Question for people who have attended the F1 race in Abu Dhabi (Constellation)

My husband and I are booked on the Constellation Arabian Sea and Suez Canal cruise this coming November. It ends in Abu Dhabi for the Formula 1 race. This is #1 on our bucket list to see.

My husband travels with a small portable scooter as he is not able to walk far or up/down many stairs. He is okay with a couple of stairs and walking for a few feet with a cane. I have been trying to get mobility impaired tickets from the racetrack, but have been having somewhat of a hard time with that. Most recently they told me that there were no physical seats in the mobility impaired area. Which confuses me...would I have to stand throughout the entire race since I don't have a wheelchair or scooter myself? I've submitted a dr's letter, but am still waiting.

I decided to google search for some YouTube videos to see what the seating is like. From watching the videos it seems like we would be okay getting tickets in the grandstands as long as we could get the back row (row H from the video) of the first section of the grandstand as long as there is an elevator or ramp that gets you up to the grandstand. Can anyone confirm if there is an elevator or ramp? Also, did you happen to see mobility scooters or wheelchairs in the grandstands, not in mobility impaired seating? If you happened to be in the mobility impaired section, could you let me know about it?

I really appreciate any insight anyone could give. If you'd prefer to email me my email is kelizalde17 at gmail dot com.

Thanks so much. I know someone on here will be able to help me with these questions.

Kari

I was part of the delivery team for Ferrari World, the theme park next to the F1 track. The big red roof.

Mobility is not a focus in that part of the world. Yes there are lifts, but expect very uneven pathways and obstacles along the way.

Perhaps you could book a room at the hotel and watch the race from the hotel windows. The hotel is built right over the track.

You may be fine, but be aware, and be prepared for surprises.

I would be very interested in any replies to this post as we are in a similar position- booked on the cruise, my husband uses a wheelchair and scooter and we are planning to go to the F1 at the end of the cruise - cruise for me, F1 for my husband lol. It would be very disappointing to get tickets and it be very unsuitable - lets face it even where mobility is a focus it's generally still a big compromise- the F1 in the U.K. Has pretty good areas for wheelchair users but it's still not the easiest. If it doesn't work out for tickets maybe we can watch it together on the ship. I will keep an eye out for any information.

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I would be very interested in any replies to this post as we are in a similar position- booked on the cruise, my husband uses a wheelchair and scooter and we are planning to go to the F1 at the end of the cruise - cruise for me, F1 for my husband lol. It would be very disappointing to get tickets and it be very unsuitable - lets face it even where mobility is a focus it's generally still a big compromise- the F1 in the U.K. Has pretty good areas for wheelchair users but it's still not the easiest. If it doesn't work out for tickets maybe we can watch it together on the ship. I will keep an eye out for any information.

 

 

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I spoke with my contact at Yas Marina Circuit again this week. It seems that if you have a wheelchair and or scooter you cannot access the grandstands except if you have mobility impaired tickets. According to him, the system has been upgraded recently and the mobility impaired tickets are not yet loaded in the system. He "assures" me that he has set aside tickets for me for when they are able to be booked. I'm beginning to wonder though. It has been 3 weeks since I started communicating with him about these tickets. He told me to submit medical documentation that we require mobility impaired seating. I got a letter from my husband's dr which I sent to him two weeks ago. This week he's told me that isn't enough. So, I took a picture of the handicap placard (for parking our car in a handicap spot), along with the registration of the placard and a copy of my husband's driver's license. I'm again waiting to see if that is sufficient.

I appreciate the offer to watch the race together on the ship; however, if we don't end up with seats for the race we will be cancelling this cruise and watching it from home. We will do the race in some other location. I certainly hope it doesn't come to that, but am becoming very frustrated with the racetrack, especially when I hear that other people have been able to buy their tickets without any issue.

Kari