Saturdays normally start early for the teams but the Abu Dhabi GP being a twilight race meant that the teams could have a slightly later start to the day.

Saturdays would see the Teams do Qualifying Simulations in FP3 and prepare themselves for Qualifying.

Enroute to the Circuit :

The First Pit Lane Walk sees the team practice their Pit Stops.

Shots from the Pit Lane Walk :

Video Link of the Lotus F1 Team practising their Pit Stop :

The Paddock Club was open and I made it to the Terrace to indulge in some snacks prior to lunch

The GP2 Feature Race was the First Event of the Day and it was quite a start.

Video Link :



Lunch!!!!


FP3 was a very important session for many teams. The Lap times were close and this was a precursor to an awesome Qualifying Session

Shots from FP3 :

Lotus F1 Team in action in FP3 :

Sebastien Vettel was the Fastest in FP3. Romain Grosjean was 5th and Kimi Raikkonen 9th.


Alan Permane and Eric Boullier in a very engrossing conversation :

We were soon joined by Sir Jackie Stewart in the Suite and he shared about his career in F1 and his role in the team now.


The time for the Final Pit-Lane Walk of the day had come and it was time to see the Teams prepare for Qualifying up-close.

Shots from the Pit-Lane Walk :


A Moment with Mark Arnall - Kimi's Physical Instructor!


The Pit Lane was then vacated to make way for the start of the Qualifying Session!

Q1 saw the elimination of the slowest 6 drivers.

Shots from Q1 :


Lotus F1 Team in Q1 :

Lewis Hamilton was fastest in Q1. Kimi Raikkonen was 3rd fastest and Romain Grosjean 8th fastest.



The Lull before Q2 :


Q2 decided the final 10 drivers for the Final Shoot-out ( Q3 )

Shots from Q2 :

Lotus F1 Team in action in Q2 :

Nico Rosberg was the Fastest in Q2. Romain Grosjean was 8th Fastest while Kimi Raikkonen was 9th Fastest.

Fernando Alonso was shunted out of Q2 in 11th Place.


Q3 would be a closely fought session and once gain it was a duel between the Red Bulls and the Mercedes AMG Petronas teams.


Shots from Q3 :


Lotus F1 Team in Q3 :

A Red Bull was on pole and it was Mark Webber! The Australian pipped his team-mate to finish fastest in Q3.

Kimi Raikkonen did well to qualify 5th while Romain Grosjean qualified in 7th Place. It was a great session for Lotus F1 Team until a couple of hours later news emerged that Kimi Raikkonen was Excluded from the Qualifying Session!!!!

Kimi's car had floor damage and failed a floor deflection test. The Result was his 5th Position being snatched from him and the Finn had to start last. So much effort down the drain...


Post Qualifying, Romain Grosjean joined us in the Suite for a Quick Q&A and Autograph session

A Moment with Romain Grosjean :

His departure also signaled the closure of the Paddock Club for the day.

The Yas Marina Hotel at night :

The F1 Village at Night :

It would have been a great day had it not been for Kimi's Disqualification from Qualifying.

Nevertheless, I would like to thank the Lotus F1 Team for all the Hospitality shown to me.

A Big Thank you to Oliver Anderson, Anita Nyers, Francois Puentes, Anne-Charlotte Remy and Fleur Foster for taking such good care of me.

The Sunday too was very different. Experience coming soon...