experience of Abu Dhabi in both F1 24 and previous Formula 1 games, you don’t want a car that is too stiff or soft. The kerbs at corners such as turns six and seven are incredibly large, and a stiff suspension can cause a lot of instability at this part of the track.

Is it better to set up car for high speed or high downforce around Yas Marina?

Abu Dhabi is a track in F1 24 which is very balanced. It presents a range of different challenges around a single lap that require a fine balancing act. There are two very long straights with a few other shorter straights around Abu Dhabi. These can lead to good overtaking opportunities if you choose a low downforce car setup.

Outside of the long straights, the rest of the track is primarily slow or medium speed corners. These parts of the track reward a car that has a good areodynamic setup. Due to these two significantly different parts of the Abu Dhabi circuit, balancing our aerodynamic setup to sit between speed and downforce is the best route.

Abu Dhabi race strategy

Generally, Abu Dhabi is a two pit stop race due to the high tyre wear. The harder tyres will be much more beneficial, and despite some drivers complaining that the hard tyre doesn’t work overly well around Abu Dhabi, it is still the best race tyre.

No driver used the soft tyre during last year’s Yas Marina Grand Prix. Instead, all opted for a two-stop strategy utilising hard and medium tyres. This approach is the preferred option in F1 24, with a few laps of extra fuel on board as well to help push for overtakes.