F1 Paddock Club
Discussion
I think I read somewhere it's a creature of bernie's, a nice revenue raiser for his company. Circuit owners don't see a penny of it, in the same way another of his companies takes all the revenue generated by the tv billboard advertising, and leave the circuits revenue to come from ticket sales alone. That said he has made himself and most of the longstanding team owners rich men.
Northern Munkee said:
I think I read somewhere it's a creature of bernie's, a nice revenue raiser for his company. Circuit owners don't see a penny of it, in the same way another of his companies takes all the revenue generated by the tv billboard advertising, and leave the circuits revenue to come from ticket sales alone. That said he has made himself and most of the longstanding team owners rich men.
Up until about 2 years ago it was actually run by Allsport (owned by Paddy McNally) who leased the rights to the track/ paddock club from FOM (i believe) and they could then do what they liked with it. Paddy then sold Allsport to FOM so in effect it was Allsport/ Paddy that made the money not Bernie who just gave them the site.Its almost exclusively for businesses. The Paddock Club is typically divided by teams where the sponsors invite guests, and then there is a general section for people paying. Food is the same in all cases. However, in the sponsor sections, the drivers from that team will typically come in and brief the attendees, and do autographs and the like. IF you are very lucky you may get an invitation behind to the private team suite or mobile complex and have a sit down with the driver. yo also get a pit tour for the particular team whose section you are in. I would not pay for the general section and you cant pay for the sponsor, team-specific section. Food is good though
(these are Montreal)
and sometimes access is very good too...
a couple of old shots I took:
(these are Montreal)and sometimes access is very good too...
a couple of old shots I took:
I spent three years and 42 GP's in the McLaren Paddock Club (work) and have been into most of the others across the globe what would you like to know?
Most of the guests are there through invitation from either team 'partners' or the team themselves. The Paddock Club opens at around 08.30 am for breakfast and each team has their own menu and design for the interior.
Some Paddock Clubs are in pit suites above the garages, some are in tented villages away from the Paddock.
Beer, wine and soft drinks are served all day.
Guests will get a Pit Lane Walk and a chance to get into the garages if the staff are doing tours.
The drivers make an appearance each day for a quick Q & A session
Some of the teams have internet, wi fi, driver simulators etc
The better suites have full a/c and timing screens plus big TV showing all of the days footage etc and some even have links into the garage to see what is happening.
The day wraps up at around 5.00pm and the poor staff get ready for another day.
In 2001 at Silverstone I walked 7.2 miles doing garage tours and VIP presentations....had two showers and two changes of clothing!!
The worst suites are in Spa, at Silverstone (although this year it will be first class) and in Brazil. Hungary was not good.
Great suites are in Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Monza, Bahrain, Malayasia
No existant hospitality is available in Monte Carlo and Germany.
Canada is hit and miss, Valencia is so, so, no idea about China and the new 2011 circuits are yet to be seen.
Is it worth the money.....well at Hockenheim I have seen over 700 people in the McLaren suite each day and most of the teams do good business so the investors and Bernie (Allsport / CVC) seem to think so. Not good for private punters but for business it is not silly money when you never know who you may meet and most 'partners' negotiate tickets as part of their multi million dollar / Euro contracts....some are taking over 200 guests per season!!!!
Most of the guests are there through invitation from either team 'partners' or the team themselves. The Paddock Club opens at around 08.30 am for breakfast and each team has their own menu and design for the interior.
Some Paddock Clubs are in pit suites above the garages, some are in tented villages away from the Paddock.
Beer, wine and soft drinks are served all day.
Guests will get a Pit Lane Walk and a chance to get into the garages if the staff are doing tours.
The drivers make an appearance each day for a quick Q & A session
Some of the teams have internet, wi fi, driver simulators etc
The better suites have full a/c and timing screens plus big TV showing all of the days footage etc and some even have links into the garage to see what is happening.
The day wraps up at around 5.00pm and the poor staff get ready for another day.
In 2001 at Silverstone I walked 7.2 miles doing garage tours and VIP presentations....had two showers and two changes of clothing!!
The worst suites are in Spa, at Silverstone (although this year it will be first class) and in Brazil. Hungary was not good.
Great suites are in Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Monza, Bahrain, Malayasia
No existant hospitality is available in Monte Carlo and Germany.
Canada is hit and miss, Valencia is so, so, no idea about China and the new 2011 circuits are yet to be seen.
Is it worth the money.....well at Hockenheim I have seen over 700 people in the McLaren suite each day and most of the teams do good business so the investors and Bernie (Allsport / CVC) seem to think so. Not good for private punters but for business it is not silly money when you never know who you may meet and most 'partners' negotiate tickets as part of their multi million dollar / Euro contracts....some are taking over 200 guests per season!!!!
Used the paddock club as a guest of Renault last year and it was very nice. Will you have access to a teams facilities as well as the paddock club?
The food at Renault was superb but I hear McLaren is the team to be a guest of. The loos are obviously clean and theres as much champagne and good wine as you can drink.
Would I pay £2.5k for a weekend, no but then I'm tight as I probably wouldn't pay the £500 for a weekend pass to use the cheap seats either.
The only downside is that the paddock club wasn't near the paddock as such but was close to the track. I don't know what the paddock club will be like at Silverstone this year now the facilities and lay out has changed.
The food at Renault was superb but I hear McLaren is the team to be a guest of. The loos are obviously clean and theres as much champagne and good wine as you can drink.
Would I pay £2.5k for a weekend, no but then I'm tight as I probably wouldn't pay the £500 for a weekend pass to use the cheap seats either.
The only downside is that the paddock club wasn't near the paddock as such but was close to the track. I don't know what the paddock club will be like at Silverstone this year now the facilities and lay out has changed.
I went to the Paddock Club for two years at Silverstone as a guest of Mclaren. A good friend wokred for Corthaulds.
It was eye-opening.
I got ready to rush for the grandstand, then situated just after Bridge, to see qualifying and asked my host - excellent chap - for my seat number. He took pity on me and walked me out. There were probably 20 of us. This put a bit of a downer on the day oddly enough as I could see the fans packed in at Bridge.
We were given talks by various members of the Mclaren and Tyrell teams and then, the treat, it was the time for Senna and Berger to answer questions. Senna was monosyllabic, Berger was rude, and to a young teenager.
Mansell came into the club area at the end of the day on a monkey bike and took kids for rides in the infeled area.
The second time I was given the honour of a pit pass at the end of qually and I was there to see Senna interviewed by Brazillian TV. I was shown around the cars, and had a long chat with an Ozzie.
The food was excellent, of that there was no doubt. I'm teatotal but I was assured that the wine was excellent. And therein lies a problem. All the others on my table were business types and the conversation went along the lines of where the wine and food was best, Germany getting high praise.
Talk to them about the GP and they were stymied.
Worth £2,500? It was nice being treated specially, being hurried through the traffic and greated in the car park and asked where I wanted to park (pretty cool or what?). Both days were excellent but the lack of people to talk to about racing was a major downer. The host tried his best but had others to deal with as well. Apart from him there was no one on my table who knew as much, let alone more, that me, and I'm no encylopaedia. The joy of going to Silverstone is that I am normally surrounded by nerds and I don't feel so odd.
I'm glad I went but have never considered paying for it.
It was eye-opening.
I got ready to rush for the grandstand, then situated just after Bridge, to see qualifying and asked my host - excellent chap - for my seat number. He took pity on me and walked me out. There were probably 20 of us. This put a bit of a downer on the day oddly enough as I could see the fans packed in at Bridge.
We were given talks by various members of the Mclaren and Tyrell teams and then, the treat, it was the time for Senna and Berger to answer questions. Senna was monosyllabic, Berger was rude, and to a young teenager.
Mansell came into the club area at the end of the day on a monkey bike and took kids for rides in the infeled area.
The second time I was given the honour of a pit pass at the end of qually and I was there to see Senna interviewed by Brazillian TV. I was shown around the cars, and had a long chat with an Ozzie.
The food was excellent, of that there was no doubt. I'm teatotal but I was assured that the wine was excellent. And therein lies a problem. All the others on my table were business types and the conversation went along the lines of where the wine and food was best, Germany getting high praise.
Talk to them about the GP and they were stymied.
Worth £2,500? It was nice being treated specially, being hurried through the traffic and greated in the car park and asked where I wanted to park (pretty cool or what?). Both days were excellent but the lack of people to talk to about racing was a major downer. The host tried his best but had others to deal with as well. Apart from him there was no one on my table who knew as much, let alone more, that me, and I'm no encylopaedia. The joy of going to Silverstone is that I am normally surrounded by nerds and I don't feel so odd.
I'm glad I went but have never considered paying for it.
char5 said:
wow some good feedback, thanks
If you are not with a certain team in the Paddock Club and just in the other section, would it be current or old drivers making an appearance?
If you are in the Paddock Club but not with a team it is unlikely that a driver appearance is included, are you thinking about a Golden Card Paddock Club suite??If you are not with a certain team in the Paddock Club and just in the other section, would it be current or old drivers making an appearance?
I would suggest looking out after qualifying for drivers who will pop up the stairs and into their suites.....have a camera ready!
n3il123 said:
Up until about 2 years ago it was actually run by Allsport (owned by Paddy McNally) who leased the rights to the track/ paddock club from FOM (i believe) and they could then do what they liked with it. Paddy then sold Allsport to FOM so in effect it was Allsport/ Paddy that made the money not Bernie who just gave them the site.
Errr... And how much was that lease? (rhetorical question of course, being a Swiss registered company the answer's probably confidential)Here read about it, McNally and Ecclestone are very close...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_One_Group#All...
http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft00351.html
Northern Munkee said:
n3il123 said:
Up until about 2 years ago it was actually run by Allsport (owned by Paddy McNally) who leased the rights to the track/ paddock club from FOM (i believe) and they could then do what they liked with it. Paddy then sold Allsport to FOM so in effect it was Allsport/ Paddy that made the money not Bernie who just gave them the site.
Errr... And how much was that lease? (rhetorical question of course, being a Swiss registered company the answer's probably confidential)Here read about it, McNally and Ecclestone are very close...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_One_Group#All...
http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft00351.html
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