Okay, first of all, I have to be honest: I didn't have to make that decision. It was my birthday present for my 18th birthday and my wish to attend the race weekend at Hockenheim. So, I can't really talk about how I made that decision, only give you some of my impressions.
But now, to answer the question straightaway from my point of view: Yes! You should watch F1 live! Definitely. Yes I know, to get the experience of a race weekend at a publicly widespreaded motorsport event, such as MotoGP or in particular Formula 1 is always very expensive, especially if you also have to pay for a hotel, because you're living quite far away from the track. That was also the case for me last summer. But there is a way to get at least the tickets a bit cheaper than they cost usual. The only thing to do is quite easy: Buy the tickets as early as possible, because there are usually early bird discounts on them. That's not the only advantage of booking early: You also have the chance to get the best seats, which are most often if you book too late already sold. So think fast! To give you an example, I am still thinking about attending the MotoGP German GP next year and if I get the tickets before the end of January, which means about 5 months before the race, I could save about 9 - 19 €, depending on the grandstand I choose. Considering the full prize, that's maybe not toooo much, but at least something and from my point of view worth it if you're really sure that you want to be at the race. See it that way, it would at least be the lunch "for free" at the race :)
Another tip would be to search yourself a grandstand from which you can see a quite huge part of the track. If you even can afford yourself the indulgence of chosing the track where you want to watch the race, take one where you have the chance to see a huge part of the track. Brazil would be a good example, where you can see almost the whole track from one of the grandstands. Also in Silverstone there are parts of the track, where u can see the cars for a long time, such as in the "Luffield", "Club" or "Village" section. Or as it was in my case, but won't be for you in 2017 because we won't have a race there, Hockenheim is a good venue to watch a race. The situation of the grandstands on that track makes it quite easy for you to chose the right seats. Most of them are around the Motodrom, where you can watch the same car for about 30 seconds straight, and it was also the place where I had my seat, on the inner grandstand before the "Sachskurve". The only disadvantage of getting your place in one of those sections is, that you won't be able to see the cars at highspeed. If you want to have that, go for the main grandstand next to the start-finish straight. But the tickets there are usually more expensive than in the sections I described beforehand, with the only advantage that you can watch the race start live. So I would recommend one of the slower sections.
Furthermore, choose a section of the grandstand, where you have a huge canvas in sight. Watching the cars roar past you is pretty nice, but still, I guess you want to see more of the race than the bit of it you see in your section, especially at the start of the race or also in Quali and training sessions, when the cars are either closely packed or not too frequently in front of you. Therefore, you want to have a big television screen, where all the sessions are shown, just like they are in TV. When I was at Hockenheim, I didn't have the best place in that case. There was a telescreen in front of me, the only problem was, that it was quite far away, which means that I could not see too much on it. Still, it was good to have one to see at least some of the action, which happened at other parts of the track. To sum this up: Choose yourself a seat, where a telescreen is right in front of you.
Moreover, you have to keep in mind, that if you buy tickets you're not only paying to see the Formula 1 sessions, but also a certain framework programme, which could be different at some tracks. Again, if you can afford the indulgence of choosing the track you want, I recommend you to choose one, where also the GP2, and maybe also a GP3 race is hosted. In the best case, there is also a Porsche Supercup race as well. I had the luck that all 3 competitions were hosted in Hockenheim last season, and it was definitely a part of the experience I got, already because you got to hear some V8 engine sounds by the GP2 machines, which F1 doesn't deliver anymore these days. I don't really know what other tracks are doing, which are not hosting races of the smaller categories, but I'm sure that they are doing something special as well. The problem is, those events might not be specific about motorsport, so if you're going to see racing, I recommend a track which hosts at least GP2 as well.
Alright, now those are the tips I can give you if you've already decided to go and watch a race live. For those who couldn't decide yet, because many say "F1 is boring" or "It's just too expensive, I can see more of it on TV anyways", just give it a go, if you're really a Formula 1 fan! The latter may be right, but those are never going to get that special feeling, a vibe a true F1 fan is only going to get at the race track.
First of all, there are the fans. Many people from all around the world are coming to support their specific drivers. Of course, there are most likely to be fellow countrymen if you're going to F1 in your country, but there are always going to be international fans. In the case of the German GP, there were a lot of Dutch people, obviously due to the whole Max Verstappen hype. And they were also the most visible. The whole Dutch flags and orange colours everywhere just couldn't be overlooked. The way especially those people supported their driver was very special and really interesting to see! Moreover, there were a lot of British fans. After Hamilton's win, they started to sing the British national anthem. What a great moment that was! But also the support of the German fans, especially focusing on Sebastian Vettel was awesome. Every lap he came around our grandstand, people stood up and cheered for him. And yep, I did that too :)
Apart from that, the formation lap was also a great moment. I had the luck to sit on a grandstand, where the people formed during the national anthem and the formation lap a gigantic German flag. It just gave me goosebumps, when all the cars drove past us, kind of in the calm before the storm, and we all were holding up our sheets of paper to form the flag. I'm sure, It's a moment I'll never forget in my life.
Finally, after the race, you'll have the chance to go on the track. If you're placed quite close to the podium, which is most likely at the start - finish straight, I recommend you to be as qucik as possible on track, so you can see as much of it as you can. I wasn't too close to that, so I couldn't watch it. Still, you can have some fun on the track after the race. Be sure to take some of the tire grains with you, they are a great souvenir! :) But be careful, they might be still a bit hot and formable. If you're lucky and search a bit for it, you might find some carbon fibre tiles as well. You will be surprised how light they are!
Even if you're not able to watch the podium ceremony, you should still do a walk to the start - finish straight. At most of the tracks they will allow you to climb onto the pit wall to have a look into the pit lane. I did that as well, and could watch the Ferrari crew during they packed up their stuff. It's really interesting to see all the front wings laying next to the boxes as well. Again if you're lucky, you'll maybe even see some TV crews doing interviews. I had the luck to wacth how Toto Wolff got interviewed. So as you can see, the moments after the race are a great experience for itself that you definitely shouldn't miss!
I hope I gave you enough examples of what a great experience a F1 race is and help some of you with the decision whether to watch F1 live or not. Of course, no one is going to guarantee you a very exciting race, there were always races in F1 with not too much action, but what I can guarantee you is, that the experience of just being there is something you won't forget too quick, no matter how good or bad the race was. And I can say that, because the German GP this year was a quite average one. Still, it's something I would always attend again, if I had the chance.
Thanks again for reading and I would really like to know if you ever attended a race, if so, which season it was, at which track you were and also how much you liked it. Moreover, it would be interesting to know if I could help you a bit with that post. Just write all of that into the comments!
Georg
Moreover, you have to keep in mind, that if you buy tickets you're not only paying to see the Formula 1 sessions, but also a certain framework programme, which could be different at some tracks. Again, if you can afford the indulgence of choosing the track you want, I recommend you to choose one, where also the GP2, and maybe also a GP3 race is hosted. In the best case, there is also a Porsche Supercup race as well. I had the luck that all 3 competitions were hosted in Hockenheim last season, and it was definitely a part of the experience I got, already because you got to hear some V8 engine sounds by the GP2 machines, which F1 doesn't deliver anymore these days. I don't really know what other tracks are doing, which are not hosting races of the smaller categories, but I'm sure that they are doing something special as well. The problem is, those events might not be specific about motorsport, so if you're going to see racing, I recommend a track which hosts at least GP2 as well.
Alright, now those are the tips I can give you if you've already decided to go and watch a race live. For those who couldn't decide yet, because many say "F1 is boring" or "It's just too expensive, I can see more of it on TV anyways", just give it a go, if you're really a Formula 1 fan! The latter may be right, but those are never going to get that special feeling, a vibe a true F1 fan is only going to get at the race track.
First of all, there are the fans. Many people from all around the world are coming to support their specific drivers. Of course, there are most likely to be fellow countrymen if you're going to F1 in your country, but there are always going to be international fans. In the case of the German GP, there were a lot of Dutch people, obviously due to the whole Max Verstappen hype. And they were also the most visible. The whole Dutch flags and orange colours everywhere just couldn't be overlooked. The way especially those people supported their driver was very special and really interesting to see! Moreover, there were a lot of British fans. After Hamilton's win, they started to sing the British national anthem. What a great moment that was! But also the support of the German fans, especially focusing on Sebastian Vettel was awesome. Every lap he came around our grandstand, people stood up and cheered for him. And yep, I did that too :)
Apart from that, the formation lap was also a great moment. I had the luck to sit on a grandstand, where the people formed during the national anthem and the formation lap a gigantic German flag. It just gave me goosebumps, when all the cars drove past us, kind of in the calm before the storm, and we all were holding up our sheets of paper to form the flag. I'm sure, It's a moment I'll never forget in my life.
Finally, after the race, you'll have the chance to go on the track. If you're placed quite close to the podium, which is most likely at the start - finish straight, I recommend you to be as qucik as possible on track, so you can see as much of it as you can. I wasn't too close to that, so I couldn't watch it. Still, you can have some fun on the track after the race. Be sure to take some of the tire grains with you, they are a great souvenir! :) But be careful, they might be still a bit hot and formable. If you're lucky and search a bit for it, you might find some carbon fibre tiles as well. You will be surprised how light they are!
Here are two pieces of rubber and the carbon fibre tile I found at the track. I made the photo on my desk at home, that's the reason for the white background :)
I hope I gave you enough examples of what a great experience a F1 race is and help some of you with the decision whether to watch F1 live or not. Of course, no one is going to guarantee you a very exciting race, there were always races in F1 with not too much action, but what I can guarantee you is, that the experience of just being there is something you won't forget too quick, no matter how good or bad the race was. And I can say that, because the German GP this year was a quite average one. Still, it's something I would always attend again, if I had the chance.
Thanks again for reading and I would really like to know if you ever attended a race, if so, which season it was, at which track you were and also how much you liked it. Moreover, it would be interesting to know if I could help you a bit with that post. Just write all of that into the comments!
Georg
