cheapest f1 weekend ?
Discussion
Having watched Harris's /Drive video on Monaco I have the burning desire to head to Spa again. Went last year for the first time, first time that I had driven abroad too and it was an awesome roadtrip in the XJR. None of my mates are up for it this year, currently toying with either going on my own or heading to Monza on my own. £88 general admission for Monza, just need to figure out the fuel costs!
giblet said:
Having watched Harris's /Drive video on Monaco I have the burning desire to head to Spa again. Went last year for the first time, first time that I had driven abroad too and it was an awesome roadtrip in the XJR. None of my mates are up for it this year, currently toying with either going on my own or heading to Monza on my own. £88 general admission for Monza, just need to figure out the fuel costs!
Dont want to work out my fuel cost for a trip like that 
giblet said:
Just imagine tearing down through Europe in your car, I've seen how silly a tuned VXR8 can be. The speed, the sound, the smell of unburnt fuel. Well worth the fuel bill. DO IT!
Driven like that (Monaro 6.0L s/c with 700bhp) I would be lucky to see 10MPG 
But your right, Would be great fun
giblet said:
007 VXR said:
Dont want to work out my fuel cost for a trip like that
If a supercharged 4.0 V8 from 1998 with 120k on the clock and an autobox can manage 22mpg when being driven spiritedly from Leeds to Spa and back then your VXR8 shouldn't be far off! 
giblet said:
Having watched Harris's /Drive video on Monaco I have the burning desire to head to Spa again. Went last year for the first time, first time that I had driven abroad too and it was an awesome roadtrip in the XJR. None of my mates are up for it this year, currently toying with either going on my own or heading to Monza on my own. £88 general admission for Monza, just need to figure out the fuel costs!
We drove to Monza and back in the old man's V8V in 2012. Probably similar in terms of fuel economy. I can see if he recalls the fuel cost. It was fairly considerable. Oh and driving in Milan is a ruddy nightmare - avoid! The only upside being the admiring glances the car (and definitely not the occupiers) received from the ladies of Milan. Monza has a special atmosphere you simply don't get anywhere else.
chevronb37 said:
giblet said:
Having watched Harris's /Drive video on Monaco I have the burning desire to head to Spa again. Went last year for the first time, first time that I had driven abroad too and it was an awesome roadtrip in the XJR. None of my mates are up for it this year, currently toying with either going on my own or heading to Monza on my own. £88 general admission for Monza, just need to figure out the fuel costs!
We drove to Monza and back in the old man's V8V in 2012. Probably similar in terms of fuel economy. I can see if he recalls the fuel cost. It was fairly considerable. Oh and driving in Milan is a ruddy nightmare - avoid! The only upside being the admiring glances the car (and definitely not the occupiers) received from the ladies of Milan. Monza has a special atmosphere you simply don't get anywhere else.
woof said:
chevronb37 said:
giblet said:
Having watched Harris's /Drive video on Monaco I have the burning desire to head to Spa again. Went last year for the first time, first time that I had driven abroad too and it was an awesome roadtrip in the XJR. None of my mates are up for it this year, currently toying with either going on my own or heading to Monza on my own. £88 general admission for Monza, just need to figure out the fuel costs!
We drove to Monza and back in the old man's V8V in 2012. Probably similar in terms of fuel economy. I can see if he recalls the fuel cost. It was fairly considerable. Oh and driving in Milan is a ruddy nightmare - avoid! The only upside being the admiring glances the car (and definitely not the occupiers) received from the ladies of Milan. Monza has a special atmosphere you simply don't get anywhere else.
giblet said:
I agree, it makes zero sense but a road trip is always fun. I'll be looking around at flights soon
Yeah - I know what you mean. Just fuel is sooo expensive now. I used to love the drive down to Monaco for the GP but throw in the toll roads, the on the stop speeding fines and you could almost fly in your own lear jet !!
Considering either Monza or Spa with the old man this year.
I've done Spa before, he's never been to a GP out of the country, infact he's not been out of the country since he was 21, this would be his 60th birthday gift.
Pretty happy with organising Spa - last time we camped - i'd need a hotel this time, all the trips seem to stay miles away in Brussels or Leuven - is there anything reasonably priced actually nearby?
Monza - I'm guessing on flights into Milan - does it matter which airport? Accomodation best to get actually in Milan and travel to the track each day by train / bus?
Thanks and apologies for the hijack!
I've done Spa before, he's never been to a GP out of the country, infact he's not been out of the country since he was 21, this would be his 60th birthday gift.
Pretty happy with organising Spa - last time we camped - i'd need a hotel this time, all the trips seem to stay miles away in Brussels or Leuven - is there anything reasonably priced actually nearby?
Monza - I'm guessing on flights into Milan - does it matter which airport? Accomodation best to get actually in Milan and travel to the track each day by train / bus?
Thanks and apologies for the hijack!
Dan_1981 said:
Monza - I'm guessing on flights into Milan - does it matter which airport? Accomodation best to get actually in Milan and travel to the track each day by train / bus?
Thanks and apologies for the hijack!
Milan airports, doesnt really matter I dont think. I forget which I flew into, but you had to get a bus into the city centre from there (Im sure a taxi isnt too bad though!).Thanks and apologies for the hijack!
We stayed in the Northern part of Milan, not far from a metro station. Easy to get around.
Trains to Monza run from both Milan train stations too, and theres a shuttle bus service for around 5 Euro return. On the Sunday the trains run past Monza to a station by the Lesmo corners and its a stroll into the track: Monza station is a long way away, and even once you get off the bus you have close to a mile walk through the park to the Start Finish line.
But its beautiful, atmospheric, friendly, and you can walk around most of the track.
I've been to most of the European F1meetings and have to say they're all much of a muchness in terms of costs. If you book your flights well in advance, get a GA ticket and stay in a hostel or AirBnB rental, take packed lunches and use public transport, you'll get away with £300 regardless of venue. It therefore comes down to where you'd rather go.
Barcelona is a great city and an interesting circuit - the GA area is huge, mostly on hills and peppered with giant screens, so you can get some great views and some great head-on photos. It's about half an hour on a coach from the city to the track. Cheaper and gets you closer to the circuit than the train.
Monza has the atmosphere and heritage, but is flat and forested. You can get very close to the cars, but have no chance of watching from the chicanes on race day - you'll just be watching the cars scream past on a straight. Screens are few and far between but the podium is great. Milan itself is so-so.
Spa is a bit of a pain to get to. I've camped, which was a disaster as it was 2010 (4 days of non-stop rain) and my camera gear was nicked from the car boot on Elephant campsite. I've stayed in Verviers, which was expensive. I've stayed in Leuven, which was cheap, a reasonably nice place to stay, but about an hour train ride to Francorchamps IIRC. The track is great obviously and the GA area is huge.
Monaco is an effort to do on the cheap but I concur with what's been written already. The Rocher ticket is cheap but take a camping chair!
I miss Turkey as a circuit but won't miss the 2 hour bus rides to and from Istanbul and the circuit...
I wouldn't bother with Budapest, Austria or Germany if you've not yet been to one of the above. They don't have the same wow factor IMO.
Oh and by the way, return fuel to Italy was about £700 in my 355, but the mountain passes and genuflecting Tifosi as we approached Monza were worth it!
Barcelona is a great city and an interesting circuit - the GA area is huge, mostly on hills and peppered with giant screens, so you can get some great views and some great head-on photos. It's about half an hour on a coach from the city to the track. Cheaper and gets you closer to the circuit than the train.
Monza has the atmosphere and heritage, but is flat and forested. You can get very close to the cars, but have no chance of watching from the chicanes on race day - you'll just be watching the cars scream past on a straight. Screens are few and far between but the podium is great. Milan itself is so-so.
Spa is a bit of a pain to get to. I've camped, which was a disaster as it was 2010 (4 days of non-stop rain) and my camera gear was nicked from the car boot on Elephant campsite. I've stayed in Verviers, which was expensive. I've stayed in Leuven, which was cheap, a reasonably nice place to stay, but about an hour train ride to Francorchamps IIRC. The track is great obviously and the GA area is huge.
Monaco is an effort to do on the cheap but I concur with what's been written already. The Rocher ticket is cheap but take a camping chair!
I miss Turkey as a circuit but won't miss the 2 hour bus rides to and from Istanbul and the circuit...
I wouldn't bother with Budapest, Austria or Germany if you've not yet been to one of the above. They don't have the same wow factor IMO.
Oh and by the way, return fuel to Italy was about £700 in my 355, but the mountain passes and genuflecting Tifosi as we approached Monza were worth it!
What is transport like from the Milan airports into the city itself - particularly at night - flights we are looking at land 22:00 Friday evening?
Not decided on a hotel yet assume anywhere in the city is pretty good as long as you can access a train station for getting to the circuit?
Not decided on a hotel yet assume anywhere in the city is pretty good as long as you can access a train station for getting to the circuit?
We always go to Spa, because even with the travel it's better value than Silverstone.. £150 for eurotunnel, 105 euros for the earlybird bronze ticket, or buy it at the gate for 130, and camping.. which depends where you camp but another 150 euros will cover it. so, a total of +/- 400 quid for 5 days (we go Thurs-Mon).
Barcelona is lovely but a precautionary note....be very much aware of pick-pockets and bag thieves. Its probably one of the worst cities in Europe for it!
I wish someone had warned us before we went in GP week......it really is rife. We were robbed and we actually witnessed two bag thieves going into rucksacks right in front of us! After I tapped one of the thieving scumbags on the shoulder he just smiled and casually wandered off.
The police there don't seem to care.
I wish someone had warned us before we went in GP week......it really is rife. We were robbed and we actually witnessed two bag thieves going into rucksacks right in front of us! After I tapped one of the thieving scumbags on the shoulder he just smiled and casually wandered off.
The police there don't seem to care.
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