Tickets for the 15th Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix went on sale on Thursday night.
The 2023 season starts with the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 5, followed by the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on March 19 – and reaches its climax in Abu Dhabi on November 26.
“Tonight we launch the tickets sale and I urge fans to purchase them early and not to miss out,” Saif Al Noaimi, chief executive officer of Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management, said at the ceremony on Thursday.
“We are constantly looking at innovating new things year on year, and 2022 was an unprecedented year. We had over 140,000 attendance with over 70 per cent arrivals from abroad during that week.”
According to the organisers, tickets for some categories in 2022 were sold out over the summer, and all areas a month ahead of the final Grand Prix of the season, the first one fully open to the public following the pandemic.
Despite the attendance record, Al Noaimi believes in finding the right balance.
“We can increase the numbers but we want to make sure we provide the best for everybody that come for the Grand Prix week,” he said.
“We are seeing unprecedented demand. We saw that in 2022, and 2023 is going to surpass that. We know that because we already have offered the opportunity to purchase the tickets early.”
There are 23 races over the season, including the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix on October 8 and Las Vegas on November 18.
“Obviously we are looking forward to 2023 that has more races than ever in the season,” Al Noaimi added.
“There are four races in the region and that’s exciting for us, including two new races in Qatar and Las Vegas.
“Kicking off the season in a few weeks in Bahrain, we are hoping to see some close competition between the teams competing for the championship.”
While plans are in place to celebrate the 15th edition of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Al Noaimi believes the event will showcase the best of the UAE, and is hoping for another thrilling Abu Dhabi ending like when Max Verstappen overtook Lewis Hamilton to become world champion in 2021.
“Looking back, we had four championship deciding races and in 2021 we had the winner decided on the last lap,” he said.
“We have had many memorable races in the 14 editions of the races we have had so far. In 2022 we saw more overtaking on the track than in 2021, which was a record number of 111 overtakes on the track.”
With Qatar joining the Grand Prix circuit, Al Noaimi believes there is heightened interest.
“More races in the Gulf is increasing the fan base in the region,” he added. “There is more awareness of the Formula One in the region. That’s something we all are happy to see, particularly to see younger audiences.”
Tickets can be purchased on abudhabigp.com with an early bird offer of 20 per cent discount on certain categories
