As Lewis Hamilton takes the F1 championship, we revisit 2009, when the Formula One-themed Yas Hotel lapped Abu Dhabi鈥檚 other buildings

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The right formula

As Lewis Hamilton takes the Formula One championship for the third time, we revisit 2009, when the Formula One-themed Yas Hotel lapped Abu Dhabi鈥檚 other buildings.

Roxane McMeeken reported: 鈥淚f you go for a night drive along the new expressway from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, you鈥檒l probably notice the Yas Hotel. Actually, what you鈥檒l see are 5,389 glowing lights, patches of which slide meltingly down the visible light spectrum from red and orange to indigo and violet. And if you don鈥檛 know it鈥檚 the Yas Hotel, you could be forgiven for concluding that you鈥檙e looking at the shell of a vast alien chrysalis.

鈥淥nce you鈥檝e overcome your paranoia, however, you may well recognise a building with a claim to be Abu Dhabi鈥檚 first true icon. The luxury hotel is part of the 拢39bn project taking shape on an island just offshore from the city, where the Ferrari World theme park is being developed, and it outclasses everything else Abu Dhabi has built so far.

鈥淵as Hotel could have been gimmicky, too. It is, after all, a Formula One-themed hotel, and it sits right in the middle of a race track. It opens this weekend for Abu Dhabi鈥檚 inaugural F1 Grand Prix.鈥�

To read the full article from 30 October 2009, download the PDF file below.

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