So the main reason I was in Abu Dhabi last weekend was for the Formula 1 Grand Prix which I had never experienced before. In Abu Dhabi the track is located on Yas Island surrounded by a whole bunch of entertainment facilities like a marina, a hotel, Ferrari World, Waterworld, O1NE by Skybar, Du Arena and more. The evening of the F1 practice sessions I was in the car heading to one of the super yachts when I heard the sound of the F1 cars live for the very first time. At that moment it was the most beautiful sound in the world that gave me goosebumps and sent an adrenaline rush through my body. It was incredible loud and powerful and I couldn’t wait for race day.
I think we had one of the best seats in the house for the Abu Dhabi Formula 1 event. Our seats weren’t really seats but more like a lounge with 5-star catering and a balcony with a seating area overlooking the start line and located right over the Ferrari pit lane. We were in the Paddock Club. If that wasn’t cool enough we had a few celebrities in our lounge including football legend Maradona, Knight Rider and Baywatch star David Hasselhoff and the founder of Pagani Motors, Horacio Pagani. With the Paddock Club access we also got access to the pit lane which meant we could check out the teams prepping the cars for the race.
Watching the race at the track was a pretty strange experience since I spent most of the time watching it on the large screens that were located across from us because you couldn’t see the whole track while sitting in one location. So even though I was physically at the race I was still watching it as if I was sitting at home except I was sitting next to Maradona and Hasselhoff.
It was a once in a lifetime experience and as I told our hosts, I’m now probably spoiled and don’t think I could ever watch a Formula 1 event live again unless I get to experience it the same way I did on this trip.
12 replies on “Abu Dhabi: Formula 1 at Yas Marina”
Wow Niki Lauda looked up straight back at you.
Forget Pagani and Maradonna, you were in the same room as The Hoff 😀
Yeah well me and my friend were waiting for Hamilton to get back to the villa after he spun off during qualification. So me and my friend came up with a plan where he would yell hamiltons name and when he turned to look towards us i would snap the photo. After we got hamilton we spotted Niki and did the same although Niko seemed more annoyed 😛
Mark , nice to hear about your amazing trip. By the way How much did your ticket cost? Perhaps i could make it there some day.
My whole trip was paid for by the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority including airline ticket and hotel.
Wow Niki Lauda looks pissed! Amazing pictures; if a bit too processed.
They’re barely processed, mostly just a reduction in contrast.
dude F1 cars now sound nothing like they used to before with the small engines they use now days and they will use even smaller next year.
v12s and v10 engines used to blow you away literally and you hear a boom with every gear change
These ar e beautiful pictures.
thank you
Which camera did you use mark ?
Most of them D800 but there are two or thre where I used an iPhone
Just amazing pictures. The Hamilton one is really world class!