F1 2011 season - where to go ?

[woof]

Watching quali today i decided that i should travel further afield next year and catch a fly away race.
Singapore looks amazing, almost booked a room the new 3 tower Sands hotel (until i read the reviews of the place).

I don't really fancy the arab states - but where else would you go ?

[P924]

SPA.

Why go half way round the world, to see an F1 race on a awful track?

[paulrockliffe]

I'm taking the Girly to Spa next year, then Monza the year after.

[Kinky]

Spa

[snoopstah]

P924 said:

SPA.

Why go half way round the world, to see an F1 race on a awful track?

Well, actually, I'd say that wasn't an entirely bad idea. Or at least I'd put forward the argument that the track doesn't matter that much when you're there.

I've been to watch the F1 at both Montreal and Silverstone, neither of which are the best of the best, but both are pretty good tracks. While it's great fun to go and watch it, you actually miss a lot of what's going on (or spend much of the race watching a Kangaroo TV gizmo).

So to be honest, I'd rather watch the 'good' races on TV, with all the camera angles, the commentary (even with Legard), and so on. If you're going to see a race in person I'd actually be choosing one based on the overall 'spectacle', rather than the racing, as that's what will make up most of your experience. As such, I'd say somewhere like Singapore, Monte Carlo, or Abu Dhabi would be high on my list of places to watch an F1 race, even though in all those cases the race itself probably won't be the most exciting.

Just my two pennies

[Gold]

Singapore does look like a cracking atmosphere. The facilities of the Arab races with a full crowd and the slightly more liberal attitudes.

[American iv]

a mate went to to the race in Singapore last year and wasn't that impressed - everything was very expensive, visibility was lousy and the "cheap" tickets didn't let you see any action. It was the first race he'd been to, so maybe it's a typical experience / our expectations are higher than what you get...

Why not Sao Paolo? It's the season finale next year and usually has great racing...

[woof]

Brazil does appeal - though it's a long time to wait - 14 months away !


2011 FIA Formula One World Championship Race Calendar
01 Bahrain (Sakhir) 11 - 13 Mar
02 Australia (Melbourne) 24 - 27 Mar
03 Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) 08 - 10 Apr
04 China (Shanghai) 15 - 17 Apr
05 Turkey (Istanbul) 06 - 08 May
06 Spain (Catalunya) 20 - 22 May
07 Monaco (Monte Carlo) 26 - 29 May
08 Canada (Montreal) 10 - 12 Jun
09 Europe (Valencia) 24 - 26 Jun
10 GBn (Silverstone) 08 - 10 Jul
11 Germany (Nürburgring) 22 - 24 Jul
12 Hungary (Budapest) 29 - 31 Jul
13 Belgium (Spa) 26 - 28 Aug
14 Italy (Monza) 09 - 11 Sep
15 Singapore (Singapore) 23 - 25 Sep
16 Japan (Suzuka) 07 - 09 Oct
17 Korea (Yeongam) 14 - 16 Oct
18 India (Delhi) * 28 - 30 Oct
19 Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina) 11 - 13 Nov
20 Brazil (Sao Paulo) 25 - 27 Nov

[amare32]

woof said:

Brazil does appeal - though it's a long time to wait - 14 months away !


2011 FIA Formula One World Championship Race Calendar
01 Bahrain (Sakhir) 11 - 13 Mar
02 Australia (Melbourne) 24 - 27 Mar
03 Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) 08 - 10 Apr
04 China (Shanghai) 15 - 17 Apr
05 Turkey (Istanbul) 06 - 08 May
06 Spain (Catalunya) 20 - 22 May
07 Monaco (Monte Carlo) 26 - 29 May
08 Canada (Montreal) 10 - 12 Jun
09 Europe (Valencia) 24 - 26 Jun
10 GBn (Silverstone) 08 - 10 Jul
11 Germany (Nürburgring) 22 - 24 Jul
12 Hungary (Budapest) 29 - 31 Jul
13 Belgium (Spa) 26 - 28 Aug
14 Italy (Monza) 09 - 11 Sep
15 Singapore (Singapore) 23 - 25 Sep
16 Japan (Suzuka) 07 - 09 Oct
17 Korea (Yeongam) 14 - 16 Oct
18 DELETE 28 - 30 Oct
19 Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina) 11 - 13 Nov
20 Brazil (Sao Paulo) 25 - 27 Nov

You should scrub India off- that place looks like a sh!thole and no way it will be ready in time if the Dehli games 'facilities' is anything to go by.

[GreigR]

Monza is fantastic.

[Miss Pitstop]

woof said:

Brazil does appeal - though it's a long time to wait - 14 months away !

Don't forget that the drivers need armed escorts to get into the circuit. I'd stick to Spa!!

[woof]

Brazil would be interesting as it's a totally different culture - but yep the security down there is a big issue

Delhi - quite right, don't have any desire to go there at all. And I'm willing to bet my holiday money that it won't take place.

[bigburd]

Been to Spa, Melbourne, Singapore, Silverstone

Overall Race Atmosphere = SPA!!!


Although if you have the ££ and time of work why not grab a couple of the back-2-back flyaway races

[schmalex]

I've seen GP's in recent years at Silverstone (2005) and Abu Dhabi (2009). Both times, it was a sunny day.

IMO, Abu Dhabi blew S/Stone out of the water as a spectator experience.

Silverstone: Get up at 0500 (I was only living in Winchester at the time) to go & sit in a traffic jam, eat st food & then spend half a day sitting on an ancient stand on a windy airfield slowly going hypothermic

Abu Dhabi: Left at around 12.30pm & cruised up from my sister's place, no traffic jam & was in the circuit in 1hr, 20 mins from leaving The Greens in Dubai. Reasonable food, but a very, very hot bar tucked away under the stands.

Silverstone: We were so far away from the cars, you almost needed a pair of binoculars to see them coming past. To be fair, by the time the race started, you were so bloody cold that your eyes had nearly frozen shut.

Abu Dhabi: Spent the afternoon in a pair of shorts & a T-shirt we were within 10m of the cars as they came into the braking zone at near the marina.

Sliverstone: Race ends, queue in the car for a good hour or two just to get out of the car park

Abu Dhabi: Race ends. Within 1hour, 30 mins, we were walking through the door of the flat back in Dubai, having got straight out of the car parks & onto the motorway with absolutely no queues whatsoever.

Now, on the TV, Silverstone is a much better race & it has all the tradition going for it, but IMO, Abu Dhabi was a much. much more enjoyable day out as a live spectator for the following reasons:

• You are much, much closer to the cars (at the end of the day, unless you are a complete geek, it gets pretty damn confusing after lap 6 or 7 anyway (especially last year with re-fuelling), so being so close you could nearly touch the cars was a massive benefit.
• The traffic in & out of the circuit is planned much better
• You don't freeze to death

Edited by schmalex on Sunday 26th September 21:44

[Bing o]

American iv said:

Singapore .... visibility was lousy

ORLY

[oyster]

P924 said:

SPA.

Why go half way round the world, to see an F1 race on a awful track?

Spa has good atmosphere.

However viewing F1 in the flesh is very different to seeing it on TV. Remeber that in Singapore you can sit within a few feet of the cars - you can't do that on a purpose built circuit.

And here's a biggie - at Spa you only see the cars 43 times in the race.

[CampDavid]

oyster said:

P924 said:

SPA.

Why go half way round the world, to see an F1 race on a awful track?

Spa has good atmosphere.

However viewing F1 in the flesh is very different to seeing it on TV. Remeber that in Singapore you can sit within a few feet of the cars - you can't do that on a purpose built circuit.

And here's a biggie - at Spa you only see the cars 43 times in the race.

Eau Rouge is also a nightmare to get to, though Pouen looks good.

I've done Monza a few times and it's a great value weekend away. Milan is a great city and the lakes are near by too + it doesn't rain nearly as much.

[IanUAE]

Abu Dhabi:

1) No rain
2) Very easy to get into and out off (park and ride system)
3) Very friendly secuity
4) Great FREE concerts on each day (Aerosmith afte GP last year)
5) Close to the track
6) Take short break and see parts of Abu Dhabi / Dubai

OK, I live in Dudbai but no expense has been sparred and they react to any problems over night.

[radlet6]

Kinky said:

Spa

It's easy to get to (just a quick hop across in the Chunnel), the Belgians are really great people and they have great reasonably priced beer too (which you can load the car up with on the way back.

[plg]

Monza has a fantastic atmosphere and is good if you want to go on a budget (general admin tickets)

Spa is very special but suggest the whole weekend and camp for the full experience

I'm tempted by Monaco next year - not for the racing, but for the insanity of the track.