PCD: Last year's version
My brother tells me it was an unusual crowd, very Euro. Said everyone was sharply dressed up. No red-necks or riff-raff.
I like the Wiki Pages for the track, the reception part was interesting:
The reception from drivers ahead of the inaugural race was highly positive. Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton both praised the circuit, suggesting that it would be considerably more difficult to learn than other recent additions to the Formula One calendar.[27] Jenson Button described the first sector as "spectacular", but remarked that he felt that starting second would be better than starting first as the placement of pole position put it on a steeper incline than the rest of the grid.[28] Kamui Kobayashi, on the other hand, was less complimentary, claiming that he did not feel intimidated by the steep climb to the first corner as it was no different to Eau Rouge at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, and accusing the media of hyping it up without precedent.[28] Mark Webber was also unimpressed, stating that while he enjoyed driving the first sector of the circuit, the second and third sectors were similar to other circuits on the calendar.[29]
