Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Weekend 2015

Friday 27th November began the crux of our trip. Awakening to the hazy heat of the morning Dubai sun, we made tracks quicker than normal in an effort to spend some alternative time on the beach. But not just any beach, the newly remodelled Yas Beach. It is worth a note that if you are considering visiting Dubai and Abu Dhabi yourself, that Friday’s actually constitute the weekend out there, therefore the road which was relatively quiet the day before, now resembled the M25 in rush hour on a Monday morning.

European time zones allow the scheduling of the event to run to a fairly evening based itinerary. We had thus elected for a contrasting morning that only need be spent sitting on a beach, catching the rays. The beach itself was everything expected, only broken by the noise of cars, starting up for first practice. One session which we arguably considered, we could miss. I even spent a good half hour sitting out on a raft, talking with fellow Brits about their trips.

Time ticked on and we timed our arrival at the track in good time for 4pm, where second practice would climax the weekend’s initial track action. The evening and day itself was encapsulated by the evenings concert, performed by the still impressive Enrique Iglesias playing the noughties song we all remember ‘Hero’. Together with a touch of nostalgia he also brought back ‘Escape’ and ‘Love to see you Cry’. With the weekend we’d had so far, we certainly weren’t!

Saturday brought another day and with it another trip to Yas Island, but this time with the events hotting (in some cases literally) up. We had provisionally planned AGAIN, to spend the morning in different scenery and today’s lucky venue would be Yas WaterWorld. Yes readers you have seen it, the location used on Top Gear in between a recent Richard Hammond review of a new Mercedes G63 (yes the one with six wheels) and a Porsche 918. It also gave me a chance to fulfill another wish of riding all the attractions that were roughly tube shaped and over a few yards in length, having had to miss some out altogether previously. Graham, being new to just about everything here, figured it out as we went along, albeit whilst giving the cage locking, sharp descent Liwa Loop a complete miss.

The afternoon/late evening bore an entertaining last qualifying session of the season with Nico Rosberg continuing his fine end of season form with yet another pole position. The feeling around the Yas Marina circuit was that Nico was not going to throw this one away, unlike last year on the first corner, regardless of the fact his teammate Lewis Hamilton had the championship won 3 races ago. Like the previous evening, some rather modern music brought the day’s proceedings to a close, this time in the shape of Florence and the Machine. I had anticipated her being the best act of the three days, however with respect, it probably turned out that she was the worst, but I struggle to state why. She can definitely perform and sung all the usual hits including her restyled ‘You’ve got the Love’ but something just did not quite hit me about the show. Maybe her music does not quite do it for me personally, but still well worthwhile being in the crowd.

Once this had all been fulfilled, 29th November and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix race day was finally here. The word finally, indicating we had most probably more than enjoyed ourselves over the previous five days. This morning’s program involved a trip to another Yas adventure, this time the one and only Ferrari world. Some readers would say the best site on the island, at least after the circuit itself, and rather fittingly, we had left it as the final event before the race began. I once again managed to complete near enough every ride, aside from the ‘Ferrari Interactive Gameshow’ which runs to a strict timetable every afternoon. In my reckoning however, theme parks are more based around rides than ‘Interactive gameshows so this was not so disheartening.

One thing that was certainly heart-spinning though however was the momentary loss of my mobile phone. Fortunately this was not on the worlds fastest rollercoaster Formula Rossa but on its site junior, Fiorano GT Challenge. It also did not take me long to realise its absence after my usual post ride check of pockets. Thinking it may also have vanished in the first ride taken, the unlit Speed of Magic I spent a considerable 5 minutes here, checking every carriage out of five for any sign. Satisfied a thorough check had brought nothing I returned to the previous Fiorano experience to find the last ride passengers departing their carriages. Typically just as I began to consider me and the phone were no more, up popped the missing item, seemingly left on one of the seats. Not an experience needed again throughout the full ten days, and not one I particularly contrive to find myself in. Oh well, there is a first time for everything I suppose!

Unlike in previous years, the dash to enter the circuit for the race start was a lot more calm and composed, down to the fact we had stuck to our day’s schedule. We had negotiated the seemingly longest sports event queue I had ever seen and passed security to enter Abu Dhabi Hill (in the circuits core) half an hour, yes HALF AN HOUR before the race began. The sound of the cars driving round to the grid was enough to get anyone pumped up for what was to come, still a decent sound I may add. Having not been early enough to previously witness, the Etihad fly past and national anthem were a site to behold. Moments later, the countdown had begun, the race was underway.

Nico Rosberg this time, holding his pole around turn one, and subsequent first lap. Having both now become acquainted with the Yas Marina Circuit we made our way to Turn 8 at the end of the back straight for the final five or so laps, a corner which really shows off the incredible mechanics of F1 cars. This is also the optimal place to see the after race/end of seasoin fireworks show, immediately after the winner crosses the line. It was then time for the mad dash back to where we had just been, hoping to be part of the lucky few who entered the main straight for the podium ceremony.

Having been before I knew the drill, and knew we would get access. David Coulthard (DC) conducted the podium formalities, a change from Martin Brundle the year before, and great to view with my own eyes. You get more connected to the drivers state of mind as you can see all three continuously, as opposed to just the tv’s interviewee. To be fair, it does offer a different take of the celebrations, because you are at a low vantage, further than you would be on television and events are even closer than they otherwise would be. Even though you are already there, it feels more real.

After catching a glimpse of Eddie Jordan, DC, Suzi Perry, as well as the Sky guys (too many names to say) we were hastily ushered away from the grid and back to the familiar scenes of the circuit grounds. Next stop, the Du Arena and the FINAL after-racing concert of the weekend, Blur! Hindsight has shown that this was indeed the best concert of the three, whilst obviously fittingly being the last, but I’d had my doubts about this initially. I had this vision that Blur songs were based firmly in the early nineties, slightly before my time, but no! There’s no Other Way, Girls & Boys and Parklife were more than enough to roll back the years, polished with the effective but simply titled ‘Song 2′. This got me disappointed the night was at an end, something which I had failed to feel on either of the previous evenings. To any Fifa fans out there, you’ll know what I mean!

So there we have it, our 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Weekend in (slightly more than) a nutshell, and I’ve not even mentioned the cricket!