Thousands of race fans were able to walk Yas Marina Circuit’s pit lane on Thursday and catch a glimpse of the Formula 1 teams carrying out final checks on their cars before Friday’s practice sessions.
Many of the three-day ticket holders had never been so close to motorsport’s premier cars before.
“To actually see the Formula 1 cars close up like this and see the engineers making final adjustments is amazing,” said Saleh Al Mazrouei, 15, an Emirati F1 fan attending the event with his father.
“I want to be an F1 driver when I grow up, so for me this is a dream come true.”
Kai Mostais, 8, was on his second visit to the track after attending last year’s race. The “Alonso #1” emblazoned on his T-shirt made it easy to identify who he will be cheering for this weekend.
“Fernando Alonso is my hero. For me, he is number 1,” said Kai, who was accompanied by his parents who moved to the capital from Spain four years ago.
“When I grow up, I want to drive in Formula 1 and win championships, just like him. It’s so awesome to see his car in the garages.”
In between having their pictures taken inside the team garages, fans took part in sprint races down the home straight and past the finish line.
The F1 machines will move considerably faster when the action gets underway on Sunday with Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton, the championship leader, and teammate Nico Rosberg fighting it out for the drivers’ title.
Some fans queued for over three hours to get autographs from the Mercedes duo, both of whom, with double points on offer, will behoping to be crowned world champion.
“It was madness, by the time we got down here the queue was so long. There were thousands of people,” said Murray Kidd, 25, a Briton who lives in Abu Dhabi and works for an offshore drilling company.
“But it’s great to be so close to the cars and see the mechanics and engineers at work. You really notice the difference in the designs to last year’s cars, and they sound totally different as well.”
Matt Allwell, a media executive from the UK who flew out to Abu Dhabi with his family for this season’s finale, said he believes it will be Hamilton standing on the top step of the podium after Sunday’s race.
“Lewis has been the best and the quickest driver this season,” he said. “He has 10 race wins already and we’re hoping he makes it number 11 this weekend.
“If he does we will be celebrating long into the night.”
newsdesk@thenational.ae
