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CNN Live Event/Special
Khalid Khouri is Interviewed about "F1: The Movie"; Saif Rashid al Noaimi is Interviewed about the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix; Tokyo Celebrates New Years. Aired 9-9:30a ET
Aired December 31, 2025 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Woo!
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, my God!
BERMAN: Happy New Year!
ANDERSON: Can we get off!
BERMAN: OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN ANCHOR: That is the fastest roller coaster on the planet.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: You can see the g-forces.
RIPLEY: Yes.
STOUT: That was impressive.
RIPLEY: And also earlier you probably saw Becky was on -- in a race car, an F1 race car to be precise. The home of speed in Abu Dhabi. We're taking this up to the next level
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you doing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Plan C. Be ready.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just got to hope for some lucky breaks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hope is not a strategy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anything else, professor?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Drive fast.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you doing? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Plan C. Be ready.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just got to hope for some lucky breaks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RIPLEY: That was actually Brad Pitt, not Becky Anderson. But I promise you, Becky also has been behind the wheel. Is John also going to get behind the wheel? We saw the clip from the movie "F1."
John, what are you doing now?
BERMAN: Oh, stay tuned for that. And, yes, Becky Anderson is every bit as fast as Brad Pitt.
But I'm actually standing here literally right in front of the Apex F1 race car from "F1: The Movie." This is what Brad Pitt drove in that.
And I'm here with Khalid, who does such an amazing job here in Abu Dhabi bringing these films in, working with the film teams, like the ones from "F1" here.
What was it like to be here at the Grand Prix track shooting that film?
KHALID KHOURI, CREATIVE MEDIA AUTHORITY, ABU DHABI: We are extremely proud at the creative media authority and the film commission that we supported "F1: The Movie." It's been a multi-year relationship with Apple studios where they shot here over 29 days in three separate visits.
What was really special about it? It was done during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. They shot during the Grand Prix, where we see the race and they film at the same time.
The film's streaming right now at Apple, Apple TV.
BERMAN: And you were telling me the actual race finished, and then Brad Pitt and his film team was filming as if they had just won.
KHOURI: And the winning team is on the other side actually were celebrating. So, there were two celebrations happening at the same time during the race.
BERMAN: And this is, of course, this is the actual racing suit that Brad Pitt wore, Sunny Haze in the film. I will say, I always thought I was a little taller than Brad Pitt. I'm 6'4". So, he must be about 6'6" here.
KHOURI: well, he's taller than you (INAUDIBLE).
BERMAN: So --
KHOURI: It's signed by him. We got the car signed by Brad, the crew and some of the teams.
BERMAN: And it's not just "F1." You do other movies here as well (INAUDIBLE).
KHOURI: Over the years we've done multi (ph) films. We were lucky. We've hosted "Fast and Furious," "Star Wars," "Dune," "Mission Impossible." And just in 2025, we had "F1: The Movie" and "Now You See Me and Now You Don't."
BERMAN: And that's in theaters right now. People can go check it out.
Khalid, thank you so much.
KHOURI: Thank you. Thank you.
BERMAN: And I think Becky's got some cool stuff to see over there.
ANDERSON: Absolutely. And I was, John, lucky enough to be at the track and got my Brad moment in 2024.
And back here, what, a month or so ago for what was a fantastic end to the season in 2025. The man who is in charge of delivering that is Saif Rashid al Noaimi, who joins me now, he's the CEO of Ethara, which is the big sports and entertainment entity here in Abu Dhabi.
You and I talked before the race Sunday at the beginning of December, and we talked about how historic it was going to be. And, boy, did it live up to expectations.
SAIF RASHID AL NOAIMI, CEO, ETHARA: Yes, we were right, Becky. Just before the race we said it's going to be an epic race. It's going to be, obviously, a championship deciding race. And it was -- it was definitely historical.
ANDERSON: Yes, Lando Norris did it, of course. And this helmet is quite special. Just show the viewers what you've got here.
AL NOAIMI: Yes, I mean, this is our 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix helmet signed by all of the drivers, signed by Lando --
ANDEROSN: Yes.
AL NOAIMI: Lando Norris, as the world --
ANDERSON: Yes. Get it right.
AL NOAIMI: Yes, that's right.
ANDERSON: Lando Norris (INAUDIBLE), right?
What does this say? What does this say here in Arabic?
AL NOAIMI: That's (INAUDIBLE).
ANDERSON: Oh, absolutely lovely. And Lando also signing the --
AL NOAIMI: Lando also signing -- the interesting thing is he signed it as number one over here, (INAUDIBLE) world champion.
ANDERSON: Which is what he is, of course.
AL NOAIMI: The first time he signed it (INAUDIBLE).
ANDERSON: What a race.
Listen, for not just, you know, an historic race in Lando, the youngster winning for the first time, but massive for you guys here in Abu Dhabi. Just talk to me about the numbers.
AL NOAIMI: Yes, I mean it was -- it was another record-breaking year for us, one after the other. 2025 edition, we had 339,000 attendees over the weekend, which is -- which is a huge, huge jump over previous years.
ANDERSON: Yes. And 339,000 people here in Abu Dhabi coming in. And, of course, Abu Dhabi, bigger than F1 and the race. Incredibly important to the city.
But you are CEO, as I say, of Ethara, the sports and entertainment entity. Just give our viewers a sense of what else you're involved with here.
AL NOAIMI: Yes, I mean, we're an event and a venue management company. We do, you know, F1.
[09:05:00]
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is our biggest event. But throughout the year, in 2025, we did UFC showdown week. We did NBA games. We've done cultural festivals, concerts. And, in fact, tonight we have Saadiyat Nights, Alicia Keys doing her New Year's concert.
ANDERSON: Amazing. Listen, we've got a GT4, an Aston Martin here. Just give our viewers a sense of this car, because this is the Yas Heat Academy car.
AL NOAIMI: Yes, so this is a Formula Four car, Yas Heat Racing, which is our team. And Yas Heat Academy is the academy we set up a few years ago to develop UAE national and resident young drivers and talent. And we have a few over here. I mean they start their career in karting and then they grow to Formula Four.
ANDERSON: Yes.
AL NOAIMI: And, you know, the guys that you're going to meet over here, they're now in Formula Three equivalent championship.
ANDERSON: And this is Rashid (ph) and Kanu (ph).
John's with us.
Saif, Happy New Year, mate. Happy New Year.
Guys, you are out of the academy here, Yas Heat Academy. Just tell us a little bit about your careers, Rashid. RASHID (ph): No. So, of course, we started off a very young age here
in Abu Dhabi. For me, you know, growing up here in the UAE, there's, you know, a lot of development around motorsport. There was, you know, new sport when I was born. And me and the sport here in the UAE grew up all together. And it's amazing to be part of the Yas Heat Academy. They've supported me all the way through. And, yes, we'll keep going every day, try to make a step forward, improving and, yes, we'll see.
BERMAN: And, Kanu, how old are you now?
KANU (ph): I'm now 18.
BERMAN: And how long have you been driving?
KANU: Approximately 14 years.
BERMAN: You've been driving as long as I have, basically.
KANU: Pretty much.
ANDERSON: So, you guys started at six. And we've been tracking your career, Rashid. You and Karien (ph) did a little film on you when you were six years old. You both grew up in karts. And now, obviously, you're pushing towards the pinnacle of your career.
I have to ask you, do you have a driving license?
RASHID: Actually not yet. I can't really drive on the road yet. And it's funny because we're, you know, racing here on track, going over 250 kilometers per hour and then somebody has to bring us home, normally a parent. And that's very slow. So --
BERMAN: I was going to say, what do you say to your parents when they're driving?
KANU: Speed up. No, I don't.
ANDERSON: Well, listen. Listen, we got a -- we got a car here and we thought we'd have a little competition.
BERMAN: Yes, you guys have been competing against each other your whole lives, so we're going to do it right now. Let's get to it.
ANDERSON: It's a pit stop competition. Ready? Let's do it.
RASHID: Yes, let's do it. Yes, let's go. Let's go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready to go? Make a second position (ph) close (ph), please. Wait, wait, wait.
ANDERSON: All right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell me when you are ready. One, two, three, go.
BERMAN: Oh, she killed me.
ANDERSON: Done!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) come in first (ph).
John Luca (ph), how did we do?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First (ph) (INAUDIBLE).
RASHAD: Not too bad. Doing it?
ANDERSON: Hey.
Sorry, John.
BERMAN: All right, you did a great job. I failed you.
KANU: It's OK.
BERMAN: But --
ANDERSON: Thank you very much indeed. Look -- give me a microphone. Give me a microphone. But -- but --
BERMAN: But I will tell you -- I will tell you, the competition isn't going to stop right there. We're taking it out to the track.
ANDERSON: Because you would expect us to get out on this track, right?
Back after this.
BERMAN: You were great. Thank you.
KANU: Yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PSY, RAPPER, SINGER, SONGWRITER AND RECORD PRODUCER: Hi, CNN. This is Psy. I wish you have a happy, happy, happy New Year. Happy 2026.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:13:09]
ANDERSON: Well, wherever you're watching in the world, Happy New Year. You join us back here at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. And you wouldn't expect us to be on this track without getting an opportunity to drive.
Though John and I decided we weren't qualified to drive in these, but we found some professional drivers. However, we can give these a go. So we thought we'd try and race these guys.
So, wait a minute, John's already getting into the car.
BERMAN: All right, I'm getting in here. ANDERSON: Hold on.
BERMAN: Which is the hardest part, honestly, in someone my age. Getting into the car here. I'm going to squeeze in. Oh, yes, graceful. So graceful. I made it in. Get a belt in here. Get a belt in. Oh, yes. Feels good. Feels good. Feels like speed. Tightening the straps. Here we go.
I'm here with my guy Steve, who's going to be sitting beside me, though I will be doing the driving. And quite well, maybe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll be doing the screaming, John.
BERMAN: Steve says he'll be doing the screaming. I'll be doing the driving. I'll see if I can drive better than I changed the tire. All right, Steve's going to come around here. Becky's getting all strapped in there. We're going to get the cars going here. Everything's going to be checked out in one second.
ANDERSON: Turn this around.
BERMAN: Steve's strapping in. I'm going to hand the mic here to Steve in one second, because I need both hands on the wheel.
ANDERSON: So -- yes.
BERMAN: And we're going to get going and we're going to make some magical television here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, John, I'm ready to go.
BERMAN: Is the car on? Car is on.
ANDERSON: So, tell me.
BERMAN: Me the car is on. So, now we're just waiting for --
(CROSS TALK)
ANDERSON: Is it on the brake?
(CROSS TALK)
ANDERSON: Yes.
BERMAN: Is it supposed to be sounding like this?
(CROSS TALK)
ANDERSON: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll just turn that (INAUDIBLE) off.
[09:15:02]
BERMAN: All right. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready for the green lights and then take off.
ANDERSON: Yes.
BERMAN: We're waiting -- we're waiting for the go ahead here. They're going up to the tires.
ANDERSON: OK, so foot on the pedal. Let the car roll a bit.
BERMAN: We're at the beginning.
ANDERSON: Yes.
BERMAN: We're waiting for the green light.
ANDERSON: And then gently on the gas.
BERMAN: I'm just going to keep talking until they tell me to go.
ANDERSON: OK, we can do this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
ANDERSON: Oh, I've got --
BERMAN: Here we go.
ANDERSON: Butterflies in my stomach.
BERMAN: I'm looking up there. Everything's looking good.
ANDERSON: Yes. Good to go.
BERMAN: We're feeling good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes (INAUDIBLE).
BERMAN: This isn't a Formula One car, but it's a lot faster than I'm used to, I'll tell you that.
ANDERSON: Watching those red lights.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Should they go green now?
ANDERSON: Green.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go. Go, faster, faster, faster, faster.
ANDERSON: But this guy is in front of me.
(CROSS TALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brake hard.
ANDERSON: More gas.
(CROSS TALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ON the brakes.
ANDERSON: Brakes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the gas.
ANDERSON: Down.
Staying at the same gear?
Yes, follow gas.
(CROSS TALK)
ANDERSON: Keep going?
(CROSS TALK)
ANDERSON: Gas?
(CROSS TALK)
BERMAN: Look there, we're going to catch the F1 car.
Whoa, it's a corkscrew turn. Oh, that's a turn.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to catch him, John. Let's go. Let's go.
(CROSS TALK)
BERMAN: All right, I like the straightaways.
ANDERSON: Let's go. Up. Show me. Up.
(CROSS TALK)
ANDERSON: Brakes.
(CROSS TALK)
ANDERSON: To the left.
(CROSS TALK)
ANDEROSN: There. There.
(CROSS TALK)
BERMAN: All right.
I got to get out. Help me out.
ANDERSON: Woo!
Oh, my. Thank you, Andre! UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're welcome.
ANDERSON: Oh, my legs are shaking.
BERMAN: That was something. I tell you, that felt good. I made the turns. I don't know if you saw, but there was this sort of corkscrew turn where you make the turn, which is impossibly tight, and I couldn't see it because it was like, I'm not high enough over the windshield to see it there. But it was incredible.
ANDERSON: And there she comes a couple of days later, January the 2nd, isn't it?
BERMAN: It's Happy New Year. Happy New Year.
ANDERSON: My legs are shaking. How was it?
BERMAN: Oh, it was thrilling.
ANDERSON: Thrilling.
I mean it is -- it is an unbelievable experience. Obviously, these guys are so much more experienced than us.
BERMAN: See, I don't know if you can feel my heart. My heart is just beating here.
ANDERSON: I mean my -- (INAUDIBLE).
No, I mean, listen, it's a -- it's an experience of a lifetime. Absolutely. It's terrifying, but --
BERMAN: So, Steve, who was next to me, was telling me to brake. He's like, you have to break. You have to break. You have to brake. And I was like, yes, do I? Do I really have to break? What happens if I don't brake around this corner?
ANDERSON: So that's what Steve was telling you. Andre, in my car, was saying, drop the pedal. Drop the pedal. Accelerate, accelerate. Like, because I really didn't want to go much faster. These things go, as I understand it, about 200 kilometers an hour.
BERMAN: Yes, which is --
ANDERSON: How fast --
BERMAN: I'm not -- I'm not good at math. That's 700 miles an hour.
ANDERSON: So, some -- something like that.
BERMAN: I'm kidding but it's like 120 miles an hour.
ANDERSON: Exactly. But were you even aware of how fast you were going?
BERMAN: There were two things I wasn't aware of, how fast I was going and where the heck you were. You could have been -- that's -- which is actually terrifying, right?
ANDERSON: A long way behind.
BERMAN: Because I know in a real race you have to know where every car is around you. I had -- I hadn't the slightest clue, right? If -- I could have been turning and you could have been right there. And that might have ended badly for us.
ANDERSON: So, the fact that I was so far behind, I think, was a good thing.
BERMAN: Oh, were you?
ANDERSON: Yes, I was so far behind.
BERMAN: You let me win.
ANDERSON: Listen, I have to say, the guy in front of me didn't take off straight away, so he was going --
BERMAN: (INAUDIBLE).
ANDERSON: Foot on the gas, foot on the gas. I'm like, he's still in front of me. I'm going to hit him.
BERMAN: I gave him 100 (INAUDIBLE) beforehand. That's what happened. Hey, you know, if you ain't rubbing, you ain't racing. That's what they say in Nascar. I don't know if it's like that in Formula One.
ANDERSON: This is an Abu Dhabi experience extraordinaire.
Look -- and, you know, this is part of the sort of tourism offer here, which is so important. I mean they're looking -- Abu Dhabi's economy is on a massive click at the moment. Six percent GDP they're looking at growth forecasts for this year. Tourism, very important pillar. Financial services, real estate, all the rest of it.
But the F1 experience is very much part of that. You know, and we were talking to Saif earlier on about what else is going on here, but this is, you know, this is really iconic.
BERMAN: I've been sending pictures to all my racing friends in the United States over the morning, and it's incredible to be here when it's empty.
[09:20:00]
I mean it really is an incredible sight. But just, what's it like to be here when the stands are filled?
ANDERSON: That's a great question. I mean, it is electric. Not just here on the track, John. I've been living here now for nearly 13 years. I've been lucky enough to come to the F1's every year. And I feel like they've got more and more exciting as Abu Dhabi has sort of evolved on the international stage. But, you know, the place is just alive. Thursday, Friday, Saturday,
Sunday, particularly Friday, Saturday and Sunday. But the city itself is alive. You know F1 is going on.
BERMAN: Yes.
ANDERSON: Like Saif said, they had 339,000 people this year.
BERMAN: Oh, you're kidding me.
ANDERSON: I mean that is a huge number. They beat their forecast. They beat their targets. And that's a lot of people coming in.
Last race of the season, it was a cliffhanger this year, of course. So, yes, it is absolutely electric. And when you get those opportunities to see Brad Pitt, of course, in the "F1" movie, which as you were finding out was shot here in real time at the end of the race last year, that's just the sort of cherry on the top.
BERMAN: I can't imagine what it would have been like for him to film that to where, you know, we saw Brad Pitt's racing suit. And he was a little bit shorter than I am, just to be clear,
ANDERSON: Yes. I'm looking at you in that helmet and this and I'm thinking, how do I get this off?
BERMAN: I know. No, no.
ANDERSON: I don't know whether the viewers really want to see me still in this.
BERMAN: I think I look hot. I look hot in this. Yes.
ANDERSON: Buttons open and all of that. Look at that.
BERMAN: Sorry, a little racy -- a little racy for daytime content on New Year's Eve, Becky.
ANDERSON: Listen, so that's it from us for the time being. That's us on the track here.
Kristie and Will, I don't know if we wet your appetite, Kristie. I know that Will's been to Abu Dhabi. He's experienced some of what's on our fair (ph). But we need to see you here.
STOUT: You sure have, Becky. John and Becky, that was -- I need to get there because, Becky and John, that was electric. That was pedal to the metal. That was hairpin turns. Anything could happen. No one crashed. You both have excellent looks on. And also, can we just do a shout-out for the CNN engineers and videographers, because that video feed was clean. This is classic CNN. We saw that live.
And this is the moment, my friends. Do you remember the movie "Talladega Nights"? This is when you give each other a fist bump and you say, shake and bake, baby. Shake and bake.
ANDERSON: Absolutely. Yes. Yes, yes.
STOUT: There we go. Well done.
BERMAN: Shake and bake. Shake and bake.
ANDERSON: Shake and bake.
BERMAN: All right.
ANDERSON: But you're absolutely right, shout out to those engineers. I mean they've done a terrific job. And they will continue to do so as we move through New Year's Eve. We're some hours away, so do join us later for our big party here in Abu Dhabi.
STOUT: That's right.
BERMAN: Happy New Year!
STOUT: Happy New Year. And we will see you soon. Thank you so much, John and Becky.
Now still to come, I think I'm surrounded by mascots behind me. Live in Bangkok, we've got so much more to come. We're going to focus on food, the best accessory for any New Year's Eve party. And if you're in Japan, you can't go wrong with sushi unless you try this next challenge. Our correspondents sit down for the ultimate taste test with a twist. We're going to find out what's really in your sushi, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:27:41]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAGGIE KANG, CREATOR, CO-DIRECTOR AND CO-WRITER OF "KPOP DEMON HUNTERS": Hi, everyone. This is Maggie Kang, director of "Kpop Demon Hunters." Happy New Year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: Well, she's incredible. I love "Kpop Demon Hunters."
RIPLEY: Me too.
STOUT: Now, welcome back. You're watching CNN NEW YEAR'S EVE LIVE. That is the scene live in Tokyo. New Year's festivities ramping up in the Japanese capital as the countdown to 2026 continues.
Welcome back. CNN's team is taking you all around the world as you ring in a new year.
RIPLEY: It's already 2026 in Australia and New Zealand, where they have reached the pinnacle. But we're still waiting for midnight in Shanghai and Hong Kong. They're going to be there soon.
STOUT: And also Tokyo. It is Tokyo's turn next in just over 30 minutes from now.
RIPLEY: So, let's go to our intrepid, talented, amazing Tokyo correspondent, Ms. Hanako Montgomery, who is the pro on social media, the pro on TV, and apparently she's a pro when it comes to something else that's about to happen right now.
Hanako.
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I have one last shenanigan to round out 2025, you guys. It is our very own CNN taste test. Our Tokyo producers have very kindly prepared some sushi for us all to try. But there is one little catch. One of us will be spiked with some extra wasabi in true Japanese game style fashion. But, of course, very exciting. Do you guys have your sushi?
STOUT: We got it.
RIPLEY: Yes. Can we open it? Can we open our sushi?
MONTGOMERY: You got it. Yes.
RIPLEY: Can we unbox it? OK.
MONTGOMERY: Yes, except, OK --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a whole plate in front of me.
MONTGOMERY: We can unbox it except, before we actually try the sushi first, amazing, we do have spice cures, though, just in case things get a little too spicy, we can't handle the heat. We should have our own -- very own spice cures. I actually have a Hokkaido. It's starting to melt now, but our Hokkaido ice cream here again just in case I have been spiked with some wasabi in my salmon sushi I will be taking a bite from this ice cream.
Do you guys have anything? A spice cure as well?
STOUT: Yes, we got our Thai iced tea here in Bangkok. So, we're ready to handle the spice if it comes on strong.
RIPLEY: We are. But I hope you didn't spike my sushi, Hanako. I like wasabi, but to a point.
[09:30:02]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kristie, I got my grass jelly drink that you were telling me about the other day.
MONTGOMERY: I can't -- I can't make any promises.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been looking forward to trying this.
STOUT: You're going to love
