Yas Marina Circuit: The ultimate stage for F1 drama with all eyes on Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

As the sun sets over Yas Island, there's an eerie calm as the bright lights of one of the world's greatest sports venues begin to sparkle.

It is a brief stillness before a sporting storm starts to circle around the asphalt of Yas Marina Circuit . An ear-piercing screech of metal on metal pierces the silence as mechanics from across the globe ready their engines. Wheels are thrust onto axles. Drivers push down their visors. Tyres spin. The track comes to life with a heady mix of pulsating engine noise, the whiff of warm rubber and an electric atmosphere. F1 is in town and the world is watching.

The Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is the fitting finale of an extraordinary season that can still be won by one of three drivers: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, of McLaren, and the irrepressible Max Verstappen, of Red Bull Racing. One of the McLaren drivers should have had this wrapped up a long time ago but a mix of the team treating the drivers as equals, bad tactical calls and technical infringements has given the mercurial Max all of the momentum heading into this final day. For the majority of fans, it's prime box office and all eyes will be on that first corner.

Should Norris let Verstappen - and even Piastri - go off into the distance and focus on a clean race and just finish calmly in third (all he needs to take the championship)? Will Verstappen try and back Norris up into the pack, hoping for some drama to curtail his race? Will Piastri be asked to be the difference in securing Norris his first title? So many questions and so many unknowns. The only certainty is that it will all become clear after that first corner. The world will be holding its breath.

As boxer Mike Tyson once said, everyone has a plan before they get punched in the nose. This title could be decided on one moment of brilliance or madness. Sport is about surprises, uncertainty and fierce competition and the pinnacle of motor racing has it in abundance. The UAE is witnessing it all this weekend as the world's fastest put it all on the line. Few sports touch every continent and attract such a diverse crowd. From the historic tracks of Monaco and Silverstone to the relative newcomers such as Las Vegas and Miami, the travelling-circus that is F1 continues to excite and entertain those in the stands and watching on from home. This weekend, the UAE is the centre of the world.

As they say in the paddock, all roads lead to Yas, and it is our great venue that is the place where champions are crowned. If you have yet to visit the circuit on race weekend, I urge you to give it a go if you ever get the opportunity. Few places can do it like Abu Dhabi and I promise you will walk away with an addiction to the energy, fumes and noise.

Yas Island feels like it is built around the track, from the giant Ferrari theme park to the packed hotels. It means that there is space for fan parks with everything from builld-your-own Lego to seeing first-class seats at the Etihad stand, transport in and out and an abundance of food. The action is on the track but this is sport as an all-day (or all-weekend) experience. Even the teams have their own village to live in for their brief time in the country.

The storm over Yas Island will soon be over for this year and another championship will come to a close with fly-bys, fireworks and burnouts. We'll have a few months to recover from the drama before it all starts again.

It is also the end of an era as another set of rules comes into play that could shake up the grid once again. Mercedes had their dominant years with Lewis Hamilton, Red Bull and Verstappen have led the way with the latest laws and we could be now in the McLaren era.

One thing we do know is that in a year's time the world will be back watching Yas Marina Circuit as another trophy is lifted. To put it simply, nowhere else can do it so well.