With the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on the horizon – where the Formula One drivers' title will be decided – preparations at Yas Marina Circuit are reaching the crucial final stages.
Max Verstappen's victory in Qatar means the championship is up for grabs at Abu Dhabi's season finale. The Red Bull driver sits 12 points behind leader Lando Norris, while his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, also has an outside shot at clinching the title.
At the centre of it all is Saif Rashid Al Noaimi, the chief executive of Ethara, the organisation responsible for delivering what is one of the region's key sporting events.
Under his leadership, the race has developed into a major global spectacle that brings together sport, culture and entertainment while drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors to the UAE each year.
Speaking to The National ahead of race weekend, Al Noaimi provides an inside look at the scale of operations involved, the year-round planning cycle, and the innovations fans can expect in 2025.
He also reflects on the evolution of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix since its first race back in 2009 and the responsibility of maintaining its position as the season-ending finale on the F1 calendar.
Q: The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is just days away. What is the atmosphere like at Yas Marina Circuit as the team enters the final stretch?
A: The atmosphere is buzzing. There is activity all around the circuit. The team is working on the final touches of planning, delivery and execution to create another historic Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. This is our 17th edition and year on year we refine, improve and enhance. 2025 is going to be the biggest and best Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in history.
The Abu Dhabi GP is seen as the region’s biggest intersection of sport, culture and entertainment. From your perspective, what makes it so unique?
Yas Island was created from a blank canvas for major sporting and cultural events and as a tourist destination. The circuit, theme parks, attractions and hotels are all in proximity to each other and to the airport.
It offers a seamless journey where someone can spend a whole week watching the race, visiting theme parks, shopping, enjoying world-class food and beverage, then drive 15 minutes to Saadiyat Island for our cultural attractions.
We have the Louvre Museum, the Zayed National Museum opening, and a new Natural History Museum. There is plenty to offer in Abu Dhabi around the grand prix.
Can you walk us through what it takes to stage an event like this on this scale? What are the operations the public never sees?
It takes about 40,000 people to organise and deliver the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Planning is year-round. As you get closer to the event, you see all the parts coming together: early planning, procurement, resourcing.
Eighty-eight per cent of our workforce is UAE-based. We rely heavily on the local supply chain and work with over 500 suppliers, the majority Abu Dhabi-based. It takes a lot of coordination, stakeholder alignment and support. That is 17 years in the making of refining and improving the event.
Yas Marina Circuit upgrades race control room ahead of 2025 season finale 02:35
So as soon as it is over, are you straight on to planning for the next year?
Yes. Some aspects of the next year are planned even before we deliver the current edition. The main planning phase starts two days after the grand prix.
We take one day of rest, then on Tuesday we meet for workshops, go through lessons learnt, what worked, what we can improve and what changes and enhanceme
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