British Grand Prix - tips on the best way to enjoy the day

[Andrew Coates]

I am thinking about taking my youngest son (17) to the Grand Prix next year, so I am just after some tips and advice from seasoned race goers as to the following:

Best place for spectating

Best package for entry to the race, it would only be for the Sunday.

Is it worth staying local the night before?

What I need to budget for to cover all the costs.

Any other useful advice to make the most of the day.

Any help welcome.

Cheers

[eybic]

My honest advice would be to go abroad. For pretty much the same money as a couple of days at Silverstone, you can have a full weekend (Thursday to Monday) abroad watching it.

For example, in 2008 I went to watch the Spanish GP in Barcelona, for £500 we had tickets for the whole weekend including transfers, flights and a hotel. Silverstone wouldn't have been that much cheaper for the whole weekend (Practice, quali and the race)

[Cupramax]

^^^ wot he said, Barcelona is great even if the circuit itself usually ends in a dull procession. Plus you can have a couple of great nights out.

[vescaegg]

Massively overpriced and usually rubbish weather.

Go to a European race. Barcelona is good value and some stands give brilliant views of a lot of the circuit at once.

[jodypress]

I'll add my 2p's worth. The F1 at Silverstone is cracking. The British crowd is fantastic and very knowledgeable too. I've been going with my dad for a few years now as he lives abroad so it's our annual pilgrimage. We stay in a B&B about 10 miles away and cycle to the track. We sit in Luffield which has great views. The only downside this year is the noise.

I've also been to Spa (which is fantastic too) and Malaysia. I'd love to do Monza and Monaco.

Your only difficulty will be accommodation for one night as everywhere wants a minimum of 3.

[pauloroberto]

I've just done monza for £500 all in and you could do it for a lot less than that. From what I've heard, you could also get home quicker from monza than from a silverstone car park.

[egor110]

We did spa for £399 per person with ledger.

Picked up from local services, 3 nights b&b and race tickets for sat/sun.

[rubystone]

Loving the comments about Barcelona...summed up as...cheap, nice weather, st race.


Surely you want to pick somewhere where the racing is good and where you can see the action....?...I'd give thought Monaco should be where you'd want to go?

[Matt_N]

Spa would be my choice for an F1 race.

A return to Le Mans would be my preference, really is a great father and son experience, we went for the first time in 2013.

[the other me]

I gave up going to Barcelona (even if it is only a 45 min drive for me) for a long number of years, as the race had indeed become processional.

This last couple of years however it is back to being fairly good, Freds win in 2013 was magic, even if the tyres played a big part.


Can't disagree with the Spa suggestion though, being going every race since 93, worth the effort, and compared to Silverstone the overall effect will be a lot more bang for your buck.

Did Monza again for the 1st time in a while, and it has some magic (although a bit less than my previous , when Ferrari were more of a force, THAT is something special to behold)

[Tony2or4]

It says a lot about what Silverstone has become that most of the replies, both in this thread and in the similar one started by me (Extra fun at 2015 British Grand Prix), to the question "What's the best way to enjoy the British GP?" are along the lines of "Don't go to the British GP".

[Cupramax]

My main issue with it was the ridiculous queues to get out of the parking, it took me longer to get from Silverstone to the main road than it did from the road outside to my home which is 160 miles.

Barcelona even with 120,000 in it you can just drive in and out when you want, dual carriageways either side of thecircuit,

[freddytin]

Well my son and I had a cracking time this year, fair weather ,good view of the action ( Luffield ) , reasonable tickets ( Sunday only ), and absolutely no parking or exit worries. Made a little easier arriving by motorbike, but to be fair the cars around didn't seem overly delayed either.

Would I do it again ? Absolutely , carefully checking weather forecast in advance

[007 VXR]

I spent 6 days with Vauxhall in their camp site this year. Wife and boy loved it

[jodypress]

Cupramax said:

My main issue with it was the ridiculous queues to get out of the parking, it took me longer to get from Silverstone to the main road than it did from the road outside to my home which is 160 miles.

Barcelona even with 120,000 in it you can just drive in and out when you want, dual carriageways either side of thecircuit,

The last couple of years as I've ridden out of Silverstone the traffic has been fine.

Leaving Spa this year on race day was appalling. Terrible traffic control and two way lane outside of green parking. Ridiculous.

[Tony2or4]

Cupramax said:

...the ridiculous queues to get out of the parking, it took me longer to get from Silverstone to the main road than it did from the road outside to my home which is 160 miles.

Last 2 times we drove there (GP 2008 and MotoGP 2011) we formed the impression that the getting-out-of-the-car-park problem is exacerbated by a complete lack of marshalling. There just weren't any car park stewards directing the cars out of the various fields - not a single one.

[Agent Orange]

Andrew Coates said:

I am thinking about taking my youngest son (17) to the Grand Prix next year, so I am just after some tips and advice from seasoned race goers as to the following:

Best place for spectating

Best package for entry to the race, it would only be for the Sunday.

Is it worth staying local the night before?

What I need to budget for to cover all the costs.

Any other useful advice to make the most of the day.

Any help welcome.

Cheers

Not been to a GP at Silverstone for a good few years but did go to MotoGP this year.

Luffield A/B grandstand is great. Riders/drivers come barrelling down the Wellington straight into a left then long right before full throttle to the pit straight. It's a possible overtake place too with the possibility of drivers/riders going wide or too late on the brakes. Being a slow corner you can actually see the cars too! Good atmosphere as well.

As for staying the night before? I wouldn't I'd be more inclined to just make sure you arrive early. 9-10am.

[egor110]

Agent Orange said:

Andrew Coates said:

I am thinking about taking my youngest son (17) to the Grand Prix next year, so I am just after some tips and advice from seasoned race goers as to the following:

Best place for spectating

Best package for entry to the race, it would only be for the Sunday.

Is it worth staying local the night before?

What I need to budget for to cover all the costs.

Any other useful advice to make the most of the day.

Any help welcome.

Cheers

Not been to a GP at Silverstone for a good few years but did go to MotoGP this year.

Luffield A/B grandstand is great. Riders/drivers come barrelling down the Wellington straight into a left then long right before full throttle to the pit straight. It's a possible overtake place too with the possibility of drivers/riders going wide or too late on the brakes. Being a slow corner you can actually see the cars too! Good atmosphere as well.

As for staying the night before? I wouldn't I'd be more inclined to just make sure you arrive early. 9-10am.

We stayed at woodlands in the family field and that was pretty quiet at midnight, showers sometimes had to wait maybe 5 mins but no problems.