The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix closes the Formula 1 season, and with Monaco it is one of the few races on the calendar where yachts lie beside the track. At Yas Marina the circuit runs around the harbour itself, so a yacht on the right quay has the southern section of the track passing its aft deck. The 2026 edition runs from Friday 4 to Sunday 6 December: practice on Friday, qualifying on Saturday, and a race that starts at dusk and finishes under floodlights on Sunday.
December is also the heart of the season in the Emirates. The water is calm, the days are warm without the summer heat, and the evenings on deck are the reason people come.
Trackside berths
The berths that matter lie along the south-west side of the marina, facing the circuit. There are around twenty of them, they suit yachts of roughly 35 to 60 metres, and they are the first to be committed each year. Larger yachts are placed case by case by the marina. We arrange trackside berths for our clients, and the earlier the brief arrives, the better the position.
The rest of the marina has no direct line of sight to the track. The race is shown there on large screens, and those berths still put you inside the event, a short walk from the circuit and the evening concerts. For a smaller group, a well-placed yacht without a track view is often the more comfortable weekend.
What comes with a berth
In recent editions, guests on a berthed yacht have received passes for the marina and its pontoons, the hospitality areas around the grandstands, and the concerts that follow each day's running. Grandstand seats are sold separately: a guest who wants to watch the start from the stands needs a grandstand ticket as well. Your advisor settles both before the week begins, so that every guest on board arrives with the right passes.
Three ways to spend race weekend on the water
Corporate hospitality. Friday to Sunday, with the guest list changing by session, from practice on Friday to the race on Sunday. The yacht works as a private meeting room beside the track, with catering and service run by the crew.
A private weekend. Family or friends, the yacht as a base for three days, the race by day and the concerts by night. Fewer guests, longer stays, and a weekend that reads as private rather than commercial.
Coming from Dubai. Our Dubai fleet repositions to Yas Marina for the weekend, and several yachts come in from Europe for the winter season. Guests who prefer to stay in Dubai can come in by road: Yas Island is a little over an hour away.
When to arrange it
Trackside berths are committed well ahead of the race, and demand for them is high every year. By the autumn, what remains is the rest of the marina and the occasional trackside release. A brief sent in October is still workable; a brief sent in late November narrows the choice to what is left.
Abu Dhabi beyond the race
The weekend pairs naturally with a few days on the water around the capital, from Saadiyat to the islands beyond Yas. For the capital's own cruising grounds, see yacht charter in Abu Dhabi. For the other Grand Prix of the yachting calendar, see Monaco Grand Prix yacht charter, and for the house's home port, yacht charter in Dubai.
Planning takeaway
Decide first whether you want the track in front of you or simply to be inside the weekend: that choice decides the berth, and the berth decides the yacht. Settle passes and grandstand seats with the berth, not after it. Tell us the size of your group and how you want to spend the three days, and we will come back with the yachts, the berth options and the passes. You can start the conversation here.
