Formula One has been part of the Abu Dhabi scene for just over a decade. The first race took place on November 1, 2009, and in one way at least, the journey to the Yas Island venue this year will be as much of a voyage into the unknown as it was 10 years ago.
This week The National reported that racegoers will be asked to park their cars at Yas Mall before making their way to the track, whereas in 2009 we all wondered how we would get to the island in the first place and whether the traffic would tailback for hours. The organisers advised all racegoers to be in their seats by 2pm, three hours before the start of what was then the first day-night race in F1's history. It all turned out just fine. I imagine it will be the same this weekend.
Looking back to 2009 and comparing Yas Island to how it is now is not just a nostalgic walk back to how we were, but a reminder of how much of the vision of Yas has been delivered and how much the city has changed since then.
Formula One weekend in 2009 marked a moment of formal introduction for residents to the big idea of the cultural island of Saadiyat and the entertainment hub that is Yas Island.
The kilometre-long Sheikh Khalifa Bridge from Port Zayed to Saadiyat and beyond opened just two weeks before the race, connecting the Corniche with the islands and providing a tiny taste of what Abu Dhabi might become. For many who journeyed to the track that weekend, it was the first time they had come into proper contact with either island, firmly shifting their perspective beyond the renderings and scale models of how the areas would eventually look.
Back then, the verges had been landscaped on the Saadiyat highway, but the big pieces of the jigsaw such as the first of the museums, hotels, housing projects and a university campus were some way from completion. Even the award-winning Norman Foster-designed pavilion, now such a distinctive feature of Saadiyat, was yet to open at Expo 2010 Shanghai, let alone be transported back to the UAE and reconstructed in the cultural district.
As for Yas itself, there was the track, the marina, the brooding mass of the yet-to-open Ferrari World and the quiet-calm of the not-yet-played-upon Yas Links golf course, the hotels and the exquisite attention to detail in the street furniture surrounding the track. So much for the tangibles; it was the intangibles that felt most at play in that moment.
As the sun set on the Yas Marina Circuit on race day in 2009, it felt like the start of a new era in F1. Not just because Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber swept to a one-two finish, marking the beginning of Red Bull's moment of supremacy in the sport, or because Jenson Button picked up the world title for BrawnGP, completing a perfect year for a team that would become Mercedes GP for 2010 and begin its own period of domination four years later, or even because the twilight race had proven a unique experience with the teams and fans.
More than that, the race-day weekend felt like a days-long festival of the city. It was a moment when Abu Dhabi announced itself to a global TV audience and was an occasion, as experts said at the time, to confirm its place as both a capital city of the future and one of the centres of the new Arab world.
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Free concerts on the Corniche and megastars such as Beyonce, performing to F1 ticketholders at Yas Arena, underlined the turbocharged moment Abu Dhabi was living in. New islands were opening up. The vision that had been outlined earlier in the decade was fast becoming reality.
The weekend was also a gathering of the kaleidoscopic communities that make up this country and of the band of diehard F1 fans who were curious to see if a world-class circuit and associated infrastructure could really have been pulled from the sand in a matter of months. They have kept returning ever since, drawn back by the "mind-blowing" facilities on Yas, as F1 expert and former team boss Eddie Jordan was prompted to describe the circuit this week.
Having climbed a mountain to meet that deadline a decade ago, Yas Island is still moving forward. If the fixed requirements of the Formula One calendar required development of the circuit at hyperspeed, the story of Yas since 2009 has been one of managed growth. Tomorrow the world's largest indoor air-conditioned climbing wall will open to the public. Clymb joins three theme parks, the largest mall in the emirate and other tourism assets. More is still to come.
There was an element of "if you build it, they will come" about Yas Island 10 years ago, to plunder that oft-used line from the 1989 film Field of Dreams. A decade on, they are still building and we are still coming back for more.
Nick March is an assistant editor-in-chief for The National
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The five pillars of Islam
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Favourite things
Luxury: Enjoys window shopping for high-end bags and jewellery
Discount: She works in luxury retail, but is careful about spending, waits for sales, festivals and only buys on discount
University: The only person in her family to go to college, Jiang secured a bachelor’s degree in business management in China
Masters: Studying part-time for a master’s degree in international business marketing in Dubai
Vacation: Heads back home to see family in China
Community work: Member of the Chinese Business Women’s Association of the UAE to encourage other women entrepreneurs
INDIA SQUAD
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj and Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper)
if you go
The flights
The closest international airport to the TMB trail is Geneva (just over an hour’s drive from the French ski town of Chamonix where most people start and end the walk). Direct flights from the UAE to Geneva are available with Etihad and Emirates from about Dh2,790 including taxes.
The trek
The Tour du Mont Blanc takes about 10 to 14 days to complete if walked in its entirety, but by using the services of a tour operator such as Raw Travel, a shorter “highlights” version allows you to complete the best of the route in a week, from Dh6,750 per person. The trails are blocked by snow from about late October to early May. Most people walk in July and August, but be warned that trails are often uncomfortably busy at this time and it can be very hot. The prime months are June and September.
Married Malala
Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.
The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.
Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Canada
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo
Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 28
Sector: Financial services
Investment: $9.5m
Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Directed: Smeep Kang
Produced: Soham Rockstar Entertainment; SKE Production
Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Jimmy Sheirgill, Sunny Singh, Omkar Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma
Rating: Two out of five stars
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
2019 Asian Cup final
Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
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THE BIO:
Favourite holiday destination: Thailand. I go every year and I’m obsessed with the fitness camps there.
Favourite book: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It’s an amazing story about barefoot running.
Favourite film: A League of their Own. I used to love watching it in my granny’s house when I was seven.
Personal motto: Believe it and you can achieve it.
UAE Falcons
Carly Lewis (captain), Emily Fensome, Kelly Loy, Isabel Affley, Jessica Cronin, Jemma Eley, Jenna Guy, Kate Lewis, Megan Polley, Charlie Preston, Becki Quigley and Sophie Siffre. Deb Jones and Lucia Sdao – coach and assistant coach.