750 tonnes of equipment arrives in Abu Dhabi for grand prix

Yas Marina Circuit staff and contractors have been working around the clock to be ready for Sunday’s 2014 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Yas Marina Circuit continues its preparations for the start of the 2014 Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand prix. Wam

ABU DHABI // With the 2014 Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix roaring into town this weekend, it may be time to crunch some numbers. Here we go.

Six chartered flights – each carrying 90 tonnes of equipment – have flown in from Brazil, part of the 750 tonnes of F1 gear that would have arrived by the weekend.

One-hundred-and-forty freight containers would have landed at Khalifa Port, bringing the remaining team kits for the F1, GP2 and GP3 races.

More than 400 logistics contractors, using 60 forklift lorries, are coordinating the enormous operation at Yas Marina Circuit.

This year’s race will draw the circuit’s largest crowds, with 60,000 people eating in the public and corporate hospitality areas each day.

The circuit has employed 1,924 catering staff, who will serve about 29,670 meals in the corporate hospitality suites and grandstand, not including the Paddock, and 12,250 staff meals for employees over the weekend.

There will be 56 food and drink outlets – a mix of mobile kitchens, concessions and bars – and two new clubs.

Maintenance of the circuit has been in progress for months. A team of 59 gardeners has been laying 75 acres of grass, and planting 715 palm trees and 150,000 flowers.

Painting the track is one of the final maintenance jobs, and this is carried out by six specialist contractors.

They will apply 8,550 litres of specially commissioned paints, including pantone 321, a blue chosen for most closely resembling the seas of the Arabian Gulf.