Formula 1 is Bernie Ecclestone. The two are inseparable. What F1’s chief commercial rights holder wants, he usually gets – and Bernie isn’t a sentimentalist. When Silverstone, the grand old dame of British motor racing, was looking a bit leggy, it was cut from the racing calendar like some knackered greyhound with a gammy knee (it is currently being redeveloped).
Silverstone wasn’t the only thing to fall under the hammer. Since the podium-hogging era of the Schumacher-Ferrari days, F1 has undergone a shake-up, with new rules, restrictions on technology, and the promotion of exciting young drivers. The aim has been to improve competition and bring audiences back into the fold; but perhaps the most dramatic facelift has been to the list of venues.
Over the past five years, established circuits like Silverstone, Indianapolis and Canada have gone; replaced by Bahrain, Shanghai, Turkey and – more recently – Singapore, Valencia and Abu Dhabi. Of course, Bernie wouldn’t use such drastic terms as ‘rejuvenation’. Asked about the locations of the new venues, he replies with brusque efficiency: ‘That’s where I want to put them, because we’re a World Championship.’
They are also a business. Discussing Singapore’s recent nighttime race, the silver-haired supremo softens a little. ‘It’s a case of Singapore we’re doing at night because the East comes in at a very bad time in Europe. We’re just meeting the audience. We’re going to do the same for Australia (which is later) for the same reason.’ Like a politician bucking for re-election, F1’s message is clear: it wants to go out and meet its audience.
This is where Abu Dhabi comes in – even if there aren’t exactly that many people to ‘meet’ in the UAE capital (Emirate population circa 1.5 million). But whilst the Grand Prix offers the city the world stage it craves; beyond the obvious financial might, what does Abu Dhabi offer F1?
Bernie’s claim to ‘make sure that the [Grand Prix] events are in places which are a good representative of the world’ rings a little hollow given that, during 2009, there will be two races – Bahrain and Abu Dhabi – held in the Middle East and none in North America. What the UAE has to offer is something F1 has been craving: its ‘full’ attention, and a bit of old-fashioned glamour. Enter the new Yas Marina Circuit.
Standing under the seven-star ceiling of Emirates Palace, the world press recently got to peer down on a model of Yas Marina Circuit like Godzilla eying up downtown Tokyo. As part of the estimated US$40billion Yas Island development, the circuit is an impressive showpiece. Like a calling card for the city, the glistening 50,000-seater stadium will become one of the first things that visitors see as they land at Abu Dhabi airport (should you sit on the left hand side of the plane, that is).
They started from scratch; ‘That’s what’s been good,’ says Bernie, ‘if it goes wrong it’s our fault – and it won’t go wrong’. How much it will all cost is still unclear. Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management (ADMM) claim figures are ‘in line’ with those spent on building England’s new Wembley Stadium – not a good example given that Wembley went over-budget and over-schedule. But if Silverstone got the boot because of its antiquated facilities, Yas Island shows why. Should you need a berth for your 100-metre long super-yacht, the marina has you covered; a 60-metre high VIP suite known as Sun Tower ensures an unobstructed view for the very important people, and the Yas Marina Hotel has the privilege of being the only hotel in the world with a Formula 1 track running through it.
But importantly, it isn’t all about the Grand Prix. There is life beyond F1, as ADMM chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak reminded us at the model’s launch when he reaffirmed that ‘[Yas Marina Circuit] will offer a state-of-the-art motor racing facility, open all year round’. The last four words are the key.
The circuit can be split into two separate tracks and will provide year-round facilities for kart and drag racing, as well as allowing mere mortals to test their motoring skills at the only Ferrari driving school in the world. The Grand Prix is simply the icing on the cake; in everyday terms it looks to offer something similar to Dubai’s Autodrome. Just as F1 aims to meet and keep its audience, so too does Yas Marina Circuit. Combined with the water park and Ferrari Theme Park (secured after the government-backed Mubadala Company bought a 5 per cent stake in Ferrari), ‘family friendly’ is very much the order of the day.
Another potential benefit may be the fostering of a local F1 driver. ‘I hope so,’ Bernie reveals. ‘I mean we’re doing everything we can to promote one. It’ll happen for sure. It’s one of those things that will come naturally; the drivers will come forward, join the lesser series and grow into Formula 1.’ Time will tell.
With few competing sports events in the area, the 2009 Etihad Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will certainly receive all the pomp and attention it deserves, and which it arguably doesn’t get in, say, North America, where Nascar tends to win out. ‘People who never bothered to watch Formula 1 will be involved now,’ Ecclestone believes, and that is the pull. F1 is a sport which thrives on glamour and excess; by bringing it to places like Abu Dhabi, it will find not just a no-expense-spared facility, but the enthusiasm which comes with something new. Where else but in the UAE would the largest collection of F1 cars and drivers outside of a race take to the city streets in order to celebrate a Grand Prix launch? In turn, Abu Dhabi gains not just the prestige and publicity of a genuine world sport, but a facility which will continue to bring in tourists and visitors year-round, and maybe the potential to produce its own F1 hero. This is surely a winning formula for everyone.
Inside track
Born in Lebanon, raised in Abu Dhabi, F3 star Basil Shaaban gives his opinion on why his home circuit is the best…
‘The circuit is clearly of a leading F1 standard, with 5.5km length and 21 corners. It also has some really novel features; for example, it appears that the pit lane exit
actually goes below ground underneath turn 1, which is definitely something new and will be very cool to drive through!
‘There are several really good overtaking opportunities, particularly into turn 8, since it is preceded by the 1.1km back straight. Depending on the exact configuration of the preceding turn 7, I foresee the scenario where a car that drives on the inside of a competitor into the turn will compromise its exit onto this long back straight, giving the passed car a good chance to fight back for position into turn 8.
‘This leads to one of the longest straights of any F1 circuit, and will definitely be where the cars reach their top speed. Also watch for braking errors into turn 8, as the speed drop will be quite large, so drivers will get it wrong sometimes and go wide.
‘The circuit has a significant number of medium-speed corners, with several low-speed corners as well. Such a layout tends to emphasise a driver’s accuracy, since each centimetre or kph of variance makes up a larger percentage of the positioning or speed in a slower corner compared to a quicker one. It will also influence rear tyre wear, since the lower gears required for the slower corners puts more energy through the driving wheels. This will make the races more interesting, particularly towards the end of each stint before the pit stop.
‘I really like the three S-bend complexes on the circuit. They don’t all appear to be standard chicanes, where you open the steering wheel from one apex to arrive onto the next apex. Most of these appear to be sufficiently spaced apart that you have to steer your way from one to the other. This is a challenge, as you have to balance the combination of line, speed and weight transfer simultaneously to maximise the car’s capacity. This is going to be a fun circuit to try out.’
