Comments on: 2009 F1 calendar will end in Abu Dhabi

By: Christin Drimmer

Christin Drimmer — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:32:14 +0000

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By: Marinda Vicari

Marinda Vicari — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 19:34:11 +0000

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By: Nick

Nick — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 04:37:50 +0000

I’m pretty confident that the Abu Dhabi track will be really good. The UAE has really transformed itself, you can see the amount of construction thats happening in Dubai! Today Dubai boasts of a city better than any in the West. I dont think we’ll see any empty stands, there will be alot of people from India too who are huge F1 fans and a trip to the UAE (2 hour flight) will ensure that its a huge success.

By: MJM

MJM — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 10:02:18 +0000

Abu Dhabi is not a dry country, there are bars in virtually all the hotels.
Due to the temperatures in summer the race would have to be very early or very late in the year. Judging by current construction progress, the track won’t be ready until late 2009 which seems to be the reason that it is penciled in for the final race.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:16:05 +0000

Pink Peril: you’re damn right! And, why not São Paulo grouped with Buenos Aires’ return to the calendar? Unfortunately it’s highly unlikely…

By: Pink Peril

Pink Peril — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 23:42:38 +0000

Well, I for one would like to see races ‘grouped’ so that the fan who makes a holiday specifically geared towards attending rounds can then go to a couple.
Ie Singapore & Sepang, Indy & Montreal, Bahrain & Abu Dhabi. Not to mention that the logistics of freighting the cars etc would be cheaper and easier (and more environmentally friendly) if they went to the next regional track instead of to & from Europe all the time.

It is a huge expense to attend a race if you don’t happen to live in a host city and many fans would like to make the trip well worthwhile by attending more than one GP.
You know – fans? People who don’t really seem to count to Bernie……

By: Steven Roy

Steven Roy — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:45:30 +0000

I would love to know why there are now so many anti-clockwise circuits. There is absolutely no reason why the couldn’t have built a track that runs in the right direction.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:21:48 +0000

Gman: I wasn’t there in 2006, but from what I heard and saw the next days, Massa was almost as much celebrated as Senna would be… That green and yellow overall was such a nice thing, and he ended up being extremely lucky wearing it…

By: Keith Collantine

Keith Collantine — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 10:59:30 +0000

Milos, it was in Autosport. No ‘offiicial’ provisional calendar yet.

By: alan

alan — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 10:29:01 +0000

Gman – there are lots ofF1fans who would love to see a return of a F1 race in america – but the fans ren’t the ones who call the shots in F1 – that is the same unfortunately in all sports where money(power) are predominant – but some revelations disclosd today may alter that – hopefully soon and then maybe they(guess whom) – will have to eat some humble pie and give us and the US what we the fans wish – I dont think islamic countries will wish to be associated with F1 shortly

By: Gman

Gman — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 06:13:30 +0000

Milos- thank you for your support of a return for the USGP. I also hope that the race will return to Indy in it’s original configuration and will not include the MotoGP changes. In any event, i’ll be online buying my tickets as soon as they go on sale

I agree that the logistics of this schedule will be quite a pain for the teams- Abu Dhabi would slot in well before or after Bahrain, but I doubt Bernie cares much about those things in his plans.

Daniel, I agree that the fans in Brazil are among the best from what i’ve been told. How was the reaction following Massa’s win in 2006?

By: milos

milos — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 04:18:37 +0000

Haven’t seen any news on this yet anywhere. Was there some provisional calendar published by Bernie or some talk by Abu Dhabi that they will be the last race ? The calendars, even provisional are not usually published until late into the season …

Having the Abu Dhabi race at the end of the season is quite weird logistically … Asia, then Brazil, then Middle East… The most logical would be going to AbuDhabi after of before Bahrain but that is unlikely to happen same as it is unlikely
for F1 to continue from Sepang straight to Singapore.

If all other races keep their slots on the calendar as they are,
I would probably fit Abu Dhabi between Monza and Singapore

I hope US GP returns. But if they go back to Indy, I hope the
final corner will be the banked one , not the MotoGp configuration …

By: Daniel

Daniel — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 03:17:07 +0000

Nico: Yes, I guessed, but I needed to be sure, otherwise I would be stupid if I thanked you… Fine, then!

And, besides the enthusiastic fans, Interlagos itself is a great track, that usually provides one of the best races of the season… anti-clockwise, effective overtaking points, ups and downs, changeable weather…

Being there is splendid! When Massa scored his pole last year, the crowd went insane, especially after his unusual slowing lap, crossing the line again, waving for everybody…

By: Nico Savidge

Nico Savidge — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 02:48:20 +0000

Daniel [assuming you're Brazilian]: I meant ‘rabid’ in a good way – South American F1 fans are some of the most excited and enthusiastic anywhere!

By: Alianora La Canta

Alianora La Canta — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 00:29:09 +0000

I’m sure it’ll be another race where pomegranate juice (or some local equivalent) is the podium beverage of choice – alcohol is forbidden to Islamic people and Abu Dhabi is an Islamic country. Bahrain is more liberal than Abu Dhabi in that Bahraini luxury hotels often allow guests to drink in the hotel itself, whereas most Islamic countries don’t even go that far.

As for Kimi, perhaps he should go visit Sebastien Bourdais’ optician and get a non-prescription version of what he’s wearing. I don’t know about anyone else, but to me they look good (and have the additional benefit of blending into the Ferrari colour scheme). Then the champagne/pomegranate juice hits the glasses lenses and not the eyes. Easy!

By: Keith Collantine

Keith Collantine — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 00:11:18 +0000

Cheers Daniel fixed it. Not sure about the podium Pip but it might well be another one where they have to spray pomegranate juice….

By: Pip

Pip — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 21:24:47 +0000

Is Abu Dhabi a dry country like Bahrain? It’s lame enough that they don’t get champagne on the podium in Bahrain, but the newly crowned world champion should be able to drink whatever he wants.

Next week though, if Kimi wins again, someone should hand him goggles on the way up to the podium. Wouldn’t want him to be blinded again.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:26:40 +0000

Nico: not exactly a nice adjective for us…

Keith: Just a fix… Rosberg won 1982… Jones won 1980…

Oh, and does anybody have a guess why it will be called "Abu Dhabi Grand Prix", instead of "United Arab Emirates Grand Prix"?

By: Nico Savidge

Nico Savidge — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:15:54 +0000

So let me get this straight – instead of ending the season with thousands of rabid Brazilian fans, Bernie wants the last race to be held in front of empty grandstands with oil barons and royals? Well, at least we can hope for a return of the USGP…

By: Vittorio84

Vittorio84 — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 19:54:00 +0000

Don’t forget that French GP ended its contract last year and Bernie said that the race is held this year only because "there were not other places". I think he did not mean "other places in France" but other places in the world. So next year, with Abu Dhabi joining the calendar, there will be no place anymore for the race in France. The calendar could have 19 races if – as correctly said in the article – US find money.