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Formula One

I think it was a shame for F1 fans that Ferrari have had these issues. I was looking forward to seeing how the RedBull drivers would get past, and whether the tyres would last or not. I was looking forward to a good battle between them all.

I was gutted for Yuki as well, looking set for 6th place until the rear wing failure. But I have been really impressed with him this season, starting to see the sort of performances I remember watching in F2.

I cant remember the last time I saw such a big swing in points in F1, RedBull might not have the pace on Saturday, but they are delivering when it counts on Sunday.

I felt sorry for Lewis as well, came off second best when pitting under VRS, and he did not look well after the race. A great recovery drive for him to finish 4th. Mercedes are now closer to Ferrari, than Ferrari are to RedBull.
 
The Ferrari blow out ruined the race really. It probably wouldn't have changed the result much but I was looking forward to seeing how the two different strategies played out.

Red Bull seem to be in a league of their own when it comes to race pace. I was disappointed to see how far off Perez was yesterday after his brilliant qualifying session.
 
Its race weekend again. No racing yet, but already loads of stuff going off.

FIA introduce new rules to reduce the porpoising, which appear to be team specific, and could impact the performance of those which suffer the most.

Also hearing rumours on twitter that Charles will be taking a new engine, which includes a new turbo unit, which would earn him a 10 place grid penalty. I think this track, and with the weather for Saturday looking like Rain, that makes sense to me.
 
Mercedes will be slow now no doubt about it - but it’s the right thing to do front the FIA for drivers health
 
I thought Max was going to drive off in to the distance in this race, but the early pitstop under VSC and Sainz getting a free pit stop under the safety car spiced up those last 15 laps. Sainz was just not close enough to make a move, and Max did not make any mistakes.

Did Ferrari get it all wrong with Charles car? We saw what Lewis did last year coming through the field with a new engine, but Charles was lack lustre, and a slow second stop cost him dearly. The safety car helped, and he made some bold moves on the Alipne, but I dont know, I just feel like I was expecting Charles to have an easier recovery drive.

Feel sorry for Mick, was having a solid driver, on track to score points, and let down by mechanical issues.

I think the Alonso penalty was fair, there were several moves, and Bottas had to lift. Again, Magnussen, was just about right, calling him in with damage on the car.

I love Yuki, and he was having a great race, but that mistake exiting the pits is so costly. I know other drivers were talking about a bump on the exit, but this was not his first time exiting the pits. Hopefully he will bounce back at Silverstone, as he was driving really well.

Talking about Silverstone, I can not wait. Going to be great to be back at the circuit, and soaking the atmosphere in.

Oh, and allegedly Netflix have captured some heated discussions among the team bosses about the bouncing of the cars. Will be interesting to see what they show. As for the bouncing of the cars, the teams can control the car, and if the car is dangerous to drive, the team should be changing the setup to make it safe. The new rules for Silverstone will be interesting to see how they are implemented.

 
IanB said:
I thought Max was going to drive off in to the distance in this race, but the early pitstop under VSC and Sainz getting a free pit stop under the safety car spiced up those last 15 laps. Sainz was just not close enough to make a move, and Max did not make any mistakes.

Did Ferrari get it all wrong with Charles car? We saw what Lewis did last year coming through the field with a new engine, but Charles was lack lustre, and a slow second stop cost him dearly. The safety car helped, and he made some bold moves on the Alipne, but I dont know, I just feel like I was expecting Charles to have an easier recovery drive.

Feel sorry for Mick, was having a solid driver, on track to score points, and let down by mechanical issues.

I think the Alonso penalty was fair, there were several moves, and Bottas had to lift. Again, Magnussen, was just about right, calling him in with damage on the car.

I love Yuki, and he was having a great race, but that mistake exiting the pits is so costly. I know other drivers were talking about a bump on the exit, but this was not his first time exiting the pits. Hopefully he will bounce back at Silverstone, as he was driving really well.

Talking about Silverstone, I can not wait. Going to be great to be back at the circuit, and soaking the atmosphere in.

Oh, and allegedly Netflix have captured some heated discussions among the team bosses about the bouncing of the cars. Will be interesting to see what they show. As for the bouncing of the cars, the teams can control the car, and if the car is dangerous to drive, the team should be changing the setup to make it safe. The new rules for Silverstone will be interesting to see how they are implemented.

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Ferrari have two great drivers but they are consistently letting them down with poor strategy and disorganised pit-stops. Sainz was on for a win as far as I could tell but they insisted on bringing him in for new tyres - I'm not convinced that was the right thing to do. Had he stuck with the current set of tyres until the end of the race he might well have kept Max behind him until the finish line.

Leclerc was coming through the pack quite nicely but that slow pit stop got him stuck behind a DRS train and then he was never going to be challenging the Mercedes. There isn't really any excuse for a poor pit stop in my opinion, those pit crews train and train and train and they should have it nailed to a T by now.

All things considered P2 and P5 is a good result for Ferrari but it could have been so much better. I really thought we were going to see a close fight between Red Bull and Ferrari this season but they're going to have to get their act together fast if they want to be considered a serious challenge.
 
Very interesting race.

Are Merc on the way back ? It seems like they found the sweet spot yesterday, just need to get a bit more straight line pace.
 
Invade a race track where cars are going at 200mph, what could possibly go wrong!?
 
I hope nothing happens. Got memories of 2003 when Neil Horan (the infamous priest) ran down the Hangar Straight. That was bad enough.

I’m at the race this weekend (currently standing inside Brooklands watching the W Series qualifying), and it’s pretty good so far. The Ferraris look to be very good, and Merc’s upgrades seem to be working. Five teams in the top 6 in FP2 suggests we could be in for a treat this weekend.
 
Brilliant British Grand Prix yesterday! I watched it in the evening so knew there had been a big crash but everyone was ok, the halo has most definitely saved lives since its introduction.

If it wasn't for the late safety car I think Hamilton had a great chance of winning the race, or at the very least finishing second. Still, I am pleased for Sainz, and some of the racing we saw in the closing laps was epic!
 
A fantastic race. Just goes to show what hosting a GP at a proper race track can produce. Happy Sainz was able to clinch a maiden win too.

Felt Perez cutting the corner late on was a stonewall penalty and the Mexican is lucky he didn't end up fourth.

Will also add that I'm glad Zhou Guanyu is okay after that nasty crash. A real mess at the start. My friend and I both questioned cars starting on the hards and believe that was a factor.
 
Danza91 said:
A fantastic race. Just goes to show what hosting a GP at a proper race track can produce. Happy Sainz was able to clinch a maiden win too.

Felt Perez cutting the corner late on was a stonewall penalty and the Mexican is lucky he didn't end up fourth.
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Two good shouts here. Street circuits look good and make for great marketing opportunities but you don't get the same awesome racing that you can get on a proper race track. 3 cars side by side fighting for the same corner, that's what it is all about!

Perez was lucky to not get a penalty, but Red Bull can do no wrong in the eyes of the stewards!
 
Well ….. I’ve now watched the race twice - and can confirm:
- Leclerc will never be world champion
- Max is the new Lewis - great drive yesterday just to get the car hime
- Merc are back - Lewis would have won if it were not for the safety car

An absolutely fantastic race with true wheel to wheel racing and proper over taking. Just what we need….
 
Thoroughly enjoyed the race, easily the best of the season so far. Crashes aside, let's hope we see some more racing like that for the remainder of the year.
 
I attended the race yesterday, and was sat in Stirling B (on the national pits straight, conveniently right where Ocon stopped). We could tell from the screens that the red flag was thrown very quickly, but the lack of comms regarding what was going on was rather concerning. It took us a while to work out who had gone out, but when we saw the replays...Ooh, boy. In all my time watching Formula 1, I've never seen a car vault the barriers in the way that Zhou did. Having seen the pictures of the wreckage, it's clear as to why we knew nothing for ages. I'm just really glad everyone involved in the incidents was OK. Congratulations to Sainz for finally bagging his first win...though I'm still a little annoyed with myself for not putting money on him when I had a hunch earlier in the week that I thought he'd do well. :p
 
Those last ten laps were special. Five different teams battling for a podium place. Passing and re-passing each other.

Why Charles was not pitted I will never know. His defence on the used tyres (and a damaged car) was fantastic, and witnessing his overtake of Lewis at Copse was amazing, even if he did lose it after Chapel.

Fantastic recovery drive from Perez, finishing second after the early contact was a great result.

Really annoyed with Yuki, he was having a solid race with Gasly in 8th and 9th place, and on for a solid haul of points until he went in to the side of Gasly, and ruined both their races, and Max's. The piece of Gasly's rear wing that was stuck under his car was crazy. The annoying thing was he was showing great pace, as fast as Gasly, there was no need for him to try and overtake. I hope Yuki and Gasly can both have a clean race in Austria and pick up a few points, the team mechanic I spoke to on the pit wall would certainly appreciate that :)

It was fantastic to be back at Silverstone for the race, after missing the last few years due to Covid. Back in 2019, we did every session waking up nice and early to get a shower, but this year was much more laid back, and relaxed. We also took enough food to BBQ and avoid the expensive food outlets for the first for days which was a nice change of pace.

We arrived at the camp site on Wednesday and setup the tent which did not take as long as expected, but the camp site was already significantly busies than we remembered last time when we arrived on Thursday.

Thursday was just a nice chilled out day exploring the track, and having a go at some of the attractions in the Fan Zone. Myself, Jon and Mike had a go on the pitstop challenge and managed another sub 3 second stop, only for Russ to replace me as the wheel gun man, and for them to get a 2.7 second stop. Lots of fun :)

Friday we did a lap of the track, walking from Stowe to Copse to check out our grandstand for the race on Sunday (It was supposed to be Vale, but Vale had been overbooked so we ended up in Sterling B, just before Copse). We then headed down to Luffield, before going to Village. Village is a fantastic set of corners to watch the drivers, and they all seemed to be struggling to get it right.

Saturday the weather did not look great, but it did stay dry most of the day until qualifying. We made the decision to setup in Club for the day. It was a covered grandstand so would keep us dry if the rain did hit, and also provided an excellent view of the Start/Finish line, Club, and Vale. If anything, there was a bit to much to keep on top of their but that made it fun.

It was a great choice, we got to see the F3 and F2 sprint races, and the W Series race, and some of the battles going in to Vale and through Club was brilliant. I thought the track might dry during the F2 race, but it did not, the F2 cars just did not seem to shift the water which caught me out.

Qualifying was great to watch there, we just about saw Max's spin from where we were, but you could just tell Max was on a different level with how committed it was going through Vale and Club compared to the others.

Sunday we missed the first race due to its early start and the long walk from Stowe to Copse, we did see some of the action while walking but not much. There was a threat of rain, and the weather apps could not make their minds up. We had the tiniest shower ever just after the race finished, but not enough to need a coat, I think I took my coat off after five minutes as it had stopped.

I would not go with Sterling B grandstand again, we had a great view of Ocon breaking down opposite us, and as mentioned above, Charles overtaking Lewis was great, but you could not see much of the exit of Copse, but the atmosphere was great.

At the end of the race, the fans were allowed on the track, and we made our way to the Hamilton Straight to look in the pits. Russ managed to pick up a free alpine hat which was cool. Trying to get past the Mercedes pit was a bit crazy, but once we got past the Alpha Tauri and Haas garages did not have many people outside. Spoke to one of the Alpha Tauri engineers who was packing up, and they were stopping over Sunday night before heading to Austria on Monday, and starting the unpack on Tuesday. I assume it takes longer to set everything up than it does to put it away.

The Haas Team, and Mick Schumacher then came out to celebrate his first points, and we managed to avoid being covered in his champagne that he sprayed on the crowd. Was crazy how quickly a huge gathering appeared behind us when the Haas Team and Mick came out. I thought what was a really nice touch, was that Mick passed the 90% empty bottle of champagne to a fan through one of the gaps in the pit wall. Was great to be part of that moment and cheering him on.

We also saw Ted doing his notebook, and if you look closely at the first few minutes, you might spot Matt cheering Mick on. Sadly I can only see my cap in the images but I got to see Ted which was great.

Monday we packed the tent away, and headed home after a fantastic few days away. It looked like with the race running later than I remember, and the hour delay, a lot of people decided to leave on the Monday, which meant we had a little wait to get out, but overall the campsite was excellent, and I would recommend stopping at Silverstone Woodlands campsite.

If you are an F1 fan, I can not recommend enough going to Silverstone for the race. Its not the same as watching it on the TV, but it is a special experience. I am already looking forward to going next year.
 
IanB said:
Those last ten laps were special. Five different teams battling for a podium place. Passing and re-passing each other.

Why Charles was not pitted I will never know. His defence on the used tyres (and a damaged car) was fantastic, and witnessing his overtake of Lewis at Copse was amazing, even if he did lose it after Chapel.

Fantastic recovery drive from Perez, finishing second after the early contact was a great result.

Really annoyed with Yuki, he was having a solid race with Gasly in 8th and 9th place, and on for a solid haul of points until he went in to the side of Gasly, and ruined both their races, and Max's. The piece of Gasly's rear wing that was stuck under his car was crazy. The annoying thing was he was showing great pace, as fast as Gasly, there was no need for him to try and overtake. I hope Yuki and Gasly can both have a clean race in Austria and pick up a few points, the team mechanic I spoke to on the pit wall would certainly appreciate that :)

It was fantastic to be back at Silverstone for the race, after missing the last few years due to Covid. Back in 2019, we did every session waking up nice and early to get a shower, but this year was much more laid back, and relaxed. We also took enough food to BBQ and avoid the expensive food outlets for the first for days which was a nice change of pace.

We arrived at the camp site on Wednesday and setup the tent which did not take as long as expected, but the camp site was already significantly busies than we remembered last time when we arrived on Thursday.

Thursday was just a nice chilled out day exploring the track, and having a go at some of the attractions in the Fan Zone. Myself, Jon and Mike had a go on the pitstop challenge and managed another sub 3 second stop, only for Russ to replace me as the wheel gun man, and for them to get a 2.7 second stop. Lots of fun :)

Friday we did a lap of the track, walking from Stowe to Copse to check out our grandstand for the race on Sunday (It was supposed to be Vale, but Vale had been overbooked so we ended up in Sterling B, just before Copse). We then headed down to Luffield, before going to Village. Village is a fantastic set of corners to watch the drivers, and they all seemed to be struggling to get it right.

Saturday the weather did not look great, but it did stay dry most of the day until qualifying. We made the decision to setup in Club for the day. It was a covered grandstand so would keep us dry if the rain did hit, and also provided an excellent view of the Start/Finish line, Club, and Vale. If anything, there was a bit to much to keep on top of their but that made it fun.

It was a great choice, we got to see the F3 and F2 sprint races, and the W Series race, and some of the battles going in to Vale and through Club was brilliant. I thought the track might dry during the F2 race, but it did not, the F2 cars just did not seem to shift the water which caught me out.

Qualifying was great to watch there, we just about saw Max's spin from where we were, but you could just tell Max was on a different level with how committed it was going through Vale and Club compared to the others.

Sunday we missed the first race due to its early start and the long walk from Stowe to Copse, we did see some of the action while walking but not much. There was a threat of rain, and the weather apps could not make their minds up. We had the tiniest shower ever just after the race finished, but not enough to need a coat, I think I took my coat off after five minutes as it had stopped.

I would not go with Sterling B grandstand again, we had a great view of Ocon breaking down opposite us, and as mentioned above, Charles overtaking Lewis was great, but you could not see much of the exit of Copse, but the atmosphere was great.

At the end of the race, the fans were allowed on the track, and we made our way to the Hamilton Straight to look in the pits. Russ managed to pick up a free alpine hat which was cool. Trying to get past the Mercedes pit was a bit crazy, but once we got past the Alpha Tauri and Haas garages did not have many people outside. Spoke to one of the Alpha Tauri engineers who was packing up, and they were stopping over Sunday night before heading to Austria on Monday, and starting the unpack on Tuesday. I assume it takes longer to set everything up than it does to put it away.

The Haas Team, and Mick Schumacher then came out to celebrate his first points, and we managed to avoid being covered in his champagne that he sprayed on the crowd. Was crazy how quickly a huge gathering appeared behind us when the Haas Team and Mick came out. I thought what was a really nice touch, was that Mick passed the 90% empty bottle of champagne to a fan through one of the gaps in the pit wall. Was great to be part of that moment and cheering him on.

We also saw Ted doing his notebook, and if you look closely at the first few minutes, you might spot Matt cheering Mick on. Sadly I can only see my cap in the images but I got to see Ted which was great.

Monday we packed the tent away, and headed home after a fantastic few days away. It looked like with the race running later than I remember, and the hour delay, a lot of people decided to leave on the Monday, which meant we had a little wait to get out, but overall the campsite was excellent, and I would recommend stopping at Silverstone Woodlands campsite.

If you are an F1 fan, I can not recommend enough going to Silverstone for the race. Its not the same as watching it on the TV, but it is a special experience. I am already looking forward to going next year.
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Just out of interest, how much was the package and when did you book?
 
We stopped at Silverstone Woodlands and paid £89 (£99 for 2023) in August 2021 each for camping, plus £15 (£20 for 2023) for the car. If you want an electric hookup, its an extra £130ish. Silverstone Woodlands is great, but it is also very busy, and I think this year they struggled a little to keep on top of everything, I have still booked to go back next year though.

We paid £303 (£270 + £33) in September 2021 for Vale Grand Stand and Inner Track access on the Saturday. Since they took the old paddock off the inner track access and made it part of a premium enclosure, unless you want to wait at the new paddock entrance for a chance to get an autograph, I am not sure there is much point buying the inner track pass TBH.

Buy all your merch before the race as well, as Silverstone adds their cut. I think one of the Mercedes hats was selling for £80 at Silverstone, which Russ managed to buy for £37 from the F1 Store a few months earlier. Also, not all the teams have stalls at the track, so Alpine, Haas, and Alpha Tauri were not selling any merch at the track, so you need to watch out for that. First time we went, most people at least have a cap, so we brought one, but not I just buy them in advance.

We took stuff for Breakfast and evening, and including Food Shop, Gas, Petrol and eating on site, I only spent £130ish over 6 days. You could easily spend £300+ though if you did not go prepared.

The earlier you book the cheaper it is. Also worth noting children under 10 are free with General Admission.
 
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