The start of the 2016 Formula 1 Eithad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – to give it the full title - will again be marked with a spectacular Etihad Airways and Fursan Al Emarat fly past as the teams, drivers and 60,000 fans at Yas Marina Circuit welcome the title-deciding race of the current season.
While title contenders Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, both Mercedes drivers, mentally prepare for an epic dual, Capt Al Jabri will be in the left-hand seat of superjumbo tail number A6-APC as it skims the start line of Yas Marina Circuit at 900 feet and 210 knots.
It will be trailed by the nimble fast jets of the UAE’s air display team, Fursan Al Emarat.
“The weekend is a showpiece event for Abu Dhabi and provides a huge opportunity to demonstrate our aircraft to an audience of billions.
“We’ve conducted similar fly pasts in previous years, and based on the many positive comments we hear from people, we know they take it away as an abiding memory of the event.”
The Etihad Airways fly past has become synonymous with the capital’s showpiece motor race event and this one will see the airline’s stunning ‘Facets of Abu Dhabi’ livery flying over the iconic circuit to mark the beginning of the race on Sunday.
Months of planning takes place before the formation is performed. The total flying time is 50 minutes, from takeoff to landing at the adjacent Abu Dhabi International Airport, and once in the air, the aircraft enter a holding pattern for about 10 minutes, during which they complete several passes over Yas Marina Circuit.
“Safety is obviously of major importance to us when flying the aircraft, so we’ve been working alongside the display team and practicing the fly past over the last few weeks.
“Many of us in the Etihad Airways crew have been involved in previous fly pasts but we couldn’t achieve it without the support of the Fursan Al Emarat display team, the military, air traffic control and the airport, so we can give people a spectacle that they will remember for years to come.”
DETAILS:
The Etihad Airways fly past will begin at 4.46pm, taking place before and after the UAE National Anthem, minutes before the start of the final race on Sunday.
TO learn more about Etihad Airways, visit www.etihad.com
FOR more information on tickets, pricing and packages, go to www.facebook.com/yasmarinacircuit or www.twitter.com/yasmarinacircuit or www.instagram.com/ymofficial
THERE’S also more on the YasTV YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/YasMarinaCircuit