Ya, that was ridiculous. Fun race though, lots of overtaking, even if some of it happened off the track *cough* Max *cough*. Not much room for Vettel now.
Hey everyone, I wanted to know if anyone has attended a F1 race before? If so would you have any recommendations of what the best track would be to go watch a race?
My dad is turning 60 this year and as a family really wanna send him to a race, but not sure which one would be the "best" experience. My first thought was monaco or singapore, perhaps Montreal?
Can’t be beat for price, location of track, no language issues (pretty much everyone speaks English), good crowd, usually good racing.
Monaco and Singapore would be a lot more expensive. I’d guess at least 3-5x more. Maybe more than that even. I could do a whole weekend in Montreal, include flight, accommodations, ticket, spending money, for the price of a plane ticket to Singapore or Monaco. And for as amazing as they are in terms of spectacle, both tracks are known for producing the worst races that are processional with little to no passing and the race being decided in qualifying.
Assuming any race in the world is on the list I’d say Monza would be near the top of my list. I’d also consider the track in Austin which usually produces good racing and is a great city.
I’d say it depends on what your dad wants and what you want to spend. You could probably do a full weekend vip experience in Montreal for the price of a single night hotel in Monaco.
Would your dad prefer Europe or Asia? Or does he prefer less exotic locations? Is he more of a budget traveller? Are you? Or are you both into more luxurious vacations? Would you want comfortable hotels even if super expensive? Cool with Airbnb? Camping? Any places you know he’s fond of? If you’re of English decent, maybe Silverstone would be preferred by your dad. Or if he’s Italian, or even a huge Ferrari fan, maybe Monza is better.
Monaco is viewed as one of the Crown Jewels of racing though, so if that’s on the list it is hard to argue against it. Montreal is cool but you could go every year. Monaco or Singapore are once in a lifetime trips for most people.
Funny you mentioned Singapore, Monaco and Montreal. 3 of the only races that are in the middle of the city. Most places you have to drive, camp or take a shuttle/bus to get to the track because they’re outside the city.
If you decide on Montreal feel free to message me for more details if you like.
Last edited by Cecil Terwilliger; 01-08-2018 at 05:47 PM.
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Oh and plan early. Or at least don’t wait until the last minute. Montreal tickets went on sale in August. Will be picked over by the time the season gets going in March/April. Stubhub always an option of course. But hotels and Airbnb get booked early too and it’ll be easier to find a place if you act soon.
Reddit has a travel guide database with advice for each track. Plus you can find lots of other advice online on where to sit, where to stay, how to get to track etc.
Last edited by Cecil Terwilliger; 01-08-2018 at 05:56 PM.
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Great, thanks a lot. He actually works out of Houston so now that you mentioned it, Austin could be a good choice to try out first. Maybe once he retires he could head overseas somewhere and see one in Europe or Asia.
I've been to Austin once. It was the last year of the V8 formula and I'm glad I got feel those engines. I haven't been able to hear a V6 hybrid live, but hearing a V8 zip past is indescribable.
We sat at the end of the long DRS straight leading towards the infeild section. That was basically all we could see. Lots of overtaking right in front of us, but could not see the start or much else of the circuit.
I've been to most other forms of high level Motorsport in North America including IndyCar, NASCAR, World of Outlaws, Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model and a bunch of short track dirt tracks around the upper Midwest. F1 is a spectacle unlike any other. Everything was timed down to the minute. The on track time for practice is limited to the point that they make maximum use of it. As an example, if Free Practice starts at noon local time, the moment the giant Rolex clocks they have positioned around the circuit strike noon, the cars are screaming out of the pits. There is a reason that the Sky Sports coverage shows the clock on race day before they scroll through the grid, that's exactly how it happens. It's all highly choreographed. It really is a finely tuned event.
We turned up on Thursday to grab our tickets from will call and were able to walk the track, not sure if you can do this anymore or not. The teams were all set up in the paddock and we were able to watch Ferrari practice pit stops which was pretty incredible to see up close. We were able to walk the track post race as is normal custom for F1. The hike from the grid up to turn 1 is incredible. It's not easy to walk up, let alone race a car.
We took the shuttle from downtown Austin, so am unable to comment on parking or travel to and from the track. Shuttle was very fast, but you had to walk about a mile (or more depending on where you were sitting) to get to the track. The amenities are very nice, but everything is so, so expensive. Once you prepare yourself for that, it's quite the experience.
I'll see if I can dig some pictures or videos up online that I took from our seats.
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For an awesome and nostalgic experience visit the Historic Grand Prix of Monaco. It’s 2 weeks before the real Grand Prix. They run a variety of short races for cars ranging from Voiturettes of the teens and 20s through to the cool looking round fronted cars of the 40s and 50s and on to more F1 looking and sound cars of 60-80s.
Tickets are super affordable for what you get to see. You can sit in the Tabac or Piscine sections for $104CAD, which are 8 times that 2 weeks later. If you’re not into the particular race you can just watch what’s going on in the harbour. I thought it would be fun for a couple races but it was better than I thought. Even Mrs. Furnace had a good time and has talked about going back. Stay in Nice and bus or train it to Monaco. Super easy.
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Tabac/section K. It's the corner coming down the hill after the Nouvelle Chicane. The research I did suggested going to the top row of K. This was sound advice as you could turn around and have a bit of a view of front straight and first corner. You could also see a bit of the cars climbing the hill to the casino, the cars coming out of the tunnel, through the chicane, around the corner and then to the piscine area.
I have some digital camera videos I took from the stands. This is 6 years ago, handheld, and shot on a small camera so it's not super quality but you'll get the idea.
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Hockey is just a game the way ice cream is just glucose, love is just
a feeling, and sex is just repetitive motion.