British Grand Prix 2016

Having a car enthusiast boyfriend made buying presents for birthdays and anniversaries very easy, and being curious about the experience of Formula One, I found myself on the tickets page of the British Grand Prix for Friday's Tickets ( as I am a upcoming student and not made of money!) and before I knew it my bank balance was looking rather empty, but the excitement was on.
However being an alien to all things car related, I wasn't sure what to expect at the Formula One event, with only ever watching snippets on the TV I wasn't exactly sure on the rules or practises of Formula One either, but with an expert by my side I am sure I could trooper through.

Soon enough the day arrived for our journey to Silverstone and we were ready and geared to go. On our arrival the petrol head aroma hit you straight away and I'm not going to lie I kinda liked it, observing my surroundings it was clear to see the race track was crawling with car fanatics, a festival made purely for engine super fans.

To my surprise for a Friday qualifying day, the place was jammed pack as soon as you got through the gates, ( mentally repressing the extremely thorough searches leaving a few people a little red faced...), the crowds were incredible, it was evident you needed an early arrival to get the hot spot seats in the grand stands by the start/finish line, which due to our slight laziness we couldn't achieve. However I'm not complaining as any seat looking out onto the track was an in demand seat, as the views of each racing driver was spectacular! One big factor I left out is that the penetrating sound of the exhaust flying around the arena hits you like a ton of bricks, but its all part of the atmosphere however due to my unfortunate sensitive ears it eventually became a constant, irritating buzz and I definitely felt the need to borrow some ear defenders!!

I soon got to learn the practise of the day, with the Practise One beginning at 10:00 am going on until 11:30 am, giving the drivers a chance to get used to their surrounding and making sure their cars were up to date and no issues were going to let them down. During this practise was our chance to wonder round each stand surrounding the track to see which one would be the ideal view and of course for picture opportunities! After Practise One was time for food, which you completely and utterly spoiled for choice. Beyond the main Silverstone wing was a whole other world! I was quite surprised on how gigantic the place was! Onlooking the track was a bridge to cross over where you can enter the Formula One Village, yeah thats right, a village, and not even metaphorically speaking. You were greeted with fields and fields full of food tents, stalls, vans, whatever food merchandising displays you can think of. They went on for miles. And it's not just food you were treated to, there was stages for entertainment, it was made for a perfect day out.

After lunch we decided to take on the idea of getting the early bird seats for the second practise, and to our luck we managed to get a front row position on the grand stand right next to the start/finish line, so we were able to get that all time popular view. As the pra-
ctise of the GP2 series came to an end, the anticipating wait for the big stars to come back to play on the track was all too real. Soon enough 2pm came along and they were back one by one, flying out the pit stop, the audience robotically moving their heads back and forth as each car swept up the racing track. I also was made aware of every time Lewis Hamilton made a short and sharp appearance past the start/finish line, as a composed cheer filled the arena. The experience was a s
urreal one as the speeds of each driver took on were phenomenal, sailing through each lap, I couldn't keep up with who was who, I had to rely on the big screen!

All in all the day was a success and I can now say I have a small knowledge on the Formula One and found myself checking up on the results on Sunday and let out a small whoop upon finding out Lewis Hamilton won. It was a day out I had never experienced before and would most definitely go again, and it certainly kept a smile on my car enthusiast! Result.

Until next time x