While this year’s Grand Prix season is going down to the wire in Abu Dhabi, Benson Boone can at least be assured he is a winner in the 2025 music calendar.
With his career bubbling under the surface since his appearance on American Idol in 2021, the US singer-songwriter with the golden moustache finally broke through after a viral Coachella performance in April, the sort of moment the festival is built for.
The momentum carried into a US tour that reportedly sold out in less than five minutes, followed by European dates that moved just as quickly.
But constant flights and the physicality of his shows can take a toll between performances. Boone cut a more subdued figure when he visited the Yas Marina Circuit hours before Thursday’s concert at nearby Etihad Park. The quiet of the paddocks let him mingle with members of the public and racing teams.
That said, there is no such thing as a full off mode for a rising star. When Boone was invited to take a photo in front of the Glambot, the robotic camera arm now standard at award shows for dramatic slow-motion portraits, he immediately understood the brief and delivered a practised twirl his hero Freddie Mercury would have approved of.
It is these chilled-out moments that make the opening day of the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix worthwhile. The action may be the slowest of the weekend, but it is balanced by a warmth you do not see on the following days as the energy and stakes increase.
A walk through the paddocks revealed teams holding staff meetings out in the open. Behind the cabanas facing the marina, engineers from different outfits stood together, perhaps reflecting on their respective fortunes over another long season on the road, and showing a level of camaraderie rarely visible on the broadcast screens.
Out on the circuit, the anticipatory rumble of engines was replaced by the steady sounds of preparation. With the pit-lane walk held at 6.30pm, the extra time left teams holed up in their respective garages. Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes crews were focused on engine work, while at the other end of the track this year’s strugglers, Williams and Kick, ran repeated pit-stop drills.
These moments of measured calm are valued by everyone involved, because each day the noise and intensity rises.
