53 replies to this topic

[PayasYouRace]

A lot depends on the circuit. Watching the British Grand Prix from Becketts is spectacular for a while, but it's harder to follow the race because you only see the cars for a while. Meanwhile at Jerez, you can see large portions of the track from most vantage points. Following a race is easier at a track like that.

 

Those are the only two circuits I've seen Grands Prix at. Forever regretting not making the walk round to the back-straight stands for the 1997 European GP. Where I was was a good place to watch, but I missed the Villeneuve/Schumacher collision. Obviously I had no way of knowing that would happen, but I remember telling my parents that we'd probably see more overtaking there. In the end we decided on the stand on the inside of T8, opposite the chicane. We could see most of the "stadium" section behind the pits, and T1 in the distance.

 

(Tickets for that event were for each price bracket, (gold/silver/bronze stands) but you had a choice of which stand in your price backet to watch from. F1 wasn't all that popular in Spain back then.)

 

I'm reminded of a story my dad tells me from the 1987 Spanish GP. I was too young to attend. It was at the height of Mansell-mania, and the grandstands were basically full of British ex-pats. In the seats infront were a Spanish man and his young son. The stands would errupt in cheering whenever Nigel passed, on his way to a dominant win. Apparently at some point the boy asked "Dad, how's Adrian (Campos) doing?" to which the father angrily replied "Shut up boy!" (in Spanish of course).

 

You don't get stories like that when you watch in your living room.

[ScuderiaSV1]

Thanks for all the replies guys!Jesus Christ I feel like getting a bank loan now to go to one next year!
I made a pact with my dad that we would only go to an F1 race when it comes back to the continent (Africa) or to the classic tracks.Bernie is always talking about South Africa but its like they are still recovering from the world cup and don't seem particularly interested.There are rumors of Morocco but access to the north African countries is really tricky and bloody expensive!(Imagine its cheaper to go London from where I am then go to Morocco!) plus the prices in those Arab countries will be unbelievably high.
My best bet is Abu Dhabi but it doesn't seem to have the same atmosphere,or  I am wrong?

Just remember that F1 will be running V6 turbos next year, and obviously those engines won't sound anything like the current V8's.

That's one of the reasons I was hellbent on returning for another live GP this year.. In case I have to wait for a decade to hear a normally aspirated engine again..

[Murraytastic]

For me there's not much that beats seeing F1 cars live for all the reasons that have already been mentioned.  I've been to race weekends and the young driver test at Silverstone and found them both brilliant and awesome in different ways.

 

I love the atmosphere and the buzz at race weekends, the feeling that you are a part of the whole spectacle.  Qualifying is a little frustrating to watch live as unless you have live timing info available you have no idea whatsoever what is going on (the crowd are usually turning round at the end asking each other who is on pole) but there's still enough excitement watching the cars for me.  In the race, as others have said, as long as you can recognise cars and helmet colours it is quite easy to see who is in which position and the gaps between them and it is fun trying to figure out what is going on.  I don't tend to look at the big screens (unless everyone starts to point at them meaning something significant has happened) as I would rather watch the cars coming past me.

 

Some of the non track action aspects are pretty amazing too.  I have a great memory of sitting on the grass by the side of the track in the sunshine listening to the post race concert while my kids collected tyre marbles and little bits of carbon fibre.  Being part of the pit straight mexican wave in the red flagged quali of 2012 also stands out.

 

Going to the young driver test was very different but equally fun.  The lack of crowds meant an easy choice of seats in different places, a good view for photos, (it was a shame that some areas of the track were off limits though) and there were no huge queues for the food stalls or toilets.  The weather was glorious and spending a couple of days just relaxing and enjoying the sights and sounds of the cars was one of the highlights of my summer.

 

Something else that blew me away was seeing cars in the wet.  It is so much more obvious than on TV how the drivers are really struggling to keep control of the car at every moment; you can really see exactly how awesome their car control is.

[TimRTC]

The biggest gulf between attendance and TV viewing is certainly drag racing. Tried watching it on TV a couple of times and it just doesn't work, but attend in person and it is the most thrilling racing event you will ever see.