Will this decide the title race in Abu Dhabi? The sharp kerbs are back!

Nicholas Latifi, George Russell and also Valtteri Bottas saw a good result at the Qatar Grand Prix go up in smoke just under two weeks ago. The cause? The razor-sharp, stepped kerbs, where these drivers slashed their tyres. Now there is bad news ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. These nasty kerbs are back.

The Yas Marin circuit has undergone some major changes since the Formula One circus last settled there a year ago. The track has been made faster, hoping that overtaking will be easier. In any case, the lap times will go down this weekend and the expectation is that the lap can be done in 1 minute 20 - about fifteen seconds faster than last year.

The restyling of the circuit mainly concerned turns five, six and seven, which are the extension of the straight after turn four. In turn five, the dreaded kerbs have been placed right on the line used by the drivers to get the maximum speed out of the corner.

Pirelli announced after the race in Qatar that the punctures were indeed caused by the high, sharp kerbs. The Italian tyre manufacturer will therefore be looking to next weekend with some concern. According to the Italian version of Motorsport.com Pirelli was not informed that these sharp kerbs were placed.