The F1 Circuit was very well-designed and built from an engineering standpoint (oh, DJ, I remembered I should write a metro post from an engineering viewpoint). This is great because it still felt like a proper F1 track even though it doesn't have the history of Silverstone or the feel of Monaco, but it just felt right, even though we were sitting practically in the middle of the desert in an island out of all places.
Plus points:
- Loads of volunteers.
- Loads of free busses.
- Crowds were very decent, high-quality people (i don't like crowds).
- Food/Drink were really above amazing!
- Very little traffic jams near the circuit.
- Free earplugs were given out.
- Amazing flying jets.
- Police did a great job.
- Overall great fun and worth the long drive from Dubai.
Minus points:
- Parking was put very far from the circuit.
- Loads of VIP parking spaces near the circuit were left empty. a waste.
- The security guys were dumb and didn't speak good Arabic or English.
- THERE WERE NOT ENOUGH CRASHES ON THE CIRCUIT!!!!
I will leave you with some pictures :-)
15 comments:
I missed yet another lifetime event!
awesome pix. looks like it was fun.
although i always wondered if it was safe to have the hotel right over the race course.
but if you say there weren't enough crashes, maybe they were thinking of the same thing too.
What kinds of food/drinks did they offer? I'm wondering what was "above amazing."
KJ, Bahrain is hosting the F1 next year, see if you can go to that.
Media Junkie, it was bags of fun!
Regarding the safety issue let me assure you as an engineer it's perfectly safe for both the hotel guests and the F1 drivers.
If you look at the plans closely, you'll see that the hotel is made up in two parts, with the F1 track inbetween. Only the hotel roof (which is fitted with funky LED's) spans above the track and bridges both buildings.
ABIT, depends where u sit.. but where we were sitting we had a buffet open from around 10am till 7pm serving hot and cold snacks like kibbe, sfee7a, kababs, sushi, ma3mool, arabic coffee, other coffees, tea, water, 4 different juices, and various sweets.
alcohol was available but well hidden in "key" areas.
LOL @ exposing Israeli jokes! I'd have liked to go but it was all the way in Abu Dhabi and no one wantd to go with me.
great pix! on a slightly related note, notice the perforated metal shell around the Yas Marina Hotel. Metal shells have become all the rage in the world right now :P
If the car park spaces near the circuit had all been used, all the buses would have been mired in congestion, and the whole place would have ground to a halt. As it was, it was a pleasure to walk around the circuit with the limited traffic access.
Car Parks are ugly wastes of space, especially if they are going to be used one a few days of year.
The way they have built a community park, that can be used as a car park a few days a year, is excellent I think.
And there may be sand areas now, but in teh Yas Masterplan, these are all used. No point setting up the event to start off in a way that will be impossible in a few years.
alcohol was available but well hidden in "key" areas
If it was so "well" jidden how do you know it was there?
THAT is a good enough reason to keep me away... and might be a reason everyone there will end up in hell one day. I hope a few laps was worth your after life.
ABIT,
If being at an event where alchohol is served will see you going to hell, taken to an extreme, would not being in a country where alchohol is served in a far less well hidden manner, and where public cervices are funded in at least part by taxes on the same could also run the risk of being condemned to eternal damnation?
Perhaps you should move to Saudi to be on the safe side?
And as for being hidden, there were plenty of people who were there for the entire weekend who did not realise alchohol was available at the circuit. And many of them were actively looking for it.
The concerts - that is a totally different matter. There the sale and consumption of alchohol was in your face in what was to me a frankly inappropraite manner. As it is at most Flash events.
At those at the Emirate Palace hotel, I have seen teenagers who arrive in Abaya and Khandora quickly disgard the same behind a bush, and a short time later be staggering around drunk.
Compared to this type of thing, YMC was every discrete and very controlled.
I have seen teenagers who arrive in Abaya and Khandora.
...
so any one with Abaya and kandora is automatically Emiratie.
I totaly agree with u, Abit.
Salaams ya buj
Yeh it was pretty incredible.
So was the Beyonce concert and all the fun stuff on the Corniche. AD has grown ey.
On another note after 6 months away Im glad your blog is back, and so are you.
Hi there,
Sorry to write you in your blog comments, but I didnt know how else to reach you. (did you receive this message already? if you did, I haven't realised and I'm sorry!)
I’m writing you on behalf of Watani, the UAE’s national identity program.
As you know, we are lucky to live in a country where hundreds of people from all over the world, of different cultures and nationalities, live together peacefully.
To celebrate just that, we have launched an initiative called “Al Mutahida” which is Arabic for being united, or togetherness. Under this initiative, that will build up to National Day celebrations on December 2, we have a few activities for which we want to encourage participation of people who love living in the UAE. To inform them about the initiatives and motivate participation, we’d like your help.
You can see updates from the program here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/WATANI/171834654444?ref=nf
We selected you because you live in the UAE, and have an interesting blog. We’d love you to write a post about our initiative and its purpose on your blog. Would you be willing to support us by doing so? If so, please let us know and we will send you all the relevant information. Also, let us know if you have any questions.
Please help us celebrate the amazing spirit of the country we all live in!
Look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks and regards,
Abha Malpani
The Watani Team
http://www.facebook.com/pages/WATANI/171834654444?ref=nf
hello everyone, thanks for dropping by and sorry for being offline lately due to travel.. but i am back now elhamdillah.
Kaya it's lovely to have you here.. if there is anything i can do help pls let me know.
Lady X i think this is your first time here, so a warm welcome from me. Actually, speaking about Israeli jokes.. well i had a funny experience with Judaism last week which i hope to share with you on a post soon!
Ford you have a point with the cars.. more cars near the event mean more congestion and noise and fumes.. mind you, you're going to a car racing event! so .. duh!!! ppl won't mind all of the above, i hope.
Would be different if we're attending a Greenpeace conference.
Abha Malpani, welcome to my blog.. I'm happy to write a piece for WATANi.. I was going to write a piece on national day anyway.. so i can combine stuff.. do u have any key points you want me to address (other than the obvious!) ?
thanks
I am told by everyone that Abu Dhabi had done an amazing job. They took the entertainment in the region to the next level.
Bravo Abu Dhabi
Coloman, lovely to see you here!
Post a Comment