Abu Dhabi hoping for change in F1 calendar

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix organisers are hoping for a change to the 2010 Formula One calendar so that they can again be the season-ending race next year.

The calendar is due to be published on Friday, with a provisional calendar listing Abu Dhabi as the penultimate race before Brazil.

"I think the final slot for us is very important in terms of the grand prix as an overall event," Yas Marina circuit chief executive Richard Cregan told Reuters at a motorsport business forum in Monaco on Wednesday.

"With the destination we have in Abu Dhabi, it means that people will hopefully come there to the last event at the end of the season and then take some holiday or whatever with their families.

"It would be good for us to have that."

Abu Dhabi was the final race this year after Brazil, which turned out to be the title-decider, but next year's calendar has expanded from 17 races to 19 with South Korea due to make its debut in October.

At present, there is a closing run of five long-haul races scheduled with Singapore, Japan and South Korea following in succession on September 26 and October 3 and 17 respectively before Abu Dhabi on October 31 and Brazil on November 14.

Switching the last two races would create more of a logistical problem.

"We feel that we deserve to be last race and I'm sure they feel they deserve to be last," said Cregan. "We'll have to wait and see. I think it's a logistics issue in terms of how you are moving the teams and freight around the world."