Yas Marina Circuit chief Tareq Al Ameri has said he is happy to keep the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as Formula 1’s season finale.
This weekend marks the 10th race at the venue which made its debut in 2009 of which seven have been the curtain closer under the lights.
In that time, only three championships have been decided at the last round with the last being the tense battle between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in 2016.
Despite the lack of drama, Al Ameri plays down the suggestion it dampens interest in the race.
“It works really for us to be the season finale, the end of November window is good for us as it encourages people to come here, to enjoy themselves and to experience what Abu Dhabi has to offer,” he told The National newspaper.
“We have seen it before that it [a lack of championship importance] has not taken a lot from the event.
“It usually makes for a good race,” he argued. “You see the drivers allowed to go all out for victory with no team strategy or orders to get in the way.
“It produces pure racing.”
While the big battles are decided, there are still other fights that have gone down to the wire with Valtteri Bottas, Max Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen battling over third, fourth and fifth.
In the Constructors’ too, Sauber faces a tough decision whether to stick and consolidate eighth, with a nine-point gap to Toro Rosso, or twist and potentially close the six-point margin to Force India.
In addition to the Grand Prix itself, Yas Marina also provides the perfect host for the two-day Pirelli tyre test post-race where all 10 teams gain important data on the following year’s rubber and give either a new driver or a young driver some early experience.