Paddock club - worth it?
Discussion
I'm heading to the Shanghai GP next year and taking my old man with me to celebrate his 65th birthday.
I am contemplating splurging for Passock Club passes to make the trip really memorable. However I want to know if it's worth the money as a private punter? Does it make the F1 experience significantly better? Is it a near certainty you will be able to take some photos with drivers etc?
Has anyone been to the PC in Shanghai in prior years that can shed some light?
Thanks in advance
I am contemplating splurging for Passock Club passes to make the trip really memorable. However I want to know if it's worth the money as a private punter? Does it make the F1 experience significantly better? Is it a near certainty you will be able to take some photos with drivers etc?
Has anyone been to the PC in Shanghai in prior years that can shed some light?
Thanks in advance
AlfaNZ said:
Does it make the F1 experience significantly better?
It certainly makes it significantly more expensive. Speaking as someone who wanders around the world as part of this circus I'd strongly recommend visiting Melbourne, Suzuka or even Singapore instead of Shanghai. Melbourne has the added bonus of three (maybe four) V8 Supercar races too, plus historics and the best air display from a single aircraft (usually an F18) you will ever see. It's also a lovely city, while Shanghai does nothing for me at all and is an awful, sprawling industrial metropolis with a strangely hazy sky that has only one other bit of track action during the entire three days; a local Porsche Cup race.
I had a friend who worked for a sponsor of McLaren and Tyrrell. He took me along to the F1 Paddock Club twice.
It was magic. Best two days I've had at a GP.
We had a host who was as friendly and chatty as you could hope. Some of your fellow guests, the majority on our table, were there for the booze and the food, both of which were sublime. When qualifying started I went out to the stands and only about half bothered. By the end, two thirds of those had wandered back.
I think the host, Michael Holt?, recognised me and another guest as nerds and couldn't do enough for us. Pit passes immediately after qually, an introduction to Dennis (you won't get that of course) and a long chat with an Australian mechanic, 'call me Steve', who gently took the mickey out of us for 15 minutes.
A thrill.
It was magic. Best two days I've had at a GP.
We had a host who was as friendly and chatty as you could hope. Some of your fellow guests, the majority on our table, were there for the booze and the food, both of which were sublime. When qualifying started I went out to the stands and only about half bothered. By the end, two thirds of those had wandered back.
I think the host, Michael Holt?, recognised me and another guest as nerds and couldn't do enough for us. Pit passes immediately after qually, an introduction to Dennis (you won't get that of course) and a long chat with an Australian mechanic, 'call me Steve', who gently took the mickey out of us for 15 minutes.
A thrill.
One question. As a guest of a sponsor, I guess that the whole Paddock Club experience is managed very well. Normally a driver speaker from the team (rarely the race driver/s though) and a slot for pit walk. Never a grid walk though unless you're a top VIP.
So the question is - can one pay the £4,500 a ticket for a Paddock Club pass as an individual and if one can, is this 'detatched' from the teams and thus are you simply paying for a seat in an exclusive grandstand and as much food and drink as you can consume on the day/s your ticket is valid for?
The two options are poles apart as far as I am concerned.
So the question is - can one pay the £4,500 a ticket for a Paddock Club pass as an individual and if one can, is this 'detatched' from the teams and thus are you simply paying for a seat in an exclusive grandstand and as much food and drink as you can consume on the day/s your ticket is valid for?
The two options are poles apart as far as I am concerned.
rubystone said:
One question. As a guest of a sponsor, I guess that the whole Paddock Club experience is managed very well. Normally a driver speaker from the team (rarely the race driver/s though) and a slot for pit walk. Never a grid walk though unless you're a top VIP.
So the question is - can one pay the £4,500 a ticket for a Paddock Club pass as an individual and if one can, is this 'detatched' from the teams and thus are you simply paying for a seat in an exclusive grandstand and as much food and drink as you can consume on the day/s your ticket is valid for?
The two options are poles apart as far as I am concerned.
I'm lucky enough to have been a guest star Silverstone with RBS and hence was in the Williams 'team' set up. I assume that it hasn't changed but my host was as much a guest as he was a lowly sort of chap at RBS but it was a fantastic day! Brilliant. As 'guests of Williams' in effect, we got access to that team.....So the question is - can one pay the £4,500 a ticket for a Paddock Club pass as an individual and if one can, is this 'detatched' from the teams and thus are you simply paying for a seat in an exclusive grandstand and as much food and drink as you can consume on the day/s your ticket is valid for?
The two options are poles apart as far as I am concerned.
Pit walks, Q & A and a superb spread on the day. I have often considered spending my own money but haven't quite done so; not sure why....
Do it! Call them and ask, we got a car park space thrown in which was a pain yo get honest as one of us had to drive! I drove there
Brilliant!!!
Slaav said:
I'm lucky enough to have been a guest star Silverstone with RBS and hence was in the Williams 'team' set up. I assume that it hasn't changed but my host was as much a guest as he was a lowly sort of chap at RBS but it was a fantastic day! Brilliant. As 'guests of Williams' in effect, we got access to that team.....
Pit walks, Q & A and a superb spread on the day. I have often considered spending my own money but haven't quite done so; not sure why....
Do it! Call them and ask, we got a car park space thrown in which was a pain yo get honest as one of us had to drive! I drove there
Brilliant!!!
As a guest of a team you'll get it for free. But I think that if you have to pay for it you may not get the 'full' treatment.Pit walks, Q & A and a superb spread on the day. I have often considered spending my own money but haven't quite done so; not sure why....
Do it! Call them and ask, we got a car park space thrown in which was a pain yo get honest as one of us had to drive! I drove there
Brilliant!!!
I did the paddock club in qualifying in India. No idea what it cost but if you can afford it then it is worth it.
The pit walks were simply fantastic, amazingly my friend I was with got chatting to Lewis' mechanic and was allowed to put his front wheel on the car! The closest I have come otherwise was when a friend who works for a team got me into the pits post race at Austin, which was also amazing but not as good.
Ben
The pit walks were simply fantastic, amazingly my friend I was with got chatting to Lewis' mechanic and was allowed to put his front wheel on the car! The closest I have come otherwise was when a friend who works for a team got me into the pits post race at Austin, which was also amazing but not as good.
Ben
BigBen said:
I did the paddock club in qualifying in India. No idea what it cost but if you can afford it then it is worth it.
The pit walks were simply fantastic, amazingly my friend I was with got chatting to Lewis' mechanic and was allowed to put his front wheel on the car! The closest I have come otherwise was when a friend who works for a team got me into the pits post race at Austin, which was also amazing but not as good.
Ben
Were you a guest or did you purchase your own ticket? The pit walks were simply fantastic, amazingly my friend I was with got chatting to Lewis' mechanic and was allowed to put his front wheel on the car! The closest I have come otherwise was when a friend who works for a team got me into the pits post race at Austin, which was also amazing but not as good.
Ben
rubystone said:
BigBen said:
I did the paddock club in qualifying in India. No idea what it cost but if you can afford it then it is worth it.
The pit walks were simply fantastic, amazingly my friend I was with got chatting to Lewis' mechanic and was allowed to put his front wheel on the car! The closest I have come otherwise was when a friend who works for a team got me into the pits post race at Austin, which was also amazing but not as good.
Ben
Were you a guest or did you purchase your own ticket? The pit walks were simply fantastic, amazingly my friend I was with got chatting to Lewis' mechanic and was allowed to put his front wheel on the car! The closest I have come otherwise was when a friend who works for a team got me into the pits post race at Austin, which was also amazing but not as good.
Ben
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g301...
Not my review. It's Austin a few years back but you get the idea.
For me, it's on the Euromillions list.
Not my review. It's Austin a few years back but you get the idea.
For me, it's on the Euromillions list.
I did it 4 times and paid for it myself.
Went with Toyota, Renault and Lotus. (I must have been a bad omen)
To upgrade from paddock to the team wasn't a great deal more money.
Friday /Saturday and Sunday.
Friday was by far the best day for visiting the garage. Not many others there and were given fantastic tour of the garage and truck's as they had more time for you and did seam interested if you are.
Two of us went and we were both very interested and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Saturday you meet and great the 2nd driver for about 10/15 minutes in total for everyone to get the autographs and photo's depending how many guests are about.
You still get to go down to the garage but for a much quicker tour. You kind of feel in the way
Sunday you meet no 1 driver for even less time.
And the tour down to the garage was brisk again.
During the pit walks if you go with the team you are then allowed into the team garage also.
We went to the back of the garage for about 5-10 mins during the race with the headsets on.
You take it in turns. The team has a certain amount of passes that they kind of run shuttle tours down to the garage at certain times.
Can't recommend it enough.
Going to Singapore next year!!
Went with Toyota, Renault and Lotus. (I must have been a bad omen)
To upgrade from paddock to the team wasn't a great deal more money.
Friday /Saturday and Sunday.
Friday was by far the best day for visiting the garage. Not many others there and were given fantastic tour of the garage and truck's as they had more time for you and did seam interested if you are.
Two of us went and we were both very interested and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Saturday you meet and great the 2nd driver for about 10/15 minutes in total for everyone to get the autographs and photo's depending how many guests are about.
You still get to go down to the garage but for a much quicker tour. You kind of feel in the way
Sunday you meet no 1 driver for even less time.
And the tour down to the garage was brisk again.
During the pit walks if you go with the team you are then allowed into the team garage also.
We went to the back of the garage for about 5-10 mins during the race with the headsets on.
You take it in turns. The team has a certain amount of passes that they kind of run shuttle tours down to the garage at certain times.
Can't recommend it enough.
Going to Singapore next year!!
rubystone said:
BigBen said:
A guest of a sponsor, Airtel who were linked to Mercedes which was what got us into their garage during the pit walk
I'm not sure the OP will be able to acquire a ticket via a sponsor though? If not, he won't get access to the paddock nor pitlane I fear.Golden Card, Christoph Amman offer Paddock Club facilities at every F1 circuit, with parking and Pit Lane walkabout. 2016 prices wee around $3800 for all three days with food and drinks etc. Very similar to what the teams offer, located in the same area just minus a driver appearance. You will however usually see the drivers passing by.
belleair302 said:
Golden Card, Christoph Amman offer Paddock Club facilities at every F1 circuit, with parking and Pit Lane walkabout. 2016 prices wee around $3800 for all three days with food and drinks etc. Very similar to what the teams offer, located in the same area just minus a driver appearance. You will however usually see the drivers passing by.
So say I was a super Williams fan. Would I approach Williams and say "I want your paddock club experience. I want to eat in the unit you have and walk the pit lane" (not during the race) would they sell you that? I always got the impression those weren't for sale. And only available to whatever Z lister they are courting this weekWhen a sponsor signs with a team they gain certain Rights or tick certain boxes, one of these is Paddock Club Tickets. These are then used for guests etc and the teams 'buy' space and sq footage from the supplier of hospitality. Major teams, Wiliams included are not in the position to sell tickets to fans, super fans or members of the public. This is why Golden Card sell Paddock Club space to cater for wealthy fans and allow the teams to concentrate on sponsors.
Have you been to the Williams factory to enjoy an F1 race, it is a pretty good day out and an interesting insight into what really goes on from a team perspective?
Have you been to the Williams factory to enjoy an F1 race, it is a pretty good day out and an interesting insight into what really goes on from a team perspective?
I last went in 2012 to Valencia with Lotus when Kimi finished 2nd.
These are the quotes I received
Paddock Club 3x days was $4,660
Redbull - $5643 3d
Lotus F1 - $4800 3d
Williams F1 $5211 3d
Ferrari - €5515 in EURO,
Note Ferrari in Euro others in US$.
We met Kimi prior to the race and after the race his trophy was brought into the room for us to have our photo taken with!!
Pretty amazing weekend and met some great people.
These are the quotes I received
Paddock Club 3x days was $4,660
Redbull - $5643 3d
Lotus F1 - $4800 3d
Williams F1 $5211 3d
Ferrari - €5515 in EURO,
Note Ferrari in Euro others in US$.
We met Kimi prior to the race and after the race his trophy was brought into the room for us to have our photo taken with!!
Pretty amazing weekend and met some great people.
belleair302 said:
... Major teams, Wiliams included are not in the position to sell tickets to fans, super fans or members of the public. This is why Golden Card sell Paddock Club space to cater for wealthy fans and allow the teams to concentrate on sponsors...
zoomy said:
I last went in 2012 to Valencia with Lotus when Kimi finished 2nd.
These are the quotes I received
Paddock Club 3x days was $4,660
Redbull - $5643 3d
Lotus F1 - $4800 3d
Williams F1 $5211 3d
Ferrari - €5515 in EURO,
Note Ferrari in Euro others in US$.
We met Kimi prior to the race and after the race his trophy was brought into the room for us to have our photo taken with!!
Pretty amazing weekend and met some great people.
eh? I'm confused.These are the quotes I received
Paddock Club 3x days was $4,660
Redbull - $5643 3d
Lotus F1 - $4800 3d
Williams F1 $5211 3d
Ferrari - €5515 in EURO,
Note Ferrari in Euro others in US$.
We met Kimi prior to the race and after the race his trophy was brought into the room for us to have our photo taken with!!
Pretty amazing weekend and met some great people.
Like belleair. I thought Paddock club or nothing. But seems that if I wanted (had access to
) $6K I could sit with Williams in the s
t hole that is Valencia for 3 days quaffing champagne and 5 star food with a chance to meet Clair and Frank. Feel like this is a recurring topic, but I’ll ask for any updated experiences? I’m particularly curious about anyone who’s gone for a team specific day.
I’d quite like to take my dad to something like this with McLaren at Silverstone. It’s just hard to tell how much access you really get. I’m not expecting 30 mins 1-on-1 with Norris, but I’d feel hard done by if it was just some nice food and a driver interview in front of a dozen other guests.
I’d quite like to take my dad to something like this with McLaren at Silverstone. It’s just hard to tell how much access you really get. I’m not expecting 30 mins 1-on-1 with Norris, but I’d feel hard done by if it was just some nice food and a driver interview in front of a dozen other guests.
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