The Yas Marina Circuit is famous for the W hotel (more on that in a moment) and its surroundings, but mainly for being one of the more interesting tracks on the Formula 1 calendar. Certainly from a photographer’s perspective, with plenty of opportunities to capture images through the fence.

A couple of locations in particular though stand out: the last corners of the track where you are standing next to the cars as they pass by at incredible speeds. Although it is an incredible location to take amazing snaps, it is not recommended to stay in that location too long. It can get pretty scary!

Canon Eos R6

24-105mm

1/400

f4.0

24mm

ISO 100

The roof of the W hotel on Yas Island is, for sure, one of the most iconic locations to shoot, despite the number of limitations it ironically creates. As a photographer, you are not allowed up to the rooftop area unless you are a guest of the hotel (as a security measure, that seems fair enough), so a little creativity is needed to find an elevated position. Then comes the additional challenge: what kind of shot are we going for? Do we play it safe, or do we get creative and look for other angles? It wouldn’t be me if I didn’t opt for the second choice! 

One of those angles – that I do not recommend to others – is to slightly hang over the glass barrier and try to capture the car right before it disappears under the bridge. The shot is well framed, there’s an enormous amount of colour to work with, and you even get that reflection in the glass. 

Just be sure you don’t fill up too much at breakfast before you try this one!

Canon Eos R6

24-105mm

1/500

90mm

f7.1

ISO 400

Any Predator fans out there…?

It’s pretty difficult to cover an event in the Middle East and without shooting at least one cars alongside a palm tree. And heading out of turn three at Yas Marina, just before competitors enter the arena section at the North Grandstand, there is a beautiful long straight aisled by palm trees. 

For this shot, I used the trees as my foreground element to let the cars dissolve. You have to slow down the shutter a lot to create this effect, but it gives the Grove Racing Mercedes an almost-ghostly look.  

Canon Eos R6

100-500mm

1/20

f16

100mm

ISO 100

I love working in the pitlane at race events, especially during qualifying. But right before that, when drivers are stepping into their cars and preparing themselves a few minutes before the start of the session, you see these moments of deep focus as they run through the layout of the track in their minds. Like this one here with Haas RT’s Mathieu Detry. 

These are very compelling moments to capture, especially if you use a 1.4 prime lens and focus on thing in particular: the iris. Dubai often has amazing light and this shot was taken just before Q3 on the Friday, as the sun started to set and the light had that warm hazy look. 

Canon Eos R6

85mm

1/80

f1.4

85mm

ISO 100

Given its locality, shooting at the Dubai Autodrome usually means one thing: epic sunsets. 

Usually. 

This year, for some reason, we were not so lucky, so we had to get creative. 

For this shot, my photography buddy Chris Lazenby and I set ourselves up at the last corner for sunset, and did so by jumping the fence into the ‘visitor area. Using all the available light we had to slow down our shutter really helped give the sensation of speed, but also removed any traces of the fence that between us and the racecars, making it almost disappear. 

It may not have been an amazing sunset synonymous with the region, but at least Chris and I could celebrate shooting another (sort of) golden hour.

Canon Eos R6

70-200mm

1/20

f13.0

70mm

ISO 500

The Dubai Autodrome is a challenging track to shoot, and given that it’s CREVENTIC’s biggest 24-hour event of the year, you have to get creative with your location. And, for me at least, there is that one spot that beats out all the others, especially during the night: the walkway next to race control. From here, you get a distinctive sight of the cars, and it’s a location that creates a unique experience when they push the pit limiter on right below your feet.

Of course, in order to stand and work from that particular location, you need special permission from race control. It’s not often I get to call myself a VIP!

Canon Eos R6

85mm

1/160

f2.0

85mm

ISO 1250