TWILIGHT TORNADO
The cutting-edge Yas Marina Circuit is being decked up for the last hurrah of the 2016 Formula One season, with a battalion of personnel ranging from cleaners to painters, from caterers to logistical experts camping at the track.
The Yas Marina Circuit is the only Circuit in the world where all the Grandstands are covered with a roof and these canopies have been dusted off.
The smell of fresh paint (a total of 8,550 litres, to be precise) fills the air with a fresh coat of the ‘Yas’ blue, called pantone 321 and the shade most closely resembling the seas of the Arabian Gulf as well Ivory, Red and White adorning her, making her resemble a newly-wed bride.
Almost 90 tonnes of F1 gear and equipment of the 11 teams are arriving from Brazil, as we speak, on chartered flights as well as 140 containers docking at the Khalifa Port, with massive articulated team trucks, laden with tyres, fuel, spare parts and tools, already making its way into the Circuit for the 21st stop of the season.
It is a logistical exercise of epic proportions, going by the numbers, and that is just one half of the story. It has also involved more than 400 logistics contractors, using 60 forklift trucks and a combined air and sea freight totalling a whopping 750 tonnes.
All this is to set the arena for this season’s championship decider which will be played out between Mercedes duo Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton under the Abu Dhabi twilight.
Beginning at sunset, the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, races into the twilight and finishes under the glistening lights.
Talking of twilight, two drivers, legends in their own right, will race into the twilight at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Brazilian ace Felipe Massa will be saying good bye to a stellar career spanning 14 years and he will race for the 250th and final time on Sunday.
“It’s going to be another emotional one,” Massa said after teary scenes at Interlagos.
“I really hope the final, and 250th race of my Formula One career, can be a fantastic one. Hopefully, we can celebrate with a great result,” he added.
And, Jenson Button could be joining Massa as well after 16 years in Formula One. The lovable Briton, had said that he would be taking a sabbatical, and while his team McLaren talked of a possible return in 2018, that however looks bleak. So, his 305th start on Sunday, might be his last.
“I’m really looking forward to this weekend, and have been for a few races now. It marks a very special chapter in my life and I’ll have my friends and some of my family out in Abu Dhabi with me,” said Button.
“It’s going to be a hugely emotional weekend and I hope with the support of the fans, the team and the people that are closest to me, we can go out there and give it our absolute maximum and enjoy the weekend. It’s not the end of my career with McLaren-Honda, but it’s the start of a new phase that I’m incredibly positive about,” he added.
I really hope the final, and 250th race of my Formula One career, can be a fantastic one. Hopefully, we can celebrate with a great result Felipe Massa