Vrooom ...

Well, yesterday's adventure was the practice runs for the premiere Formula 1 racing here in Abu Dhabi.  The track here is reportedly the best in the world.  Race weekend is a big event, with evening concerts each night.  Sunday, November 4th is the actual race, and Eminem is the concert that evening. We decided to not stay for Thursday's concert, Kylie Minogue (spelling?) ... nothing against her, just wasn't in the mood to stick around for it.

Here's the funny thing.  Thursday morning, while some of the Al Rowdah team was with me to do some placement testing of some potential UAE military students, we were chatting about weekend plans. (Remember, Thursday is the last day of our work week here.)  I was asked if I was going to Formula 1. My response was: "If I'm offered a ticket I'd go, sure. But otherwise, nope."

Thursday afternoon, I got a call from a senior management office, asking if I would like to go to Formula 1 this weekend.  I of course said "yes" and "thank you", and then hung up the phone and laughed.  Really, I never dreamt that I'd make that off-hand remark and then actually end up going.

The tickets were for a day when the F1 drivers practice, going 90 minutes and getting used to the track.  While I am sure the actual race day is great fun with cheering crowds and the actual prize at stake, I have to say that it was fun to not be in the middle of the crowds.  I was given two tickets, and Tom went with me.  Here is one view of the track. We're sitting on the top level, which is the third level.

 

 

Behind us are "suites", where you can watch from inside and comfy seats and air conditioning. It wasn't a hot day (high 80's at this point, and for here that is much cooler), so pretty pleasant sitting outside. Trips inside for the complimentary snacks and non-alcoholic drinks.  There is also a fun area outside the building, with merchandise, go carts and other activities.

I had not been to a F1 race ... it is really really loud.  Fun to watch these skilled drivers maneuver at incredible speeds ... did I mention it was really really loud?  I ran downstairs to a vendor and bought ear plugs for the two of us, which kept us from having to plug up our ears with our fingers the whole time!

For your viewing and listening pleasure (you might turn your sound down a bit):

And here is a picture of moi, with another view of the race track.

For Diane who is tracking my stops on Google maps, the F1 trace track is on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. We were in the north grandstand, right next to Ferrari World. 

And a gorgeous shot of the view we faced. We are looking west.  In fact, we live just a a few miles to the left of the cluster of building you can see straight across.