• Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, speaks with Juan Carlos I, former King of Spain, in Shams Tower at the 2016 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. King Juan Carlos frequently attends the Abu Dhabi GP. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
    Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, speaks with Juan Carlos I, former King of Spain, in Shams Tower at the 2016 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. King Juan Carlos frequently attends the Abu Dhabi GP. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
  • King Abdullah II of Jordan, and King Mohammed VI of Morocco (L), walk the pit lane with Sheikh Mohamed before the final race of the 2014 Formula 1 season in Abu Dhabi. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court — Abu Dhabi
    King Abdullah II of Jordan, and King Mohammed VI of Morocco (L), walk the pit lane with Sheikh Mohamed before the final race of the 2014 Formula 1 season in Abu Dhabi. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court — Abu Dhabi
  • Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, speaks to Hailemariam Desalegn, former prime minister of Ethiopia, during the 2015 Formula One race in Abu Dhabi. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
    Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, speaks to Hailemariam Desalegn, former prime minister of Ethiopia, during the 2015 Formula One race in Abu Dhabi. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
  • Alpha Conde, president of Guinea (L), and Ramzan Kadyrov, president of Chechnya, attend the final race of the 2013 Formula One season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in Yas Marina Circuit. Mohmamed Al Hammadi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
    Alpha Conde, president of Guinea (L), and Ramzan Kadyrov, president of Chechnya, attend the final race of the 2013 Formula One season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in Yas Marina Circuit. Mohmamed Al Hammadi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
  • Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed greets Ramzan Kadyrov at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2017. Mohammed Al Hammadi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
    Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed greets Ramzan Kadyrov at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2017. Mohammed Al Hammadi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
  • Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed bids farewell to Dr Abdullatif Al Zayani, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (R), after the 2014 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix race at Yas Marina Circuit. Seen with Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed, , vice chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
    Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed bids farewell to Dr Abdullatif Al Zayani, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (R), after the 2014 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix race at Yas Marina Circuit. Seen with Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed, , vice chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
  • Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, introduces Sheikh Zayed bin Mohamed (R) to James Alix Michel, former President of Seychelles (3rd R), at tje 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Mohammed Al Hammadi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
    Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, introduces Sheikh Zayed bin Mohamed (R) to James Alix Michel, former President of Seychelles (3rd R), at tje 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Mohammed Al Hammadi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
  • Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed meets with King Hamad bin Isa of Bahrain in the Shams tower during the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Philip Cheung / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
    Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed meets with King Hamad bin Isa of Bahrain in the Shams tower during the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Philip Cheung / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
  • Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed meets with Omar Al Bashir, President of Sudan, at the Yas Viceroy Hotel on the final day the 2016 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
    Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed meets with Omar Al Bashir, President of Sudan, at the Yas Viceroy Hotel on the final day the 2016 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
  • Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, speaks with Prince Andrew, Duke of York, on the final day of the 2016 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Seen with Viktor Lukashenko, National Security Advisor to the President of Belarus (back R). Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
    Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, speaks with Prince Andrew, Duke of York, on the final day of the 2016 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Seen with Viktor Lukashenko, National Security Advisor to the President of Belarus (back R). Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
  • Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed speaks with Masoud Barzani, former president of Iraqi Kurdistan, during a reception at Shams Tower at the 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit. Mohammed Al Suwaidi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
    Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed speaks with Masoud Barzani, former president of Iraqi Kurdistan, during a reception at Shams Tower at the 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit. Mohammed Al Suwaidi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
  • Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed greets Hailemariam Desalegn, former prime minister of Ethiopia at Abu Dhabi Yas Hotel during the 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
    Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed greets Hailemariam Desalegn, former prime minister of Ethiopia at Abu Dhabi Yas Hotel during the 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
  • Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed greets Ali Bongo Ondimba, President of Gabon, at Shams Tower, during the 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Mohammed Al Hammadi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
    Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed greets Ali Bongo Ondimba, President of Gabon, at Shams Tower, during the 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Mohammed Al Hammadi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
  • Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, Minister of Tolerance, and Prince Joachim Holger of Denmark, speak at the 2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
    Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, Minister of Tolerance, and Prince Joachim Holger of Denmark, speak at the 2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Ryan Carter / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
  • Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed greets Sayyid Khalid Bin Hilal Al Busaidi, Minister of Diwan of Royal Court of Oman (R), in Shams Tower on the final day of the 2016 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Seen with Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq al Said, Minister of Heritage & Culture of Oman (back L). Mohammed Al Hammadi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
    Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed greets Sayyid Khalid Bin Hilal Al Busaidi, Minister of Diwan of Royal Court of Oman (R), in Shams Tower on the final day of the 2016 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Seen with Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq al Said, Minister of Heritage & Culture of Oman (back L). Mohammed Al Hammadi / Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
  • Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation (L) greets Rachid Talbi El Alami, Minister of Youth and Sports of Morocco (R), at the 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Seen with Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior. Omar Al Askar for Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi
    Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation (L) greets Rachid Talbi El Alami, Minister of Youth and Sports of Morocco (R), at the 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Seen with Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior. Omar Al Askar for Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

UAE

The world leaders who attended the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix over the years - in pictures

To mark a decade of Abu Dhabi Grand Prix action, The National looks back at some of the world leaders who came along for the ride

The National

November 23, 2018

  • English
  • Arabic

This weekend, Abu Dhabi will host tens of thousands of Formula One fans eager to watch the final race of the season - and if history is anything to go by, world leaders will be among them.

From Jordan and Sudan to Denmark and the UK, officials from more than a dozen countries have joined UAE leaders at Yas Marina Circuit over the past 10 years to watch the race.

To mark a decade of Abu Dhabi Grand Prix action, The National looks back at some of the world leaders who who came along for the ride.

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