6.56: It’s all over. Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton on winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. A fantastic race and a great event at Yas Marina. Hamilton was joined on the podium by Alonso and Button respectively. Button can probably take solace for his third place by the fact that his partner might just be the most beautiful thing on Earth. More pictures in the media room please. If only Hamilton could conduct a post-race press conference with a quarter of the panache with which he drives. Can’t have everything.
4.48: Right, we’re going up onto the media centre’s roof terrace to watch the start of the race. And before we are accused of slacking off, the media room down below is too much like a university lecture theatre for us to sit in here for much longer. But check out our tweets from upon high. Follow us @TimeOutDubai.
4.16: Less than 45 minutes to go until race time here at the F1 Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi and Time Out has just almost walked into pop princess and former X Factor judge Danni Minogue with her babydaddy, ex-professional rugby league player Kris Smith. Speaking of love in the air, apparently there is a couple here on their honeymoon – working as track marshalls. We hear the pair are volunteering for the teams Mark Webber and Jenson Button. They must really be into their motorsport. Or not particularly into each other. Rumours have Brazilian football star Ronaldo and ageing martial arts star Steven Seagal watching the race action. For all the glitz and the glamour at Yas Marina, the fan zone proved somewhat of a disappointment. A lone rapper pleading with a handful of fans, T-shirt salesmen looking longingly at crowds, kids walking around with those cool portable race fan TV update thingies (is that what they are called?) and expats crowded into the one hops tent to get out of the sun. If you are here and were thinking of heading that way, don’t bother.
2.34: It’s hot today. A track temperature of 42C has got to be making it hard for the GP2 Asia racers on track right now. Hopefully for Vettel, Button and Co, it will cool between now and 5pm. Apparently, F1 drivers can sweat off up to 3kg of their bodyweight during a race. Wow. Some of us at Time Out Towers could perhaps do with giving that a go… We have just seen Eddie Jordan enjoying the company of some ridiculously beautiful women that were wandering through the paddock. Hmmmm, so what interest do those tall, stunning, model-standard girls have in a 5ft 5in multi-millionaire like Eddie? We are only kidding, Eddie (if you’re reading). Eddie is one of the most popular characters in Formula 1 and a Time Out fave. The GP2 is over. For those who are interested, Swiss driver Fabio Leimer won the GP2 Feature Race. Luiz Razia and Jolyon Palmer joined him on the podium. Funniest moment of the day so far – a colleague of Time Out getting her high heel stick in a grill in the paddock. Always hilarious.
13.30: After a compulsory listen to Fleetwood Mac’s ‘The Chain’ on the drive into the complex (Dum … dum-dum-dum, dum-dum-dum-dum-dum … dum … – maybe a reference for British race fans), we arrived at a tropical Yas Marina Circuit for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The walk to the media centre with journalists from a local motoring website was like taking a jolly jaunt through the car park with Jeremy Clarkson and James May from BBC’s Top Gear. Clarkson: ‘That BMW Z4 Roadster looks good in that (gaudy orange) colour’. May: ‘That’s the only time is does look good etc etc …’. Clarkson and May were kind enough to introduce me to the ‘front-end guy’ (motoring speak for one of the key mechanics) of a former world champion driver who shall remain nameless. The mechanic had experienced the joys of Abu Dhabi at full throttle last night and was feeling worse-for-wear as a result, so watch for one of today’s racers perhaps taking a little longer in the pits than he might prefer. Legendary BBC Formula 1 commentator Martin Brundle then sashayed past, followed minutes later by his former colleague Louise Goodman, while three-time F1 World Champion Niki Lauda enjoyed a midday beverage.
More updates to come. If you are at the Grand Prix, let us know who or what you see via our comments below or tell us on twitter @timeoutabudhabi and @timeoutdubai.
