Most Formula 1 circuits lock their gates between race weekends. Yas Marina Circuit stays open. What was built for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has become a public facility that happens to host world championship motorsport.
This matters for families in Abu Dhabi. Year-round activities let children drive karts on racing tarmac, parents run the same corners where title battles got decided, and teenagers experience what 200mph feels like from a passenger seat. Motorsport becomes accessible beyond the professional level.
Running Where Champions Race
TrainYAS opens the entire 5.281-kilometre Grand Prix layout to the public on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6pm to 10pm, free of charge. Anyone can walk, run, or cycle an FIA Grade 1 circuit.
Some cyclists chase personal records on the main straight, while others bring young children on bikes, taking advantage of a completely car-free environment. Parents with multiple children appreciate the age flexibility – a six-year-old can walk whilst their teenage sibling cycles. The venue offers complimentary bicycle hire, though availability varies during peak periods.
Tuesday evenings host TrainYAS Ladies, a women-only version with group fitness classes alongside track access. Yoga and Zumba happen on the start-finish straight.
TrainAM operates select mornings for cyclists who want laps before work.
Running through the turn where Verstappen overtook Hamilton in 2021, or cycling beneath the Yas Marina Hotel’s illuminated canopy, creates a connection to motorsport you don’t get from grandstands. You understand corner angles differently when you’re moving through them yourself.
Yas Kartzone
Yas Kartzone operates daily within the complex. The 1-kilometre track has multiple configurations that adjust difficulty based on ability, from layouts for beginners to technical sections that challenge competitive racers.
Junior races cater to children aged 8 to 12, using 160cc karts built for smaller frames. The eight-year age minimum means most primary school children qualify. Safety briefings cover racing lines, braking points, and track etiquette. Instructors focus on car control and spatial awareness.
Senior karts accept those aged 13 and older, with engines capable of 90 km/h. These respond faster, brake harder, and need technique to extract competitive lap times. Timing screens display sector splits and positions, turning casual outings into competitive races.
Prices start around AED 145, with discounts for Yas Island residents. The venue hosts competitive championships, though casual slots remain available.
Also Read: The Ultimate Guide to Yas Marina Circuit
Passenger Experiences
Older teenagers have options beyond karting. Driving experiences require valid licences and typically impose an 18-year minimum age, but passenger rides work for those not yet qualified.
The Drift Taxi places passengers in a modified Chevrolet Camaro SS for controlled high-speed drifting. Professionals slide through corners whilst passengers feel forces that road driving never reaches. Track time lasts approximately 15 minutes and costs around AED 400.
The Radical SST– a British-built track car – offers different sensations. Purpose-built racing cars accelerate and corner at speeds that road-legal vehicles can’t match. Passengers sit low in minimal bodywork, feeling every bump and camber change. The experience shows what drivers manage during races – the physical demands of maintaining concentration under sustained g-forces.
Adults and older teenagers with a driving licence can book the circuit's driving experiences. The Aston Martin GT4 has a 4.0-litre V8 and racing slicks. The Formula Yas 3000 single-seater represents the closest public access to Formula 1 characteristics, with a paddle-shift gearbox, downforce aerodynamics, and performance that requires instruction.
All include coaching tailored to capability. Instructors focus on racing lines, braking points, and throttle application. Onboard cameras record every lap.
Also Read: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2025: Your Ultimate Guide to the F1 Race
Circuit Tours
Guided tours happen Tuesday through Saturday, typically between 10am and 4pm, lasting approximately two hours. Access includes the pit lane, team garages, Race Control, and the Paddock Club suites that host VIP guests during race weekends.
Race Control shows how officials manage 20 cars travelling at 300 km/h simultaneously, monitoring sector times, track conditions, and safety protocols in real time. The media centre displays broadcast operations supporting global coverage.
Paddock Club areas show the hospitality logistics required when government officials and corporate sponsors expect high-level service whilst races happen metres away.
Guides often come from racing backgrounds – former competitors or marshals who add context beyond standard facts. They explain how teams prepare cars between rounds, what mechanics monitor during pit stops, and how track conditions affect race strategy. Tours cost around AED 150 for adults, with reduced rates for children.
Grassroots Racing
The Yas Racing Series happens most winter weekends, hosting regional championships across multiple categories. Unlike Grand Prix weekends with restricted access and premium pricing, these events offer free entry and open paddocks. You can watch Gulf ProCar Championship touring cars, Formula 4 UAE open-wheelers, and Gulf Radical Cup prototypes competing across the same afternoon.
Paddock access means children observe mechanics working on cars, teams discussing strategy, and competitors preparing for races.
The Yas Marina Promenade surrounds the venue with restaurants, cafes, and outdoor spaces, as well as a playground, musical water fountain, and marina views.
Beyond Race Weekends
Fifteen years ago, critics questioned whether building a Formula 1 circuit in Abu Dhabi made financial sense. The answer came from keeping the gates open between race weekends instead of locking them.
While most F1 circuits sit empty 50 weeks a year, Yas Marina chose differently. By staying open to runners, families, amateur racers, and fitness groups, the venue built something beyond the handful of weekends when championship cars appear. It created a place where motorsport exists daily rather than as a spectacle.
What makes it work is authenticity. The track doesn’t offer a simulation of racing – it offers the real thing, just scaled to different capabilities. An eight-year-old in a kart is still learning race craft on the same tarmac Lewis Hamilton uses. That matters more than any manufactured experience could.
