Like Monaco’s, Abu Dhabi’s stylish paddock is one of the most social of the season, and this year’s event was bolstered by concerts for Britney Spears on Friday, Incubus and The Cult on Saturday, and Sir Paul McCartney on Sunday. The former Beatle made an appearance at the track just before qualifying. Also from the music industry was Sophie Ellis-Bextor, attending a Grand Prix for the first time.
Sir Jackie Stewart was back, as was Ron Dennis at McLaren and Piero Lardi Ferrari at Ferrari, together with Manchester City Football Club manager Roberto Mancini. Meanwhile, FIA Vice-President Mohammed bin Sulayam also paid a visit, as did a party of Bahrainis led by Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
He told reporters that in the wake of an independent report into his country’s troubles Bahrain’s leaders would act upon any recommendations and that he was confident the Bahrain race will return to the calendar as scheduled in April 2012."It is looking good," he said. "As a force for moderation, sport is a great unifier. There are certainly things that happened in the country that nobody is proud of, but we have an important report coming out on November 23 and that will really give us a narrative of the truth that we can accept.
"Just like any other country that has faced troubles in the past, we will move beyond it. We will learn from it, we will grow and we are committed to reform. This sport has a great following.
"After the report, there will be implementation of its recommendations and we will move on. That is the way of the world. But it is safe and we look forward to welcoming you there and we will rise to the challenge."
On track, Racing Engineering’s Fabio Leimer led throughout in his first GP2 victory, chased home by Caterham Team AirAsia’s Luiz Razia, who gave his team their best result, and Jolyon Palmer, son of ex-F1 driver Jonathan, who enjoyed his best-ever GP2 performance with a strong third place for Barwa Addax.For more pictures, check out our Paddock Postcard gallery.
Credit: Formula One Administration Ltd (www.formula1.com)
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