At first sight you have to be impressed with what you see, and ohh and arrhh a little bit, in fact a lot a bit. Then, like Disneyland Florida a sense of reality hits you and you think, this in't normal or right or something of that nature.

I am sorry to say, I hope Abu Dhabi is NOT the direction F1 is heading, where the glizts, glammour, spectical, LED lights, concerts, buildings and Ferrari world seems more important that the teams, cars, drivers, challenges of the track and the technology F1 brings to our everyday cars.

Give me Silverstone, Spa, Germany, Brazil and Monza any day of the week, what I saw in Abu Dhabi was morally bankrupted and atomosphere was redundant. Not just because I felt it was a pointless newly built track that holds no meaning to F1 in the end. The facts remains, there are people, children and adults dying in the world, dying from stavation and hunger, however and yet, it seems more important in these finacial times to build a track that has nothing to do with the real challenges of motor racing. Could have been built for much much less, more focus on the track especially where drivers could have been punished a little bit more for a mistake and at the same time feeding the 3rd world countries and a tad (its called killing a few birds at the same time).

On a brighter note, wasnt Kobayshi fantastics. On a downer note, does Brundle comprehend he has the mircophone of a bad F1 luck? And chooses to wave his badluck wond around people he wishes to see fail in a race? I was screaming at my TV when he hunted down Hamilton and Webber soley, and look who seemed to have the troubled race, Hamiltoin and Webber? Anyone notices Brundle refuses to seek out Button, who isnt too far away from him aswell?

No offence, being the cynical, spectical, untrusting, conspircy theorist I am, who the hell fiddled with Hamilton's car in parc feme'? I am sorry, someone doesnt qualifiy like a bat out of hat and nearly 7 tenth's quicker than the rest to then have a rear brakes issue literally at the start of the race. Good job on Whitmarsh on bringing him on.

I also was so pleased to see """Big Daddy""", that is Ron Dennis to the rest of all you lot, I can only compare it to a child who hasnt seen their for months and has travelled back from overseas's (that is the only profound analogy I can think of) it was that GREAT to see Dennis again, oh happy days. A what is the bigger things Dennis, please let me know "Desperate here"!

Here is another downer, what was Jenson playing at, he could have taken Webber much sooner, but he chose to be all melodramic and do it on the last lap for glory, but failed, tut.

On the whole, give me Silverstone with updated toilets, parking facilities and better food, and maybe a hotel and lets not jump on the Bernie spectical campaign and lets get back to what F1 is about RACING, not the Mickey mouse scenary.

I thought Abu Dhabi missed the point by a mile!!!!!!

The emphasis was all about the venue and the cost of development!

The camera angles were all about the venue.

The whole thing came across as some tacky funfair crossed with a cruise ship disco!

F1 hit an all time low this weekend..............

A boring boring tedious event!

F1 Abu Dhabi? I'd rather watch beer go flat!!

The rest of your post is drivel as usual aname.. 

And all the presenters and corporate individuals running around princes' and sheikh to tel them how fantastic it is and how greatfull the World is for that venue.

Are we running out of oil ?

drapes:

I thought Abu Dhabi missed the point by a mile!!!!!!

The emphasis was all about the venue and the cost of development!

The camera angles were all about the venue.

The whole thing came across as some tacky funfair crossed with a cruise ship disco!

F1 hit an all time low this weekend..............

A boring boring tedious event!

F1 Abu Dhabi? I'd rather watch beer go flat!!

 

The rest of your post is drivel as usual aname.. 

 

  

 

I take it you were watching on TV?

Tacky it most certainly is not. You have to be here to appreciate it all, to experience it. I accept fully that the TV audience is extremely important, it generates a lot of revenue, and I'm not sure that Bernie/CVC have got that bit right (as I've said in another thread), there's room for improvement. Boring? I wasnt bored, I throughly enjoyed the whole weekend, not only the racing but the other events as well, Beyonce was great! There's much talk of the lack of overtaking but I don't think it was any worse than Silverstone this year. I'll leave you to watch your beer go flat, I'm off to dinner and a few glasses of champers - it wont get the chance to go flat!!! 

Webber, a troubled race?

Didn't he come second?

I bet he'd wish every race was a troubled as that one.

katiekutie:

drapes:

I thought Abu Dhabi missed the point by a mile!!!!!!

The emphasis was all about the venue and the cost of development!

The camera angles were all about the venue.

The whole thing came across as some tacky funfair crossed with a cruise ship disco!

F1 hit an all time low this weekend..............

A boring boring tedious event!

F1 Abu Dhabi? I'd rather watch beer go flat!!

 

The rest of your post is drivel as usual aname.. 

 

  

 

I take it you were watching on TV?

Tacky it most certainly is not. You have to be here to appreciate it all, to experience it. I accept fully that the TV audience is extremely important, it generates a lot of revenue, and I'm not sure that Bernie/CVC have got that bit right (as I've said in another thread), there's room for improvement. Boring? I wasnt bored, I throughly enjoyed the whole weekend, not only the racing but the other events as well, Beyonce was great! There's much talk of the lack of overtaking but I don't think it was any worse than Silverstone this year. I'll leave you to watch your beer go flat, I'm off to dinner and a few glasses of champers - it wont get the chance to go flat!!! 

 

You sound more like a pampered rich person than an F1 fan.

katiekutie:

I take it you were watching on TV?

Tacky it most certainly is not. You have to be here to appreciate it all, to experience it. I accept fully that the TV audience is extremely important, it generates a lot of revenue, and I'm not sure that Bernie/CVC have got that bit right (as I've said in another thread), there's room for improvement. Boring? I wasnt bored, I throughly enjoyed the whole weekend, not only the racing but the other events as well, Beyonce was great! There's much talk of the lack of overtaking but I don't think it was any worse than Silverstone this year. I'll leave you to watch your beer go flat, I'm off to dinner and a few glasses of champers - it wont get the chance to go flat!!! 

 

If you don't mind me asking Katie how much were the tickets not including the flight and was the Beyoncé ticket included in the price?  If this was the same price as the weekend at Silverstone then I have to admit I'll be seriously impressed.  

If this is a lot more expensive then you cannot defend Abu Dhabi.  The majority of people who view F1 do it from their armchairs and aren't privileged enough to attend these events.  And whilst I agree it is completely different being there in person (I grew up in Monaco, hence me being a huge F1 fan and my parents still live there) and I try to get out there as much as possible, Monaco will always hold a place in my heart, but Valencia is extremely boring on TV and tbh I found Abu Dhabi a bit of the same.  Unfortunately it has become about the venue and not about the racing or people that make it important, Brazil was a far more entertaining race and look how much they spend.  The whole weekend was about money and partying rather than racing and that lessens F1 in any true racing fan.

I just wonder how much of that money will end up funding terrorist activities, and the opium production in Afghanistan...

Call me old fashioned, but the middle east has way too many links to terrorism for me to ever want to spend a dime there...

The FIA probably feels right at home...

pt71:

katiekutie:

I take it you were watching on TV?

Tacky it most certainly is not. You have to be here to appreciate it all, to experience it. I accept fully that the TV audience is extremely important, it generates a lot of revenue, and I'm not sure that Bernie/CVC have got that bit right (as I've said in another thread), there's room for improvement. Boring? I wasnt bored, I throughly enjoyed the whole weekend, not only the racing but the other events as well, Beyonce was great! There's much talk of the lack of overtaking but I don't think it was any worse than Silverstone this year. I'll leave you to watch your beer go flat, I'm off to dinner and a few glasses of champers - it wont get the chance to go flat!!! 

 

If you don't mind me asking Katie how much were the tickets not including the flight and was the Beyoncé ticket included in the price?  If this was the same price as the weekend at Silverstone then I have to admit I'll be seriously impressed.  

If this is a lot more expensive then you cannot defend Abu Dhabi.  The majority of people who view F1 do it from their armchairs and aren't privileged enough to attend these events.  And whilst I agree it is completely different being there in person (I grew up in Monaco, hence me being a huge F1 fan and my parents still live there) and I try to get out there as much as possible, Monaco will always hold a place in my heart, but Valencia is extremely boring on TV and tbh I found Abu Dhabi a bit of the same.  Unfortunately it has become about the venue and not about the racing or people that make it important, Brazil was a far more entertaining race and look how much they spend.  The whole weekend was about money and partying rather than racing and that lessens F1 in any true racing fan.

I really don't know what the ticket prices are, grandad did all the bookings and I was not involved. I'm told the admission prices are comparable with other venues but, in fairness, we booked for the whole weekend and a bit more - fly back tomorrow - so it's not directly comparable with Silverstone where we go for the three days. I would'nt try to defend it against Silverstone but then Silverstone does not have the sort of facilities this place has and I guess you get what you pay for, it terms of value for money I think it's good. I agree that the vast majority of people watch the race on screen and that there needs to be some attention paid to how thats presented, I've said on other threads that there is room for improvement. I like Valencia, but again, from being there, I've watched the replay on TV and would have to agree that it's not the greatest spectacle, I suppose it's difficult to get good camera positions with those concrete walls - Abu Dhabi is better in that there are several good sized run-off areas and a more panoramic view than you can get between the walls of Valencia. Brazil was a very good race, probably the best this year, and it's usually a good race every year, there is something about that circuit and if you could package it and take it to somewhere like Abu Dhabi you really would be on a winner. The whole weekend about money and partying? Whilst there was an element of that - helped by it being the last event this season so the teams all had parties - I dont think thats the whole story. There can be no doubt that Abu Dhabi went all out to impress people around the world and they really do want people to look at what they have there and give it serious consideration for a vacation, it was a weekend of advertising the venue in some respects. There are lots of other things planned for this place, they seem to go in for a lot of music events as well.

Interesting you grew up in Monaco, I have an aunt - she's not really an aunt, she was my mothers best friend at school and I've always called her auntie - who has an apartment which overlooks the chicane after the tunnel. She's not a great fan of race week and often goes to our place in Spain and lets us use her apartment in return, works well for us!

It's just gone half past twelve so time for a spot of lunch, guess I'll have to start packing, bet it's wet and cold back in England!

RaggedEdge:

I just wonder how much of that money will end up funding terrorist activities, and the opium production in Afghanistan...

Call me old fashioned, but the middle east has way too many links to terrorism for me to ever want to spend a dime there...

The FIA probably feels right at home...

I don't think old fashined is quite the right word to describe you and your posts. I think out of touch like Al Qaeda is more appropriate.

I think the issue is with Abu Dhabi is that, the track isn't the most exciting nor does it have any history associated with it.  It will one day I suppose.  But I think that the main problem with it is that in the global economic recession it seems like a big rub your nose in it for the non oil rich countries and the amount of money spent on it is obscene.  EJ talked about the "Can Do" attitude of making things happen in that part of the world.  Well if other countries had the wealth from oil that those countries do and they wanted to buy prestige then they would.  Everything about it seems a little too manufactured like Las Vegas in the USA and whilst they have the venue, they have totally failed to miss the point of it all which is racing.  I know F1 nowadays is a circus, an event and a soap opera.  It's about time that the FIA instead of asking the teams to reduce costs started looking inward at the type of venues they are promoting and the relevant costs associated with them.  Oh and as for the increase every year from CVC/BE/FOM then they should be shot!  How they can justify a 7% increase annually is mind boggling.  I'm even beginning to wish that there is no BGP and that other countries follow suit and ask for a better deal.  

And as for growing up in Monaco, it sounds more glamorous than it actually was  We lived on a boat moored in Port de Fontvielle and it was a bit of a bind getting to school.  Mind you we did get to see the GP every year although I can remember my parents having a go at it because of the disruption.  My brother lives in Nice now and my stepfather passed away this year so my mum lives on her own now, but she's still in Monaco, although the boat is sold and she has an apartment not far from casino square.  I should be going out again in January as I use it as a base to go skiing although that depends as I have a new baby due in Feb

anametoremember:

 

At first sight you have to be impressed with what you see, and ohh and arrhh a little bit, in fact a lot a bit. Then, like Disneyland Florida a sense of reality hits you and you think, this in't normal or right or something of that nature.

I am sorry to say, I hope Abu Dhabi is NOT the direction F1 is heading, where the glizts, glammour, spectical, LED lights, concerts, buildings and Ferrari world seems more important that the teams, cars, drivers, challenges of the track and the technology F1 brings to our everyday cars.

Give me Silverstone, Spa, Germany, Brazil and Monza any day of the week, what I saw in Abu Dhabi was morally bankrupted and atomosphere was redundant. Not just because I felt it was a pointless newly built track that holds no meaning to F1 in the end. The facts remains, there are people, children and adults dying in the world, dying from stavation and hunger, however and yet, it seems more important in these finacial times to build a track that has nothing to do with the real challenges of motor racing. Could have been built for much much less, more focus on the track especially where drivers could have been punished a little bit more for a mistake and at the same time feeding the 3rd world countries and a tad (its called killing a few birds at the same time).

On a brighter note, wasnt Kobayshi fantastics. On a downer note, does Brundle comprehend he has the mircophone of a bad F1 luck? And chooses to wave his badluck wond around people he wishes to see fail in a race? I was screaming at my TV when he hunted down Hamilton and Webber soley, and look who seemed to have the troubled race, Hamiltoin and Webber? Anyone notices Brundle refuses to seek out Button, who isnt too far away from him aswell?

No offence, being the cynical, spectical, untrusting, conspircy theorist I am, who the hell fiddled with Hamilton's car in parc feme'? I am sorry, someone doesnt qualifiy like a bat out of hat and nearly 7 tenth's quicker than the rest to then have a rear brakes issue literally at the start of the race. Good job on Whitmarsh on bringing him on.

I also was so pleased to see """Big Daddy""", that is Ron Dennis to the rest of all you lot, I can only compare it to a child who hasnt seen their for months and has travelled back from overseas's (that is the only profound analogy I can think of) it was that GREAT to see Dennis again, oh happy days. A what is the bigger things Dennis, please let me know "Desperate here"!

Here is another downer, what was Jenson playing at, he could have taken Webber much sooner, but he chose to be all melodramic and do it on the last lap for glory, but failed, tut.

On the whole, give me Silverstone with updated toilets, parking facilities and better food, and maybe a hotel and lets not jump on the Bernie spectical campaign and lets get back to what F1 is about RACING, not the Mickey mouse scenary.

LMAO.  That's one of your best ones yet.   

Yes, it's abhorrent that people are starving in the world whilst hundreds of millions are being spent on a track which has "nothing to do with the real challenges of motor racing."  I'm sure that many of the poor children starving to death in third world countries would feel much better about it if they at least knew that there was a good race - one meeting those challenges - going on somewhere.  It must be sickening for them to know that money that could have helped them was spent on a track with so few overtaking opportunities. 

katiekutie:

pt71:

katiekutie:

I take it you were watching on TV?

Tacky it most certainly is not. You have to be here to appreciate it all, to experience it. I accept fully that the TV audience is extremely important, it generates a lot of revenue, and I'm not sure that Bernie/CVC have got that bit right (as I've said in another thread), there's room for improvement. Boring? I wasnt bored, I throughly enjoyed the whole weekend, not only the racing but the other events as well, Beyonce was great! There's much talk of the lack of overtaking but I don't think it was any worse than Silverstone this year. I'll leave you to watch your beer go flat, I'm off to dinner and a few glasses of champers - it wont get the chance to go flat!!! 

 

If you don't mind me asking Katie how much were the tickets not including the flight and was the Beyoncé ticket included in the price?  If this was the same price as the weekend at Silverstone then I have to admit I'll be seriously impressed.  

If this is a lot more expensive then you cannot defend Abu Dhabi.  The majority of people who view F1 do it from their armchairs and aren't privileged enough to attend these events.  And whilst I agree it is completely different being there in person (I grew up in Monaco, hence me being a huge F1 fan and my parents still live there) and I try to get out there as much as possible, Monaco will always hold a place in my heart, but Valencia is extremely boring on TV and tbh I found Abu Dhabi a bit of the same.  Unfortunately it has become about the venue and not about the racing or people that make it important, Brazil was a far more entertaining race and look how much they spend.  The whole weekend was about money and partying rather than racing and that lessens F1 in any true racing fan.

I really don't know what the ticket prices are, grandad did all the bookings and I was not involved. I'm told the admission prices are comparable with other venues but..., in fairness, we booked for the whole weekend and a bit more - fly back tomorrow - so it's not directly comparable with Silverstone where we go for the three days. I would'nt try to defend it against Silverstone but then Silverstone does not have the sort of facilities this place has and I guess you get what you pay for, it terms of value for money I think it's good. I agree that the vast majority of people watch the race on screen and that there needs to be some attention paid to how thats presented, I've said on other threads that there is room for improvement. I like Valencia, but again, from being there, I've watched the replay on TV and would have to agree that it's not the greatest spectacle, I suppose it's difficult to get good camera positions with those concrete walls - Abu Dhabi is better in that there are several good sized run-off areas and a more panoramic view than you can get between the walls of Valencia. Brazil was a very good race, probably the best this year, and it's usually a good race every year, there is something about that circuit and if you could package it and take it to somewhere like Abu Dhabi you really would be on a winner. The whole weekend about money and partying? Whilst there was an element of that - helped by it being the last event this season so the teams all had parties - I dont think thats the whole story. There can be no doubt that Abu Dhabi went all out to impress people around the world and they really do want people to look at what they have there and give it serious consideration for a vacation, it was a weekend of advertising the venue in some respects. There are lots of other things planned for this place, they seem to go in for a lot of music events as well.

Interesting you grew up in Monaco, I have an aunt - she's not really an aunt, she was my mothers best friend at school and I've always called her auntie - who has an apartment which overlooks the chicane after the tunnel. She's not a great fan of race week and often goes to our place in Spain and lets us use her apartment in return, works well for us!

It's just gone half past twelve so time for a spot of lunch, guess I'll have to start packing, bet it's wet and cold back in England!

 

Couldn't find the answer on Google this time then?

pt71:

I think the issue is with Abu Dhabi is that, the track isn't the most exciting nor does it have any history associated with it.  It will one day I suppose.  But I think that the main problem with it is that in the global economic recession it seems like a big rub your nose in it for the non oil rich countries and the amount of money spent on it is obscene.  EJ talked about the "Can Do" attitude of making things happen in that part of the world.  Well if other countries had the wealth from oil that those countries do and they wanted to buy prestige then they would.  Everything about it seems a little too manufactured like Las Vegas in the USA and whilst they have the venue, they have totally failed to miss the point of it all which is racing.  I know F1 nowadays is a circus, an event and a soap opera.  It's about time that the FIA instead of asking the teams to reduce costs started looking inward at the type of venues they are promoting and the relevant costs associated with them.  Oh and as for the increase every year from CVC/BE/FOM then they should be shot!  How they can justify a 7% increase annually is mind boggling.  I'm even beginning to wish that there is no BGP and that other countries follow suit and ask for a better deal.  

And as for growing up in Monaco, it sounds more glamorous than it actually was  We lived on a boat moored in Port de Fontvielle and it was a bit of a bind getting to school.  Mind you we did get to see the GP every year although I can remember my parents having a go at it because of the disruption.  My brother lives in Nice now and my stepfather passed away this year so my mum lives on her own now, but she's still in Monaco, although the boat is sold and she has an apartment not far from casino square.  I should be going out again in January as I use it as a base to go skiing although that depends as I have a new baby due in Feb

I'm hopeing that the track, a bit like Turkey, will gain in popularity with TV viewers especially, personally I would prefer somewhere with a bit more undulation but I guess thats not easy with a marina based circuit. I think it's Bernie and CVC who decide where we go to race, not the FIA, and yes, you are right to say the 7% year on year increase is totally unreasonable. Only the very wealthy countries with governments that are prepared to subsidise the events will be getting them before long and that will not include the UK unfortunately.

Living on a boat in Monaco, some people must dream about that sort of thing! Sorry to hear about your stepfather but congratulations on the impending birth. Hope the ski-ing is good too. 

katiekutie:

I'm hopeing that the track, a bit like Turkey, will gain in popularity with TV viewers especially, personally I would prefer somewhere with a bit more undulation but I guess thats not easy with a marina based circuit. I think it's Bernie and CVC who decide where we go to race, not the FIA, and yes, you are right to say the 7% year on year increase is totally unreasonable. Only the very wealthy countries with governments that are prepared to subsidise the events will be getting them before long and that will not include the UK unfortunately.

Living on a boat in Monaco, some people must dream about that sort of thing! Sorry to hear about your stepfather but congratulations on the impending birth. Hope the ski-ing is good too. 

 

Thanks Katie,  I don't think I got my point accross with regards to the FIA and staging the event.  Regardless of who decides where to go etc it's the FIA who decides whether or not a track complies with safety regulations etc.  You would think with this big cost cutting exercise they are trying implement then they would be saying... "Stop lets look at how this portrays F1 and the FIA" whilst it's all well and good the glitz and glamour having these at the expense of traditional racing circuits and depriving the fans of home GP's (and I'm not just talking about England) just because they don't live up to the spectacle of what BE/CVC want F1 to be.  They risk alienating a lot of fans with their current course of action.  And while I believe that the Far/Middle East should also be allowed to host their own races this should not come at the detriment to the rest of the world just because they don't meet opulence of the new world order.

I kind of had the same feeling watching the ADGP that I got when watching the news that the bankers were still getting huge bonuses.  You know global downturn and still watching the culprits getting rewarded.  FIA telling the teams to vastly reduce costs and stifling competition and then lording it up with the Arab royalty on huge yachts and massive parties.