Formula 1

The new season is underway, with bloody Ferrari again being very strong, and that damn Schumacher again winning. Hopefully, rest of the teams will catch up, so we season will be interesting as last year. I certainly hope so that my McLaren will get their grip.

I was fortunate enough to attend last year’s Silverstone race. Lovely weather, good race and cheerful crowd make it all worthwhile. It was very, very fun, I would certainly like to go again.

Crowded as usual

Map of the race track

I got the tickets by luck and good connection that some friends in the UK had. Price on the day of the race is £60–150, if you are lucky enough to find them. Usually, it‘s all sold out way before the race. I.e. tickets for this year‘s race were already on sale, for £110 average.

The trickiest part was to get to Silverstone. From London, best option is a 9.42 train to Northampton, where there are lots of local buses waiting to drive you to the Silverstone, which is around 20 miles further. There are also special buses from London (I saw them when I get to the track). Anw, I got there just before noon, 2h before the race.

Imagine 22 cars, roaring with 800hp each

Ah! The smell of burnign rubber…

My ticket was for Copse E entrance, and the bus stopped at the main entrance, at the Luffield. “Oh, that’s just around the corner and straight ahead” someone told me. Yes, straight ahead for about 25 minutes. :) Copse is the stand just across the pit exit, so I could see the drivers coming out. Almost each one of them stops at the exit, vrroooom to the max and fly off. Adrenaline rush, right from the start. When the race went off, I couldn’t hear myself from the high-octane engine revving.

Later, I got off the stands (I froze from the chilling wind after 20 minutes) and went very near the track, to smell the rubber. You got to be there to understand the filling of 900hp swooshing through.

Rubens won, and it was a deserved win – he really drove the best race.

After the race, there was plenty to see. Each team had a stand and while I was mostly over at McLaren’s, I must say that Michelin stole the show. They got one F1 car branded in their colours and logo, and everyone could jump in, for free. Of course, pit babes were there too. It’s pretty jammed in there, and you can’t get in or out if the wheel is in place. Even with my overweight, I slid in. There was no engine to start though.

Mercedes and BMW were showcasing their cars, Toyota was giving away lots of free materials, Jaguar had excellent boxes with detailed videos about the racing car…a truly amazing experience. I can only hope to get myself on some other track as well.

When you knock the chassis, it’s an amazing sound, metalic plastic something…

Now, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity :)

Rubens won, to the delight of its fans