To be fair we need to remember that the race was devoid of its fastest qualifier.  Had LH not had to retire then we would be having a very different conversation.

The circuit looks amazing and given the right ingredients, has the potential to deliver a classic motor race. The JB/MW fight gave us a taste of what we can expect in the future.

It’s been a while since I travelled overseas to a Grand Prix, and upon reflection I so wish I had the foresight to book this one up at the beginning of the year. At £250ish for a 3 day ticket that included driver meet and greet AND Kings of Leon and Aerosmith, then for me there really was no excuse.

Therefore a fighting 7/10 from me.

justrace:

katiekutie:

redfrog:

jax70:

I give it a whopping 8/10,  why,  just look at what they acheived in 2years, from a sand bowl to a super race circuit.  It would take 2years in this country to get the H & S to 2nd stage approval,before any building could start, they have the money over there and they have tried their best to give a great racing  location.    They provided the straights for overtaking, was it their fault no one wanted or could overtake ?  they provided the hairpin bends, chicanes and tight corners,  come on guys and gals,  give 'em a chance,  even great pits for the working crews were laid on,  what else could racing want,  it was down to the drivers after all that.  OK the Mid Eastern countries have no racing background but everyone has to start somewhere and these far away countries have vision to at least try and put on a show.  Their oil will run in the next 20 years or so and they are preparing already for an industry to take its place,  for them finance and tourism.  We should stop knocking them and ask why this country cannot plan and acheive the same.   How would it be if the Arabs (bless them)  plowed money into Silverstone or Donnington, would we be grateful ?

Jax, great post, I agree with you entirely ( bet you thought you would never hear that). The negativity from other posters is indictive of the attitude of this country. We have the knowledge and the people to provide a world class venue for motoracing, all we need to succeed is the willpower and the right person to lead the project. I accept we will never be able to plough the sort of money Abu Dhabi has into such a venture but a few hundred million could easily be found with the I can attitude shown by the Asian authorities.

As I've said on other threads, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole weekend. Yes, there is room for improvement of the TV coverage but it was their first attempt so lets be fair and see what changes next year.

I'm pleasantly surprised to find I'm not the only one who liked the place and the race! 

Ok, now I dare creeping out as well... 

I actually quite enjoyed the weekend. The race was dominated by strategy, which I always find interesting. We had valid one and two stop strategies, different tyre wear and as the race unfolded the different strategies came into play.

jax70:

I give it a whopping 8/10,  why,  just look at what they acheived in 2years, from a sand bowl to a super race circuit.  It would take 2years in this country to get the H & S to 2nd stage approval,before any building could start, they have the money over there and they have tried their best to give a great racing  location.    They provided the straights for overtaking, was it their fault no one wanted or could overtake ?  they provided the hairpin bends, chicanes and tight corners,  come on guys and gals,  give 'em a chance,  even great pits for the working crews were laid on,  what else could racing want,  it was down to the drivers after all that.  OK the Mid Eastern countries have no racing background but everyone has to start somewhere and these far away countries have vision to at least try and put on a show.  Their oil will run in the next 20 years or so and they are preparing already for an industry to take its place,  for them finance and tourism.  We should stop knocking them and ask why this country cannot plan and acheive the same.   How would it be if the Arabs (bless them)  plowed money into Silverstone or Donnington, would we be grateful ?

I agree with you that it was a stunning achievement, the circuit looks incredible and seemingly has the most fantastic facilities (guess we'll have to ask Racer111 about that... ). The Yas hotel was insane, the yachts were obnoxious and stunning at the same time (I wouldn't be saying obnoxious if I had one parked there, of course...) and the track truly looked like it would provide some great action as, like someone else has already mentioned, it has long straights, tight corners, sweeping bends, everything you need to make a fabulous racetrack.....

.... and then the race was rather dull. Yes, there were some mildly interesting strategies, it was a shame LH had his brake problem, and JB/MW had me almost jumping off my sofa for a few laps, but the other 95% of the race was a procession. My overriding impression after the race was not "wow, that was great", it was "if only JB and MW had started their scrap ten laps before they did!"

So, given that the circuit should give a great racing spectacle (I think most people here agree on that), why didn't it? Is this indicative of modern F1? Is it the KERS/no KERS issue on that long straight? Is it engine power or lack thereof? Is it that there aren't as many 'racey' drivers in the field as there used to be? Was it because, as a viewer, there is less intensity involved now the Championship and the Constructors' has been sewn up?

Thoughts? (And let's keep this polite, folks! )

jax70:

justrace:

katiekutie:

redfrog:

jax70:

I give it a whopping 8/10,  why,  just look at what they acheived in 2years, from a sand bowl to a super race circuit.  It would take 2years in this country to get the H & S to 2nd stage approval,before any building could start, they have the money over there and they have tried their best to give a great racing  location.    They provided the straights for overtaking, was it their fault no one wanted or could overtake ?  they provided the hairpin bends, chicanes and tight corners,  come on guys and gals,  give 'em a chance,  even great pits for the working crews were laid on,  what else could racing want,  it was down to the drivers after all that.  OK the Mid Eastern countries have no racing background but everyone has to start somewhere and these far away countries have vision to at least try and put on a show.  Their oil will run in the next 20 years or so and they are preparing already for an industry to take its place,  for them finance and tourism.  We should stop knocking them and ask why this country cannot plan and acheive the same.   How would it be if the Arabs (bless them)  plowed money into Silverstone or Donnington, would we be grateful ?

Jax, great post, I agree with you entirely ( bet you thought you would never hear that). The negativity from other posters is indictive of the attitude of this country. We have the knowledge and the people to provide a world class venue for motoracing, all we need to succeed is the willpower and the right person to lead the project. I accept we will never be able to plough the sort of money Abu Dhabi has into such a venture but a few hundred million could easily be found with the I can attitude shown by the Asian authorities.

As I've said on other threads, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole weekend. Yes, there is room for improvement of the TV coverage but it was their first attempt so lets be fair and see what changes next year.

I'm pleasantly surprised to find I'm not the only one who liked the place and the race! 

Ok, now I dare creeping out as well... 

I actually quite enjoyed the weekend. The race was dominated by strategy, which I always find interesting. We had valid one and two stop strategies, different tyre wear and as the race unfolded the different strategies came into play.

  thank you all for your comments,  I thought I may have been putting my head over the parapet yet again but is shows that like minded people can have sensible discussions and rational thoughts  sometimes,  it is good to know,  there is hope for the world  

Guys please give the race a score out of ten.

For the record the venue looked fabulous but the race I thought was dour. I agree they've achieved a lot in the time but I just don't think it was money well spent from a racing point of view. Is there anything unique about the track, any bends that are just breathtaking, any undulations to add character? Given the amount of money spent and the benefit of many years experience I think they could have and should have come up with something better. They could have put a big hump in the middle of it and called it "camels hump" or something but no, just another characterless circuit with dull characterless racing. It's a good job they do have fabulous facilities as I can't imagine anybody would rough it there to see that.

For the fact they have built a glass and mirrors park in such a short space of time, and for the immediate 'wow' thia place has to rate highly. However. I watch Formula One Racing, which takes place on a race track. Abu Dhabi (just my opinion mind) seems to see the F1 cars as a forground to the stunning backdrop they have created. The cars and the racing should steal the show - not the trackside buildings. As a race track I have to say it left me cold - compare it to Brazil, Spa, Suzuka, Monza - or even Isanbul. Just not in the same league.

andy karter:

jax70:

justrace:

katiekutie:

redfrog:

jax70:

I give it a whopping 8/10,  why,  just look at what they acheived in 2years, from a sand bowl to a super race circuit.  It would take 2years in this country to get the H & S to 2nd stage approval,before any building could start, they have the money over there and they have tried their best to give a great racing  location.    They provided the straights for overtaking, was it their fault no one wanted or could overtake ?  they provided the hairpin bends, chicanes and tight corners,  come on guys and gals,  give 'em a chance,  even great pits for the working crews were laid on,  what else could racing want,  it was down to the drivers after all that.  OK the Mid Eastern countries have no racing background but everyone has to start somewhere and these far away countries have vision to at least try and put on a show.  Their oil will run in the next 20 years or so and they are preparing already for an industry to take its place,  for them finance and tourism.  We should stop knocking them and ask why this country cannot plan and acheive the same.   How would it be if the Arabs (bless them)  plowed money into Silverstone or Donnington, would we be grateful ?

Jax, great post, I agree with you entirely ( bet you thought you would never hear that). The negativity from other posters is indictive of the attitude of this country. We have the knowledge and the people to provide a world class venue for motoracing, all we need to succeed is the willpower and the right person to lead the project. I accept we will never be able to plough the sort of money Abu Dhabi has into such a venture but a few hundred million could easily be found with the I can attitude shown by the Asian authorities.

As I've said on other threads, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole weekend. Yes, there is room for improvement of the TV coverage but it was their first attempt so lets be fair and see what changes next year.

I'm pleasantly surprised to find I'm not the only one who liked the place and the race! 

Ok, now I dare creeping out as well... 

I actually quite enjoyed the weekend. The race was dominated by strategy, which I always find interesting. We had valid one and two stop strategies, different tyre wear and as the race unfolded the different strategies came into play.

  thank you all for your comments,  I thought I may have been putting my head over the parapet yet again but is shows that like minded people can have sensible discussions and rational thoughts  sometimes,  it is good to know,  there is hope for the world  

Guys please give the race a score out of ten.

For the record the venue looked fabulous but the race I thought was dour. I agree they've achieved a lot in the time but I just don't think it was money well spent from a racing point of view. Is there anything unique about the track, any bends that are just breathtaking, any undulations to add character? Given the amount of money spent and the benefit of many years experience I think they could have and should have come up with something better. They could have put a big hump in the middle of it and called it "camels hump" or something but no, just another characterless circuit with dull characterless racing. It's a good job they do have fabulous facilities as I can't imagine anybody would rough it there to see that.

 

Andy, I know where you are coming from, but to be honest if we all scored any F1 race on the racing alone very few would score more than 4. F1 is an event not just a race, but I do agree that with the money they have spent they could have made the circuit a bit more interesting. I think the best tracks do benefit from elevation changes but most architects prefer to build on level ground so we were never going to get a hilly circuit.

Score out of 10 for the race alone 2. Score for the event 8.

redfrog:

andy karter:

jax70:

justrace:

katiekutie:

redfrog:

jax70:

I give it a whopping 8/10,  why,  just look at what they acheived in 2years, from a sand bowl to a super race circuit.  It would take 2years in this country to get the H & S to 2nd stage approval,before any building could start, they have the money over there and they have tried their best to give a great racing  location.    They provided the straights for overtaking, was it their fault no one wanted or could overtake ?  they provided the hairpin bends, chicanes and tight corners,  come on guys and gals,  give 'em a chance,  even great pits for the working crews were laid on,  what else could racing want,  it was down to the drivers after all that.  OK the Mid Eastern countries have no racing background but everyone has to start somewhere and these far away countries have vision to at least try and put on a show.  Their oil will run in the next 20 years or so and they are preparing already for an industry to take its place,  for them finance and tourism.  We should stop knocking them and ask why this country cannot plan and acheive the same.   How would it be if the Arabs (bless them)  plowed money into Silverstone or Donnington, would we be grateful ?

Jax, great post, I agree with you entirely ( bet you thought you would never hear that). The negativity from other posters is indictive of the attitude of this country. We have the knowledge and the people to provide a world class venue for motoracing, all we need to succeed is the willpower and the right person to lead the project. I accept we will never be able to plough the sort of money Abu Dhabi has into such a venture but a few hundred million could easily be found with the I can attitude shown by the Asian authorities.

As I've said on other threads, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole weekend. Yes, there is room for improvement of the TV coverage but it was their first attempt so lets be fair and see what changes next year.

I'm pleasantly surprised to find I'm not the only one who liked the place and the race! 

Ok, now I dare creeping out as well... 

I actually quite enjoyed the weekend. The race was dominated by strategy, which I always find interesting. We had valid one and two stop strategies, different tyre wear and as the race unfolded the different strategies came into play.

  thank you all for your comments,  I thought I may have been putting my head over the parapet yet again but is shows that like minded people can have sensible discussions and rational thoughts  sometimes,  it is good to know,  there is hope for the world  

Guys please give the race a score out of ten.

For the record the venue looked fabulous but the race I thought was dour. I agree they've achieved a lot in the time but I just don't think it was money well spent from a racing point of view. Is there anything unique about the track, any bends that are just breathtaking, any undulations to add character? Given the amount of money spent and the benefit of many years experience I think they could have and should have come up with something better. They could have put a big hump in the middle of it and called it "camels hump" or something but no, just another characterless circuit with dull characterless racing. It's a good job they do have fabulous facilities as I can't imagine anybody would rough it there to see that.

 

Andy, I know where you are coming from, but to be honest if we all scored any F1 race on the racing alone very few would score more than 4. F1 is an event not just a race, but I do agree that with the money they have spent they could have made the circuit a bit more interesting. I think the best tracks do benefit from elevation changes but most architects prefer to build on level ground so we were never going to get a hilly circuit.

Score out of 10 for the race alone 2. Score for the event 8.

Thank you for your honesty. I've been running these straw poles for probably half the season now and it does appear that the new venues regularly score poorly. With the exception of Monaco I would much prefer the old venues not just because of the tradition and history but because in many instances they do offer genuinely better racing. I thought the Brazilian GP was the best we've seen this season and it must be another venue Bernie would love to drop.

Having said that Monaco was better this year than all the new venues with the exception of China that was made entertaining this year by some freak weather! However Monaco is no longer the "jewel in the crown" from the in your face OTT bling stakes. This is something I have absolutely no interest in, I watch it to see a motor race and other aspects relating to the sport. I have little interest in looking at yachts, chameleon like hotels, bling, foreign dignitaries’ or celebrities. Likewise many of the people frequenting these venues have no interest in motor racing so I frankly just don't get it.

andy karter:

redfrog:

andy karter:

jax70:

justrace:

katiekutie:

redfrog:

jax70:

I give it a whopping 8/10,  why,  just look at what they acheived in 2years, from a sand bowl to a super race circuit.  It would take 2years in this country to get the H & S to 2nd stage approval,before any building could start, they have the money over there and they have tried their best to give a great racing  location.    They provided the straights for overtaking, was it their fault no one wanted or could overtake ?  they provided the hairpin bends, chicanes and tight corners,  come on guys and gals,  give 'em a chance,  even great pits for the working crews were laid on,  what else could racing want,  it was down to the drivers after all that.  OK the Mid Eastern countries have no racing background but everyone has to start somewhere and these far away countries have vision to at least try and put on a show.  Their oil will run in the next 20 years or so and they are preparing already for an industry to take its place,  for them finance and tourism.  We should stop knocking them and ask why this country cannot plan and acheive the same.   How would it be if the Arabs (bless them)  plowed money into Silverstone or Donnington, would we be grateful ?

Jax, great post, I agree with you entirely ( bet you thought you would never hear that). The negativity from other posters is indictive of the attitude of this country. We have the knowledge and the people to provide a world class venue for motoracing, all we need to succeed is the willpower and the right person to lead the project. I accept we will never be able to plough the sort of money Abu Dhabi has into such a venture but a few hundred million could easily be found with the I can attitude shown by the Asian authorities.

As I've said on other threads, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole weekend. Yes, there is room for improvement of the TV coverage but it was their first attempt so lets be fair and see what changes next year.

I'm pleasantly surprised to find I'm not the only one who liked the place and the race! 

Ok, now I dare creeping out as well... 

I actually quite enjoyed the weekend. The race was dominated by strategy, which I always find interesting. We had valid one and two stop strategies, different tyre wear and as the race unfolded the different strategies came into play.

  thank you all for your comments,  I thought I may have been putting my head over the parapet yet again but is shows that like minded people can have sensible discussions and rational thoughts  sometimes,  it is good to know,  there is hope for the world  

Guys please give the race a score out of ten.

For the record the venue looked fabulous but the race I thought was dour. I agree they've achieved a lot in the time but I just don't think it was money well spent from a racing point of view. Is there anything unique about the track, any bends that are just breathtaking, any undulations to add character? Given the amount of money spent and the benefit of many years experience I think they could have and should have come up with something better. They could have put a big hump in the middle of it and called it "camels hump" or something but no, just another characterless circuit with dull characterless racing. It's a good job they do have fabulous facilities as I can't imagine anybody would rough it there to see that.

 

Andy, I know where you are coming from, but to be honest if we all scored any F1 race on the racing alone very few would score more than 4. F1 is an event not just a race, but I do agree that with the money they have spent they could have made the circuit a bit more interesting. I think the best tracks do benefit from elevation changes but most architects prefer to build on level ground so we were never going to get a hilly circuit.

Score out of 10 for the race alone 2. Score for the event 8.

Thank you for your honesty. I've been running these straw poles for probably half the season now and it does appear that the new venues regularly score poorly. With the exception of Monaco I would much prefer the old venues not just because of the tradition and history but because in many instances they do offer genuinely better racing. I thought the Brazilian GP was the best we've seen this season and it must be another venue Bernie would love to drop.

Having said that Monaco was better this year than all the new venues with the exception of China that was made entertaining this year by some freak weather! However Monaco is no longer the "jewel in the crown" from the in your face OTT bling stakes. This is something I have absolutely no interest in, I watch it to see a motor race and other aspects relating to the sport. I have little interest in looking at yachts, chameleon like hotels, bling, foreign dignitaries’ or celebrities. Likewise many of the people frequenting these venues have no interest in motor racing so I frankly just don't get it.

 

I think our slightly differing views just shows how diverse the F1 fan base is today. The pure racing enthusiasts like yourself still follow the sport in the hope of some good track action while those of us who see F1 as an event rather than just a race can still find enjoyment without the often poor racing spoiling our afternoons viewing. That said, I still sit in front of the telly on a sunday afternoon praying that some driver provides me with a few moments to make the experience a happy one.

The venue looked stunning.

But unfortunately the race track did not shine. It was more interesting watching the hotel chaning colour than the cars. 

 Perhaps if it had followed Valencia it would not have looked so bad, but following Brazil, which normally has good racing, the circuit was shown up to be another procession like drive with no action. God help it next year when there is no refuelling strategy.

2/10 for the track.