Going to a Formula One race?

InternetLuddite said:
I was a big into F1 (quit watching the borefest it became 4 years ago). I was so chuffed to be able to attend Silverstone GP but having done it once - vowed never to do it again. We didn't know what the heck was happening, the screens sorta helped but not much. It was much more exciting to watch from the couch. What I loved was the noise and speed of those things which the TV never captured that well.

Also managed to get a visit to the Brawn factory two days before Mercedes bought them out - that was a brilliant 4 hours including seeing a whole F1 car 'flat packed' ... Maybe see if you can get that organized if you have mates working with IT suppliers who support F1 teams. The suppliers normally also have their 'events' at the F1 factories. Seemed to be common in England.
Click to expand...

most sports are better to watch from the couch

but yeah i also doubt i would spend so much for a live f1 race
 
My 2 cents.

Malaysia has always been one of the more affordable GP’s to go an watch. Getting their hasn’t been to expensive, race tickets are not too bad, and the cost accommodation and food etc in Kuala Lumpur is not too bad either.

Yes there are travel agents that do the full tour experience including race tickets, transfers etc. This is a good option to go for if the prices seem okay to you. Usually you will travel with and stay in the same hotel with a lot of other South Africans and it can be a fun experience. You will make some new friends etc.

If not, you may want to consider booking things yourself, but you will need time to do some research.
You need to do some research because:
1) most races tracks are not in the big cities, so you will need to work out where to stay, how to get to and back from the track.
2) you will need to decide where you want to sit. Each section of the track has different ticket prices, and offers different “views”. Famous corners will offer good opportunities to see overtaking and to get a good look at the race. Pit lane seats, usually the most expensive, allows you to see all the build up on start finish line, you see all the action of the pit stops, you get to see the podium ceremony afterwards. Depending on the start finish line setup, sometime you get to witness raw speed here. You must find a grandstand with access to TV screens, else you will struggle to follow the race (unless you a true fundi).
3) you will also need to choose between a 1 day race tickets, or 3 day tickets etc.

The advantages of the above is that you could save some bucks then booking a full tour. It’s a bit more authentic, you can decide where to go after races, how long you want to stay at the track etc. Its an adventure, you will have to work out a lot, and make your way around but its super fun to do.

European GP tracks are older, and unless you paying for the most expensive tickets, you will almost always be sitting exposed to the elements, either getting toasted in the sun or exposed to the rain. Modern tracks like Abu Dhabi and Malaysia have a lot of covered sections even in the cheaper areas. Singapore is a night race – very easy to watch as you wont get toasted in the sun. European costs are also more – food, drink, hotels etc.

Another factor to consider is what other activities the GP provides. Singapore and Abhu Dhabi both have concerts after the days events starting from Thursday evening. These are usually big name international artists, and the cost of admission is free with a ticket for the days events. I suspect the other newer GPs will have similar.
 
Ive been for the Italian and Spanish GPs. Both times I booked on Bookf1.com. You can get a decent grandstand for around R3k for the weekend. The popular grandstand get sold out relatively quickly so once you've decided on the venue, check out the review of the stands and that should help. At both GPs we were in the vicinity of Turn 1. Make sure that there is a screen opposite the stand. The cheapest tickets you can get are general admission, but you have to get to the track early to get a good spot. If you get weekend tickets, you can sit anywhere for the Practices but have to sit at your seat for Quali and the Race.

The weekend tickets normally include a pit lane walk on the Thursday, P1 and P2 on Friday, P3 and Quali on Saturday and the Main Race on Sunday. There are also GP2 and Porsch races in between.
Most races are located within the vicinity of a city. Monza is about 20kms from Milan and Montmelo about 35kms. There are trains and buses that run from the cities to the track for the entire weekend. You have to walk a fair distance within the tracks though.
Usually things are quite organised and easy to get around. In Italy for instance there are free trains from Milan to the track on Sat and Sun that leave from the Central Station. There are also bus tour operators that run a shuttle service for the weekend at a decent price.

You are never going to get the same viewing experience at a race as compared to tv, so if that's what you expect than you will be disappointed. But its the experience and atmosphere at the race that cant be compared to anything you watch on tv. And its not only at the track, the entire city gets taken over by F1 fans and teams. Def worth doing if you are an F1 fan.
 
Agree with either Spa or Silverstone

Get a seat at Les Combes at the end of the Kemmel Straight at Spa or at the end of the Hangar Straight into Stowe at Silverstone (both overtaking hotspots with loads of incident potential *cough* Rosberg & Hamilton in 2014 *cough*). Since Silverstone is built on an old airfield, it's flat and open meaning you can see and hear the cars a lot more than at other circuits which probably makes it better value. Not to mention the history of the circuit.

EDIT: Does it have to be F1? What about MotoGP? You get three races in a day and the action is fast, furious and never ending.
 
You can go the travel agent route or book everything yourself. Cheap ones to attend is Australia, Malaysia and Abu Dhabi. The classics like Monza, Spa, Silverstone tend to be more on the expensive side.

Best seats are anywhere opposite the pit building or in the overtaking spots (e.g. into Turn 1) which makes photo opportunities great as well. Grand stand (preferably closed) are the best, unless your friend is the walk about type. Some venues allow walk about tickets that give general access to all areas of the track except for grand stands. With grandstands though, seating is reserved.

Organisers usually include a free pit lane walk on the Thursday if you buy 3-day tickets. Hospitality tickets include pit lane walks as well and provide your basic food and beverage at the track and there's usually a reserved seat included as well.

Have a look at the hotels around, say 5-10km radius from the track if you want to save a bit on the accommodation. Remember the teams book out entire hotels close to the track and as with all hotels, the prices go up around that weekend. Look at the public transport available as well. SOme packages include transfers to the track but not all days.

All inclusive packages appear cheap but look carefully at the tickets you're getting. Usually the cheapest with limited views or something like that. You are allowed to choose different types of tickets but that just adds to the cost of the package. Be careful of some site that also look cheap but they're just tickets and accommodation and excludes flights.

Most of the tickets that you buy come with earplugs and all that jazz. The program you have to buy at the track.

Italy would be the best one to attend. The craziness of the fans is epic to witness and the track invasion is something to behold.

Maybe this will help with your decision making http://f1destinations.com/
Some great information from people who've attended races

Take a big SA flag with and enjoy it
 
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Ecco said:
My 2 cents.

Malaysia has always been one of the more affordable GP’s to go an watch. Getting their hasn’t been to expensive, race tickets are not too bad, and the cost accommodation and food etc in Kuala Lumpur is not too bad either.

Yes there are travel agents that do the full tour experience including race tickets, transfers etc. This is a good option to go for if the prices seem okay to you. Usually you will travel with and stay in the same hotel with a lot of other South Africans and it can be a fun experience. You will make some new friends etc.

If not, you may want to consider booking things yourself, but you will need time to do some research.
You need to do some research because:
1) most races tracks are not in the big cities, so you will need to work out where to stay, how to get to and back from the track.
2) you will need to decide where you want to sit. Each section of the track has different ticket prices, and offers different “views”. Famous corners will offer good opportunities to see overtaking and to get a good look at the race. Pit lane seats, usually the most expensive, allows you to see all the build up on start finish line, you see all the action of the pit stops, you get to see the podium ceremony afterwards. Depending on the start finish line setup, sometime you get to witness raw speed here. You must find a grandstand with access to TV screens, else you will struggle to follow the race (unless you a true fundi).
3) you will also need to choose between a 1 day race tickets, or 3 day tickets etc.

The advantages of the above is that you could save some bucks then booking a full tour. It’s a bit more authentic, you can decide where to go after races, how long you want to stay at the track etc. Its an adventure, you will have to work out a lot, and make your way around but its super fun to do.

European GP tracks are older, and unless you paying for the most expensive tickets, you will almost always be sitting exposed to the elements, either getting toasted in the sun or exposed to the rain. Modern tracks like Abu Dhabi and Malaysia have a lot of covered sections even in the cheaper areas. Singapore is a night race – very easy to watch as you wont get toasted in the sun. European costs are also more – food, drink, hotels etc.

Another factor to consider is what other activities the GP provides. Singapore and Abhu Dhabi both have concerts after the days events starting from Thursday evening. These are usually big name international artists, and the cost of admission is free with a ticket for the days events. I suspect the other newer GPs will have similar.
Click to expand...

Aventus said:
Ive been for the Italian and Spanish GPs. Both times I booked on Bookf1.com. You can get a decent grandstand for around R3k for the weekend. The popular grandstand get sold out relatively quickly so once you've decided on the venue, check out the review of the stands and that should help. At both GPs we were in the vicinity of Turn 1. Make sure that there is a screen opposite the stand. The cheapest tickets you can get are general admission, but you have to get to the track early to get a good spot. If you get weekend tickets, you can sit anywhere for the Practices but have to sit at your seat for Quali and the Race.

The weekend tickets normally include a pit lane walk on the Thursday, P1 and P2 on Friday, P3 and Quali on Saturday and the Main Race on Sunday. There are also GP2 and Porsch races in between.
Most races are located within the vicinity of a city. Monza is about 20kms from Milan and Montmelo about 35kms. There are trains and buses that run from the cities to the track for the entire weekend. You have to walk a fair distance within the tracks though.
Usually things are quite organised and easy to get around. In Italy for instance there are free trains from Milan to the track on Sat and Sun that leave from the Central Station. There are also bus tour operators that run a shuttle service for the weekend at a decent price.

You are never going to get the same viewing experience at a race as compared to tv, so if that's what you expect than you will be disappointed. But its the experience and atmosphere at the race that cant be compared to anything you watch on tv. And its not only at the track, the entire city gets taken over by F1 fans and teams. Def worth doing if you are an F1 fan.
Click to expand...

HumanShield said:
You can go the travel agent route or book everything yourself. Cheap ones to attend is Australia, Malaysia and Abu Dhabi. The classics like Monza, Spa, Silverstone tend to be more on the expensive side.

Best seats are anywhere opposite the pit building or in the overtaking spots (e.g. into Turn 1) which makes photo opportunities great as well. Grand stand (preferably closed) are the best, unless your friend is the walk about type. Some venues allow walk about tickets that give general access to all areas of the track except for grand stands. With grandstands though, seating is reserved.

Organisers usually include a free pit lane walk on the Thursday if you buy 3-day tickets. Hospitality tickets include pit lane walks as well and provide your basic food and beverage at the track and there's usually a reserved seat included as well.

Have a look at the hotels around, say 5-10km radius from the track if you want to save a bit on the accommodation. Remember the teams book out entire hotels close to the track and as with all hotels, the prices go up around that weekend. Look at the public transport available as well. SOme packages include transfers to the track but not all days.

All inclusive packages appear cheap but look carefully at the tickets you're getting. Usually the cheapest with limited views or something like that. You are allowed to choose different types of tickets but that just adds to the cost of the package. Be careful of some site that also look cheap but they're just tickets and accommodation and excludes flights.

Most of the tickets that you buy come with earplugs and all that jazz. The program you have to buy at the track.

Italy would be the best one to attend. The craziness of the fans is epic to witness and the track invasion is something to behold.

Maybe this will help with your decision making http://f1destinations.com/
Some great information from people who've attended races

Take a big SA flag with and enjoy it
Click to expand...
wow - thanks for the detailed write-up guys.

Starting to realise this is going to take a hell of a lot more planning than I though. Guess I can't wing this as I'm fond of doing. :/

Initial number crunching suggests Monza will work out best financially. Flights are a bit cheaper than I thought since we'd meet half-way & I'm used to UK-ZA flight prices. Then again didn't factor in 3 days accommodation in my initial estimate. Might need to park this till August though. :(
 
gregmcc said:
Went 15 years ago or so to Silverstone. Was amazing - worth every cent. Take a few ear plugs with...bloody hell its LOUD!
Click to expand...

15 years ago you were blessed with the symphony of 3L V10 engines, these days the F1 engines aren't anywhere near as awesome to listen to, earplugs are probably optional :(
 
NarrowBandFtw said:
15 years ago you were blessed with the symphony of 3L V10 engines, these days the F1 engines aren't anywhere near as awesome to listen to, earplugs are probably optional :(
Click to expand...
I was at Abu Dhabi last year and was surprised at how quiet they actually were. I even told my friends I was disappointed.
 
Spizz said:
I was at Abu Dhabi last year and was surprised at how quiet they actually were. I even told my friends I was disappointed.
Click to expand...

:( I scratched attending a live F1 race off my bucket list due to this, at least I've heard the old engines up close at Killarney, literally sends vibrations through your body:
[video=youtube;eCdbKXLShVs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCdbKXLShVs[/video]
 
We went to watch the Singapore F1 two years ago. It was amazing. The night race was awesome to watch and there was a huge party afterwards in Marina Bay :D The fact that it is a street circuit meant it was easily accessible with public transport with a lot to do in the surrounding area. We booked everything separately, flights and F1 tickets.
Our accommodation was free though (my father worked in Singapore during that time), which made it not too a expensive trip. There were more than enough screens around the circuit to know was happening in the race. I would definitely recommend the trip!
 
WRT the sound... The "new" F1 cars are very quiet. Did not even need ear plugs. The classic car race before the F1 event was a different story though, permanent hearing loss type noise!
 
w@nted said:
We went to watch the Singapore F1 two years ago. It was amazing. The night race was awesome to watch and there was a huge party afterwards in Marina Bay :D The fact that it is a street circuit meant it was easily accessible with public transport with a lot to do in the surrounding area. We booked everything separately, flights and F1 tickets.
Our accommodation was free though (my father worked in Singapore during that time), which made it not too a expensive trip. There were more than enough screens around the circuit to know was happening in the race. I would definitely recommend the trip!
Click to expand...

how much in total?
 
w@nted said:
We went to watch the Singapore F1 two years ago. It was amazing. The night race was awesome to watch and there was a huge party afterwards in Marina Bay :D The fact that it is a street circuit meant it was easily accessible with public transport with a lot to do in the surrounding area. We booked everything separately, flights and F1 tickets.
Our accommodation was free though (my father worked in Singapore during that time), which made it not too a expensive trip. There were more than enough screens around the circuit to know was happening in the race. I would definitely recommend the trip!
Click to expand...

Went in 2015. Stayed and extra few days. Night race is something else. It's awesome
 
The flight tickets were about R8000 pp return (Singapore airlines)
The F1 tickets were R 4500pp for free roam tickets. With these tickets we could walk around the circuit and sit at various stands. No main straight and pit access though.
 
HavocXphere my dear friend!!! Remember that time in Grade 1 when that bully - I forgot his name - wanted your lunch? And I offered mine as well because I was afraid he would beat me up? No?

//sigh. At least I tried.

:D

Lucky friend. Enjoy it.
 
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