In terms of global visibility, the biggest day on the calendar in Abu Dhabi is when the Formula One grand prix is contested here. As it was today.
At no other time do so many influential people congregate in the UAE capital. Eleven heads of state (including King Juan Carlos of Spain, etc.), as well as tourists with money and journalists with influence.
At The National, this is the one day in the year when we are most concerned about having a really good newspaper. Anyone in print knows how this goes. That day or days when out-of-towners are running around. More pages, more enterprise, everything buffed to a high gloss.
When it was over?
It turned out very well. We had a great paper. And Abu Dhabi looked shiny and new, a lot of which is about the overhead shots of Yas Marina Circuit, still only four years old and brilliantly designed. (Yes, it is the track where racers drive under a hotel, and it is the race that starts in daylight and ends after nightfall. See photos here.)
The sun was out in the run-up, but it was not oppressive. Right around 90. And TV viewers back in Europe, already cold and wet, saw people sitting on their yachts inside the circuit, and they were wearing shorts or swimsuits, even.
Never hurts when the race is fun, as it was this year. “The best race of the season” seemed to be the consensus in the media center.
Lots of passing, lots of collisions, large and small, and some compelling story lines, the biggest being Sebastian Vettel’s two runs from the back of starting grid to finish third and improve his chances of winning a third consecutive world championship.
Kimi Raikkonen won the race, and Fernando Alonso was second.
We covered the event to death, of course, with the first nine pages of the sports section devoted to coverage, along with a very big web micro-page, which included a live blog.
A grueling weekend for the lads in sports, but a great weekend for Abu Dhabi. Brilliant weather, a fun race, lots of visitors going home thinking, “Why don’t I live there?”
That’s why you build a track and that’s why you have the F1 stop in your town.
2 responses so far ↓
1 David // Nov 6, 2012 at 11:18 PM
It was a tremendously entertaining race. And yes, the circuit always looks spectacular on TV. Every year, I think, “You know, it would be kind of cool to go to that race.”
Monaco is still the one I most want to see, though.
2 Romero // Dec 28, 2012 at 4:35 AM
It was indeed a memorable race at the Yas Marina Circuit. Kimi Räikkönen gave Lotus its first victory in years and his conversations with his team during the race are epic. Sebastian Vettel had to fight his way to the front to finish third, but luckily for us he didn’t win the World title in Abu Dhabi just yet. Let’s hope next year’s edition will be even better…
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