Life in the Fast Lane: Driving Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi

October 5, 2026

By John Hope Bryant

I came to Abu Dhabi to talk about the future — and before I left, I got an opportunity to experience a different kind of future at speed.

During an extraordinary week in the United Arab Emirates, including speaking at LIVEX and meeting with leaders across Abu Dhabi, I made time for something very personal to me: motorsports.

I got behind the wheel at the legendary Yas Marina Circuit, home of the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

For those who know me, you know that racing isn’t simply a hobby. I hold an SCCA competition license and spend time on track back home in Georgia. I love the discipline of it — finding the line, managing the car, controlling your emotions, building confidence and constantly searching for that next tenth of a second.

And Yas did not disappoint.

There is something special about driving a circuit where the best drivers in the world compete. But what struck me was how naturally the experience fit into everything else I had seen during my week in the UAE.

Ambition. Precision. Investment. Excellence. Speed.

Abu Dhabi is a place that seems determined not simply to imagine its future, but to build it — and then improve upon it.

That’s racing, too.

You don’t become faster by simply pushing harder. You become faster by becoming smoother, smarter and more precise. You learn. You adjust. You build confidence. And then you push again.

That’s true on a racetrack.

It’s true in business.

And increasingly, I believe it’s true of nations.

My first laps around Yas Marina Circuit certainly won’t be my last.