Headed for pole position

Anticipation rises as the capital gears up to greet the excitement of the Grand Prix.

With the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix only 11 months away, the race is on to develop Yas Island's marina circuit into an innovative racing destination that will impress the Formula One community and firmly establish Abu Dhabi as a leading fixture in the Grand Prix calendar.

According to Philippe Gurdjian, CEO of Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management (ADMM), Yas Island was the natural choice for the circuit. "Yas Island was a blank canvas before work began. That gave us the opportunity to create something outstanding," he says. "In addition, the Yas Marina Circuit is part of the larger Yas Island project and therefore economies of scale play a part in keeping the costs down."

Construction began on the site in February last year, shortly after the announcement by the Formula One management that the UAE capital had secured the rights to host a Grand Prix event in a seven-year renewable deal. According to ADMM, by the end of September, 7.9 million man-hours had been expended at the site and by the end of the year, a total of 5,500 workers will have worked on the project.

The idea behind the project was to create a hub for motor sporting excellence in the region. The project's original concept was Gurdjian's brainchild and a German firm, Tilke GmbH, led by Hermann Tilke and architect Ulrich Merres, were responsible for translating his vision into a logistically possible reality.

"The track was originally planned as a street circuit with a semi-permanent section," says Gurdjian.

"On further re-designs, the vision changed and it was decided that Abu Dhabi had an opportunity to create a purpose-built circuit that truly set new global performance and configuration standards."

ADMM — a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi government and Aldar Properties PJSC — is responsible for overseeing the circuit's development. ADMM is also charged with ensuring the development adheres to the overall vision and integrity of the design.

The Yas Marina Circuit will be a permanent facility where races can be run on one of three configurations. The full Formula One track will run in an anti-clockwise direction and have estimated lap time of 1 minute 40 seconds.

The second and third configurations of the track will be shorter at 3.15 kilometres and 2.36 kilometres respectively. It will be possible for these two tracks to run independently of each other. This will allow the circuit to hold two motor sports events simultaneously.

For the circuit's construction, pioneering Formula One technology is being used. As a result, the circuit will boast several novel features that will thrill drivers and spectators alike. "In the design, there is a run-off area for a hairpin right under the grandstand. Spectators will actually see the cars vanish from under their feet," says Gurdjian. "The pit lane exit will be a tunnel to cross to the other side of the track and this will be something special for the drivers."

Included in the circuit's design is the Yas Marina Hotel, the only hotel in the world to have a Formula One track running through it. This feature will give an unparalleled view to guests who are residents on the race weekend.

Another landmark on the Yas Island circuit will be Sun Tower, a VIP hospitality facility located at the top of the start-finish line. In addition, Yas Marina Circuit will include two pit buildings, a butterfly formation karting track and a sophisticated marina area with a hotel and yacht club.

Gurdjian believes the venue will play host to 50,000 spectators for the Grand Prix next November. "This number will increase year on year in order to fulfil demand from the local, regional and international market," he says. "We have a big challenge ahead of us to get people excited and create some passion for a sport that's relatively new to the region but it's something that we're very committed to."

Part of that strategy to encourage an interest among residents of the UAE was the Abu Dhabi Formula One festival, which took place in January 2007. "The festival was very well received," says Gurdjian. "It was an excellent event to help people understand the world of Formula One."

For the Formula One community, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has the potential to introduce the sport to a fan base that is highly affluent. But the event is also expected to provide benefits for its newest host.

Hosting a Formula One race brings with it many opportunities," says Gurdjian. "It will have a knock-on economic impact. By creating a centre of motor sporting excellence, there will be strong business opportunities in the automotive research and development sector."

It is hoped the Grand Prix will showcase the progressive diversity of Abu Dhabi and highlight the UAE as a vibrant and rapidly evolving country. "On a domestic level it will drive pride and ownership. On an international level it raises global awareness," says Gurdjian.

Here's a look at the top five F1 drivers who have won glory for their teams and nations.

Name: Lewis Hamilton
Rank: 1
Nationality: British
Team: McLaren-Mercedes
Points scored: 98
Lewis Hamilton was born on January 7, 1985, in England. At the age of ten, he met Ron Dennis, the McLaren team principal, and reputedly told him; "I want to race for you
one day." In 2007, he became a McLaren Formula One driver, securing his Formula One debut 12 years after his initial encounter with Dennis. In his first season in Formula One, Hamilton set numerous rookie records and finished second behind Kimi Räikkönen by just one point.

After winning the Australia, Monaco, British, German and Chinese Grand Prix in 2008, Hamilton became the youngest-ever Formula One World Champion, winning the championship by a single point. He has stated he wants to stay with the McLaren team for the rest of his Formula One career.

Name: Felipe Massa
Rank: 2
Nationality: Brazilian
Team: Ferrari
Points scored: 97
Felipe Massa was born in Brazil on April 25, 1981. In 2001, he won six out of eight races in the Formula 3000 Euro-Series. This brought him to the attention of the Sauber team, who signed him for the 2002 Formula One season. His first win in a Formula One race was at the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix.

After winning the Bahrain, Turkish, French, European, Belgian, Brazilian Grand Prix in the 2008 season, he finished second in the Drivers' World Championship. He is under contract to race for Scuderia Ferrari until the end of the 2010 season.

Name: Kimi-Matias Räikköne
Rank: 3
Nationality: Finnish
Team: Ferrari
Points scored: 75
Kimi-Matias Räikkönen was born on October 17, 1979 in Finland. In 2001, Räikkönen entered Formula One as a regular driver for Sauber-Petronas. Having only raced in very junior open-wheel categories, he was given his Super Licence from the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) after a performance delivery promise from Sauber-Petronas team boss, Peter Sauber.

After a three-year stint at McLaren Mercedes, Räikkönen switched to Ferrari in 2007 to become the highest-paid driver in motor sport with an estimated $51 million (about Dh187 million) per year. Nicknamed Iceman, Räikkönen was the
2007 Formula One World Drivers' Champion.

He is the fifth highest paid sportsman after Tiger Woods, David Beckham, Michael Jordan and Phil Mickelson.

Name: Robert Kubica
Rank: 4
Nationality: Polish
Team: BMW Sauber
Points scored: 75
Robert Kubica was born on December 7, 1984, and is the first Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. In 2005 he won the World Series by Renault championship with the Epsilon Euskadi team. This earned him Formula One tests with the Renault team.

During the 2006 Formula One season, he was promoted from test driver to race driver for the BMW Sauber Formula One team. When he won the Canadian Grand Prix in June he achieved his first Formula One victory and became the 99th driver to win a Grand Prix.

Name: Fernando Alonso
Rank: 5
Nationality: Spanish
Team: Renault
Points scored: 61
Fernando Alonso was born on July 29, 1981, in Spain. Alonso was the third-youngest driver ever to start a Formula One race when he made his debut with Minardi at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix.

On September 25, 2005, he won the World Driver's Championship title at the age of 24 years and 58 days, thus bettering Emerson Fittipaldi's achievement of being the youngest World Drivers' Champion — a record that has since been broken by Hamilton. After retaining the title the following
year, Alonso also became the youngest double Champion.

In 2007, he became the second Formula One driver, after Michael Schumacher, to score 100 points or more for three consecutive seasons. Alonso won the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, the first Grand Prix race ever to be held at night.

Nicknamed El Nano, Alonso acts as a Goodwill Ambassador for Unicef and is one of the directors of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association.