With oil wealth at their disposal, many cities in the Middle East are fast becoming must-see tourist destinations. These cities have unique skyscrapers designed and built by world-class architects and construction companies.
They also have record-breaking tourist attractions like super-fast roller-coasters and Ferris wheels at theme parks that are just as exciting as any you'll find in Europe or the United States.
Two examples of these cities are Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. While Dubai gets more attention for its tourist attractions, the capital, Abu Dhabi isn't far behind when it comes to places to see and things to do. Other cities with similar plans include Manama in Bahrain and Doha in Qatar.
Exploring F1's Top Venue
One thing that Abu Dhabi can boast of having that you won't find in Dubai is a Grand Prix Circuit. Located on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, the Yas Marina Circuit hosts the last race of the F1 season every year.
The fact that it's built around the W Abu Dhabi and located at the marina makes this an exciting place to watch an F1 race. It's no wonder then, that you'll find celebrities and other dignitaries at the paddock during these races.
But what can be better than watching an F1 race at this gorgeous location? The opportunity to drive on the track. That's what the Yas Marina Driving Experience offers. Anyone with a driving license can get behind the wheel of a capable GT or open-wheel race car at this storied circuit. For racing fans, it's tough to claim anything can be better. Let's explore what this experience offers.
Cars
There is a collection of GT and open-wheel cars to choose from. The open-wheel car, called the Formula Yas 3000, was specially designed for the circuit. While they may not have the long list of supercars available at places like Dream Racing or Exotics Racing, Yas Marina Circuit has more car categories than most driving experiences in the world.
Recent additions include a Ferrari 488 Challenge, a Porsche Taycan Turbo (interesting choice), and a Caterham Seven Express.
Since our first visit, there has been a significant drop in the number of available cars. However, this hasn't affected the overall rating since this experience was never one with an extensive collection of cars. The main attractions are still available, so this remains an experience that all Abu Dhabi visitors should try.
Customer Care
While customer care is reasonably decent, like the drag racing experience, you can't cancel or postpone the date for any reason once the booking is complete. Again, this is the most inflexible policy we have encountered. Their response to email is also inconsistent. It's best to communicate by phone.
Safety
There is a good safety briefing with an instructor before going on to the race track. The session includes a short lecture and some video.
Race Track
The Yas Marina Circuit is both beautiful and functional. Just having an opportunity to drive on the race track may be enough to consider this experience. However, unlike Formula GT (Barcelona) and Puresport (Monza), no option lets you drive the full track.
Consequently, it will be pointless to go into every detail of the full track configuration used in F1 races. You won't get a chance to experience it.
However, driving through the tunnel from the paddock will have a very chilling effect on any F1 fan, as memories from F1 finales are bound to flood your brain and increase the excitement. It's also worth noting that the track configuration you're offered will depend on the car you choose to drive and may likely change with time.
Experience Video
Yas Marina does not offer a video of supercar driving experiences. The video is only available for the Yas 3000 and the Aston Martin Vantage GT4. Unfortunately, we didn't know this before completing our booking, which couldn't be changed.
NOTE: The video shown above was filmed long after our review. We didn't update the review during our filming session because the provider was obviously aware of our presence since we rented the track. All our reviews are done without the knowledge of the providers.
Bottom Line
This experience is more about driving on the fantastic Yas Marina track than anything else. The available fleet of cars is respectable and better than what you'll find at some other providers (when combining all categories).
While we recommend this experience, the shortened track length, selective video availability, and the policy around postponement/cancellation prevent it from earning an editor's choice award.
