Silverstone GP spectator experience?

[HRSTR5]

My good lady has suggested that I take her father to Silverstone for Qualifying on the Saturday … I honestly have no idea what that experience is like! Roving grandstands on Saturday seem to imply you can sit in any stand, but my guess is that you’d need to be in place early in the day and then don’t move. He’d need a seat, he’s 76 and can’t stand/walk around all day.

And parking … how many miles will we have to walk?!

Guidance appreciated!

[coppice]

I went for the first time in years this year and enjoyed it. But I hadn't booked parking and was horrified to learn I would be parked miles away . It was only through a stranger's kindness that I ended up being parked in Silverstone village , a few minutes walk from Copse. So book the parking !

Even on Friday it was very busy , but ok - Saturday was rammed. I didn't have grandstand access and wish I had on Saturday. But on Friday the roaming was good - Maggots was excellent but forget Becketts - it looks good on TV but angles and location of viewing live make it ho hum , frankly .

I'd watch at the entry to Copse ,where the speed is gobsmacking , and it is easier to spot the subtle differences in line and style . Village was good in the wet for qualifying as you are in the same postcode as the cars - but it is not the spot for speed .

I suspect you'd enjoy Friday more than Saturday as you have plenty of track time and fewer people . Going live is about seeing the cars , immersing yourself in the experience , focussing on differences and characteristics of cars and drivers. Times don't matter so much , you can leave that for the TV experience. But if you do go on Sat , do have a radio as the commentary is inaudible and the big screens are either too far away to read or are showing some B list sleb in a pit garage .

Enjoy - I did .

[Plantagenet]

Just my thoughts, but if your father in law can’t walk too far, aim for a grandstand near the main entrance - so near Luffield, Woodcote or abbey. I wouldn’t get a roaming grandstand ticket unless you have to because Silverstone is a big place and there will be 100,000 people there so I’d personally try and stay put with your father in law. I’m an early bird and if you get there early, you will be able to park close to the main entrance (so aim to get there for 8am latest); this will make logistics all that bit easier. The other advantage to this is your will get to see all the support races - it amazes me how many people spend what is a large amount of money just to come later (queuing for hrs) to see the F1, then go home (queuing for hrs).

[Aysedasi]

I went with my son on the Saturday this year, courtesy of my other son who won the tickets in a works raffle (he's in 'the trade'). I hadn't been to a GP (practice, qually or race) for over 30 years. You will need car parking., There is no longer any 'rocking up' and expecting to have a space. Despite the fact that I didn't know we were going until about 5 days beforehand, I managed to book a spot just down the road for a modest price and a 15 minute walk in and out. Well run and very easy access. As far as we were aware, there was no access to a grandstand seat with the ordinary entrance ticket. It was pretty busy.... We got there in time for gates opening and queued for about 25 minutes, I guess. We took our LM camping chairs and set up camp at the end of the bank at Vale. It filled up pretty quick but the crowd was jolly and pleased to be there. Then the rain came and didn't go away....

Despite the rain we quite enjoyed it, but Le Mans it certainly wasn't. We were astonished at how quiet the cars were, in all honesty we could barely hear them. Qually was entertaining. Food was decent but of course very pricey. Exit afterwards was pretty simple. We didn't wait until the very end of the programme and even with the walk to the car park we were off and on the road inside 35 minutes with no great traffic issues on the way home.

Would I do it again? Probably not - even with another freebie. Had I paid for the experience I wouldn't have thought I had great VFM. It was fun doing something different, but far from spectacular. Maybe we should have found a better vantage point but I didn't want to be miles away from the car when we wanted to leave. As a tick in a box..... well, it was just that.

PS Coppice is right about the screens - times on the big screens were completely unreadable.

[morninggents]

[QUOTE=coppice;4137828] I'd watch at the entry to Copse ,where the speed is gobsmacking , and it is easier to spot the subtle differences in line and style .
I suspect you'd enjoy Friday more than Saturday as you have plenty of track time and fewer people . Going live is about seeing the cars , immersing yourself in the experience , focussing on differences and characteristics of cars and drivers. Times don't matter so much , you can leave that for the TV experience. But if you do go on Sat , do have a radio as the commentary is inaudible and the big screens are either too far away to read or are showing some B list sleb in a pit garage . Enjoy - I did .[/QUOTE


I agree with Coppice about Copse Corner but only if viewed from the outside of the corner. I've watched races from the inside banking many times and it seems like a different corner.
I went many times in the 80s and used to watch from the banking between Club and the fast left hander the name of which I forget. If you weren't there before 8-00 am on race day you couldn't get a space. Race day was interseting for the support races and watching the constant stream of helicopters and light aircraft coming and going all morning.

[coppice]

Oh God yes - Copse is hopeless on the infield . Truth is that Silverstone is , by a big margin, the worst circuit in the UK at which to spectate . It is a testament to the modern F1 car's pace that they are still hugely impressive. As far as noise is concerned, having lost a lot of hearing down to racing cars , it was surprisingly pleasant to watch without the ear protection I now (belatedly ) wear at many events .

The F1 cars sound a bit weedy on the overrun but make a cultured V6 howl under load . The F3 cars though , wow, they make a really lovely , very loud scream from their NA V6

[Greem]

I've only ever been as a marshal, but I do agree that Copse as well as Stowe are breathtaking. The speed is just incredible.

My absolute favourite post though is Becketts Out, post 24, up the tower as the cars approach Chapel. You can see the cars from the exit of Copse all the way through Maggots and Becketts to the entry to Chapel. Unfortunately the bank behind that post is now part of the property development that's happened there.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by coppice

Oh God yes - Copse is hopeless on the infield . Truth is that Silverstone is , by a big margin, the worst circuit in the UK at which to spectate . It is a testament to the modern F1 car's pace that they are still hugely impressive. As far as noise is concerned, having lost a lot of hearing down to racing cars , it was surprisingly pleasant to watch without the ear protection I now (belatedly ) wear at many events .

The F1 cars sound a bit weedy on the overrun but make a cultured V6 howl under load . The F3 cars though , wow, they make a really lovely , very loud scream from their NA V6

Agreed. The F3 cars sounded massively better.

[Sodemo]

I’ve not been since an F1 test in about 2008 when Hamilton fever was taking over, huge crowd turned out. I’ve been to other events since, WEC, BTCC, Blancpain etc. I don’t know why they have such a negative attitude towards amateur photographers, it seems the sole aim of the awful newly hired security staff is to try and **** off as much as possible photographers. Countless times I have been behind barriers but in a zone which is deemed “unsafe” and get told to move on in an aggressive manner.