Abu Dhabi GP set for October date
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix organisers have been told the country's inaugural race will take place in October next year, this week's Autosport reveals, although it is not clear yet if the event will be the season finale
Work is progressing on the new track on Yas Island, and renowned F1 fixer Philippe Gurdjian has been drafted in to ensure that the venue is finished in time.
Gurdjian famously helped oversee the redevelopment of Paul Ricard into a leading testing facility, and also played a key role in ensuring Bahrain was ready in time for its inaugural race in 2004.
A decision has already been taken to make the track completely permanent, with the original plan to have some of the circuit on the city streets in front of a marina having been abandoned.
The Abu Dhabi track is being designed by Hermann Tilke, with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone confident it will be one of the best on the calendar.
"The Tilke group has learnt its lessons from the tracks it built in the past and put all those lessons in to this track," Ecclestone said at the official launch of the event last year. "We consider it will offer the best F1 racing in the world."
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
F1 teams and Pirelli had no warning of “painted” Shanghai track surface
FIA still chasing answers over bizarre Shanghai F1 grass fires
Why F1 2026 worst case fears could be key to new rules success
Long Beach IMSA: Derani takes pole for Cadillac by 0.009s, then wrecks
IndyCar Long Beach: O’Ward leads Power in opening practice
Latvala: Neuville, Evans tied for WRC Croatia lead "something special"
WEC Imola: Ferrari remains on top in FP2 as Fuoco beats Porsche
The short-term pain that hides a very real Williams improvement
How a Shanghai to Sheffield journey paved the way for China’s F1 hero
Why F1 2026 worst case fears could be key to new rules success
How the F1 driver market situation sits for each team with 2025 openings
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments