On Friday 28th of June my F1 dreams came true, I got to go to Silverstone. Not only did I get to see the track, but I got to watch the cars going round for their two Friday Free Practice sessions. Sitting at Club corner I watched as the cars navigated the wet track of the morning, I saw Pic lose control and hit the barriers, before his car was moved to underneath our grandstand to sit out the rest of the session. I looked on as the track dried, Rosberg went quickest and Massa crashed for the third weekend in a row.
The weekend before the British Grand Prix I had just finished my first week of my new job (I am working in HR during the summer between my 2nd and 3rd years of University). I had gone back to my house at University with the car to pick up the stuff I needed for the summer I had been unable to carry on the train. When I got home my dad told me he had received a very exciting text message. He had heard from a family member, who had a spare ticket to join him at the Friday Practice for the British Grand Prix. Well there were a lot of girlish squeals and hand flapping at the prospect, I just had to get the day off work! So I emailed my boss, who told me she couldn’t say no to me about F1! So the stage was set, I was going to Silverstone!
Now, I am sure you are all wondering who this mystery family member is! Well I was too before Friday! So, my dad’s grandmother Ada had a brother called George. George had a son called Peter, Peter is my dad’s dad’s cousin. Still following? Good! So, it was Peter who texted my dad, and was with him and his son Phil that I went to the Formula One. It was the first time I had met either Peter or Phil, and I must say they were even more F1 mad than me, something that I enjoyed very much! I arrived at Peter’s house on Thursday, and we spent hours talking about Formula One, as well as having the classic 2008 British Grand Prix on TV in the background. It was at this point that the next surprise was revealed, our vehicle for the journey to the track, a Maserati GranTurismo, called Felipe Maserati (How brilliant it that?!).
So, Friday morning we set off for the track, our bags packed with flags, headphones and excitement. As I did not have any F1 shirts at this point of the day, I wore silver to support Lewis Hamilton in his Silver Arrow. Unfortunately, it was wet and raining as we made our way to the track, and it was still pouring as the 1hr30m session began. While there was little action on the track, the atmosphere in the stands was electric. Whenever a car came towards club corner everyone seemed to sit up a little bit in their seats, and there was an almost audible intake of breath and a deep sigh as they chose to go into the pits.
As the session went on this kept happening, though I was just so happy to be seeing cars at all. Then all a sudden one driver decided it was time to skip the pit and go around again. To the joy of the crowd it was Brit Paul Di Resta! Cheers went up as the water created a rooster tail of spray behind him! It took a little while for another car to follow suit. It was the Toro Rosso’s of Ricciado and Vergne who started setting times first, and it was Ricciardo with the fastest time.
With around 20 minutes if the session to go the rain eased slightly and more and more cars ventured out to do laps. Most kept i on the track, Pic had different idea. As he was entering the final corner, he lost the back of the car, spun, went through the gravel and hit the barrier. Luckily he got out of the car injury free.
Between the two F1 Practice sessions we got to watch the GP2 cars practice. As it was drying out they were able to have a proper practice before their qualifying later in the day. It was an hour session, and while they were going round I realised that some of these drivers were the future of Formula One. These are the young drivers who could well be the next World Champions; they could be the next Hamilton’s, Vettel’s, Alonso’s, Button’s and Raikkonen’s. Who knows maybe one will be the next Michael Schumacher!
On the GP2 practice was done there was a 1hr30min break, which could only mean one thing! It was shopping time! Now when I say shopping time, I mean mainly window shopping, as I am still a student, and there were a lot of things that were about £200! However, I did treat myself to a really nice Mercedes AMG t-shirt, plus I was able to get the boyfriend a birthday present (which I can not reveal as he tells me he reads this blog!) and got a Mercedes AMG Michael Schumacher bear for my sister, she loves he cuddly toys. This was all bought in the F1 village, which was full of all sorts of fun! Not only was there all the merchandise stalls, but you could have a go at a pitstop, you could drive in a simulator and so much more! There was also a huge stage with musical acts for those camping for the whole weekend, which you may have seen in the build up to the race on SkyF1 when Johnny Herbert and David Croft took control of the Microphones!
With the shopping done it was time for Free Practice Two, and the rain had stopped, which meant the talk turned to which tyres the drivers would be starting on. Would they start on the Inters? Or would it be dry enough for slicks? The answer was slicks, and many of the teams opted to test the prototype slicks provided by Pirelli. It was a hive of activity out on track, with teams looking to make up for the loss of running time in the morning session. In fact at one point 20 cars were out on track. The noise was absolutely immense! They just zoomed past and I just could not believe the difference between live and on TV.
It made me realise just how much I love this sport. Even when there is all the politics, feuds and controversy you can just go and sit there and listen. Listen to the engines, watch the car go past right in front of your eyes.
So, once the beautiful team that is Mercedes (sensing a bias here?) showed their speed by posting the fastest lap, it was time to head back for an F1 themed dinner! Peter was very clever with this, and I think I may have to steal the name at one point. We had Pasta Maldonado! It was a delicious meal of creamy chicken and bacon with penne, the perfect meal after a day in the wet watching the cars speed past! We were joined at dinner by Peter’s friends, Kevin and Shelia as well as their son Ben, who were joining them at Silverstone for the rest of the race weekend.
Over dinner the talk was all about the cars, and there was a great trivia question which I want to put to anyone reading! Can you name the last Constructor to win a race with a Maserati engine, who was the driver, where was the race and what year was it? Of course this can not be answered by anyone at Peter’s dinner table on Friday Free practice day! Give your answers in the comments. Get it right and you will gain the respect of all (because I don’t have a real prize to give out!).
8 Engine Rule 