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| Mark Webber. |
For Formula 1 week we took up
residence in a clean and tidy one bedroom apartment within walking distance of
the Albert Park race circuit. One of our GP Advantage privileges promised us a
pit walk at 9am on Thursday morning and we were waiting, with thousands of
others, by 8:30am. For some reason the pit walk was delayed by half an hour,
but Victorians are a patient bunch and everyone waited quietly and calmly in
the queue. When the pit walkers finally arrived in pit lane the group stopped
moving while hundreds of digital cameras snapped away. Even security, who kept
barking “move along, move along,” seemed to have no impact on the large group
of punters. At one stage it looked like they wouldn’t be able to clear pit lane
in time for the first event at 10am. We stopped long enough to take some great
photographs of the F1 pit garages. Many of the photographs were the same ones we
had taken in 2009, however it was important to get the new and updated images.
There is plenty of on track
activities but there is no racing on Thursday so it was a great day to enjoy some
of the grand prix’s off track entertainment. We browsed through the
merchandising stalls and noticed that Red Bull T shirts and caps were the most popular.
Ferrari merchandising seems to be taking a back seat after the departure of
Michael Schumacher.
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| Nitro Circus. |
The FLAIR Moto Trials Show was
very entertaining but it’s difficult to compete with the motorcycle and bicycle
acrobatics of the Nitro Circus; those guys are truly insane. There seemed to be
a lot more entertainment aimed at children and teenagers and I thought the age
demographic was younger than it was in 2009.
On Friday the F1 cars took to the
track for the first time and we were treated to three hours of F1 entertainment
during the course of the day. Since 1985 I have always been a Mclaren fan. When
Lewis Hamilton joined the Mclaren it seemed like a match made in heaven for
both me and the team. Unfortunately Lewis is now driving for Mercedes and I
missed him. First and foremost I always hope that Australians Mark Webber or
Danny Ricciardo win, no matter who they drive for. If the Aussies can’t win
Mclaren is my team.
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| Saturday Qualifying in the rain. |
Rain stopped play after the first
qualifying session on Saturday and we were thrilled with our undercover seating
while we watched the high tech sport of Formula 1 use brooms to try and sweep
the standing water off the track. Eventually race control rescheduled the
second and third qualifying sessions until 11am on Sunday morning.
We couldn’t take our undercover
seating home with us and we were drenched walking back to our unit in South
Yarra. A hot shower, a plate of Peking Duck and a bottle of Red from a local
Chinese restaurant and we were all smiles again.
Because of the rescheduling of
qualifying, gates opened at 10:00 on race day Sunday. Luckily Steve remembered
that GP Advantage ticket holders could enter the circuit from 8:30am on Sunday so
we didn’t have to queue with the masses. With a quickly drying track the final
two qualifying sessions were a nail biting experience. Eventually the two Red
Bulls, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, took out the first row of the grid.
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| Front Row: Vettel and Webber. |
Steve and I always choose our
seats so they overlook pit straight as we find there is always something going
on in pit lane or on the starting grid to keep us entertained. On Sunday we
stayed in our seats for most of the day and enjoyed the support races which included
V8 Supercars, Porsche Carrera Cup and International Sports Cars. Moto GP
retiree, Casey Stoner certainly brought a touch of celebrity to the Ultimate
Speed Comparison and I made sure I was in my seat each time this event was on
track.
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| The Podium. |
Sunday’s race is always full of
drama and Mark Webber was the first victim, losing several places before the
first corner. Kimi Raikkonen surprised everyone and took out the win using good
tyre management; Kimi only made two pit stops instead of three. Ferrari’s
Fernando Alonso came second and Sebastian Vettel, the current world champion,
third. Mark Webber finished sixth and Danny Ricciardo retired in the late
stages of the race. The fans were quickly on the track after the completion of
the race so they could join in the celebrations on the podium. When the Premier
of Victoria was introduced an audible booing came from the crowd. This happened
again when Sebastian Vettel was awarded his third place trophy. I hope, in
Sebastian’s case, the booing was delivered with a touch of humour as Aussie
Mark Webber is his team mate.
We stayed a while, watching the
celebrations and soaking up the last glimmer of this amazing event. The
Melbourne F1 Grand Prix just keeps getting better and better and it felt like a
pleasure and a privilege to be there in 2013.
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