The Abu Dhabi GP has, of late, been the last Formula 1 Grand Prix of the season. It takes place on the Yas Marina circuit which has been built on Yas Island which lies on the East Coast of Abu Dhabi. The first GP took place there in 2009 and it will be the last race of the season until at least 2030.
This year (2023) we got the opportunity to do the pit lane walk on the Thursday before the race.
Getting There & Getting In
We were staying in Dubai and were fortunate enough to be able to borrow our son’s car and have our own mini GP for 88km down the highway (speed limit 140km/hr) to Yas Island. It was a short road trip, but well worth the effort!
Before setting off, we downloaded the Abu Dhabi GP app, which both helped and hindered our progress. The app held our tickets, so we couldn’t not use it, even if we wanted to bin it.
It did help us find parking at the Yas Mall and then catch a bus from there to the circuit. Which is when the fun started.
The app presumes you have a local phone number which is not ideal given that a lot of people attending the GP are not UAE residents. And without a local phone number, you kept having to be sent a code from the e-mail address the tickets had been sent to in order to sign back into the app.
This happened at least 4 times as the app stopped working at the most inconvenient times – like at a gate where you needed to show the ticket bar code – which was in the app 🙁
The bar code in the ticket in the app was also a bit iffy as we were refused entry twice at the gate we had been sent to.
Eventually sanity prevailed or they realized something was amiss (we weren’t the only ones running around waving our cell phones in the air) and we were shepherded into the right area.
As always, tech is awesome when it works and uber frustrating when it misbehaves.
Hurry Up and Wait
By the time we got where we were supposed to be, there was a very long queue waiting to be let into the pit lane. It was sunny and hot, but fortunately there were lots of free water fountains, or not so free drinks and ice cream stands around.
We stood in the queue for about an hour and then suddenly the gates were opened and away we went. We still had a bit of walking to do but we soon popped out onto the track and crossed it into the pitlane.
The Actual Pit Lane Walk
The pit lane walk started at the end nearest the pit lane exit (Williams team) and then you wandered at leisure past 20 garages until you reached the Red Bull team garages at the end closest to the pit lane entrance.
All the cars were up on their trolleys being worked on by a variety of technicians. You can’t get too close, but it’s close enough to appreciate the technology and design that goes into these cars.
There was some excitement while we were wandering along. The Ferrari team wheeled Carlos Sainz’s car out and started practicing tyre changes. Those pneumatic wrenches are pretty noisy and amazing at the same time. But precision in placement and timing is what makes a pitstop to change tyres either good or bad…..so practice, practice, practice is the name of the game
Although none of the drivers were around, it was possible to have the odd exchange with a technician, and the team PR people were active, handing out caps and taking pics.
Twenty garages and cars later, we crossed the track again to the outside of the track where all sorts of entertainment and merchandise was available.
But before that, I had my lap time deleted for going off track limits! 🙂
We settled down in the shade with an ice cream and took in a live music show while the queue to get into the pitlane still snaked along behind us.
Lots of Other Things to Do at the Abu Dhabi GP
While the actual pit lane walk was the undoubted highlight of the day, there was lots of other stuff on the go that you could either watch, join in, or buy! 🙂
Of course you could buy all sorts of GP and F1 team related stuff, but there were also a lot of F1 theme related exhibits and even a working “pit stop” area where you could get a close up look at how a tyre change actually happened.
If you enjoy live music, then their was that on the go on the main stage every day from before noon to late into the night.
Been There, Done That…..But….
Late in the afternoon we retraced our steps with a bus ride back to the Yas Mall where we sat back with a coffee and a bite to eat and reflected on our day.
Despite a few technological hitches, we had a thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable day – and that without seeing a single car out on the track.
Next year we might well go all in and buy a 3 day ticket which will get us in for the whole GP weekend, including the last race of the 2024 F1 season.
It will probably involve sacrificing a bunch of coffees over the next 365 days – but it will be worth it!
Read more about our travelling in our 7th decade.
