After following F1 since 1994 , i finally saw a GP as one should - by being a guest in the Paddock Club , hosted by team Vodafone Mclaren Mercedes. I had the best 3 days of my life in a sporting environment.

The facilities, the organisers, the Park and ride , the track and of course the Pit lane walk were all fantastic. The Mclaren team are also outstanding hosts - all 3 drivers - Hamilton , Hekki, Pedro came to the hospitality room and we had a "private" briefing about the day, Ron Dennis was there on race day , The food was delicious , the glasses were never empty of champagne, etc etc etc. All in all , i am going to make damn sure i get the invite also for next year.

The only difference between the Paddock Club and watching it from a grandstand is that you are more involved in the actual racing from the grandstand, while in the PC, it is more of a social event. I would hazard a guess and say that more than 75% of the people in the PC were not actual followers of F1 , but were there to be seen in the social event of the year. A lot of them did not even go out to the balcony to watch the race ..

I am now going to try and link some photos - I hope it works

Congrats!
We want photos...

Interesting story Hotwheels.

I was lucky enough to attending the Australian Grand Prix in the Paddock Club in 2004, also with McLaren.

Was really excellent, great view, and many, many free packets of cigarettes!

Fixed for you Hotwheels

Jeez man, jealousy factor ten.

Awesome shots man!

I was above the Mclaren pit stop, on my left was Ferrari and to my right was BMW.

Ok - when i try and post a message pops up : You have entered a link to a website that the administrator does not allow links to

As said in Monty Python's Life of Brian - You lucky bastard!

Great - thanks. How did you know these were mine ??

Photos by Hotwheels.

Nice

Yep the Paddock Club, while a tad pricey.... is truly a superb way to see a Grand Prix. I did this with tickets from RBS in Hungary in 2007....truly superb.. if you speak with the right people, you can really get some great access to areas you probably should not be in!

I grabbed a lod of shots like this to have a closer look at the cars later...


If you ever get the chance or can save up the moolah.... its very much worth it.... I think F1 paddock club is around 3500 pounds basic for the weekend? and it can go up from there.

Great Photos

Wonder what Kimi is saying to Lewis "Whats this firm like to work for now?"