# My Silverstone F1 2013 experience - photo heavy!!



## LeadFarmer (Feb 23, 2011)

Thought I'd post some photos of my experiences of my visit to the Silverstone F1 last weekend, which was my first ever F1. What an amazing experience!:thumb::thumb:

I searched the tinternet for months and months trying to get advice on visiting and camping, but struggled to get a good vision of how things would be, hence my post here which might help others.

To be honest Ive never been a massive fan of F1 (other than the crashes) but Ive always wanted to experience the sound/thrill of an F1 race. So last year I booked tickets in the International Pit Straight grandstand, along with camping at Silverstone Woodlands campsite, for 3 of us in my caravan. We arrived on the Thursday and departed Monday which allowed us to take in the practice sessions, qualifying sessions, race day and after race party.

I took over 2000 photos :doublesho of the whole event, but heres just a few...

Race day Sunday started with bacon, egg & beans butties on the bbq/grill....










Then off to my seat in the grand stand to watch the Porsche Supercup...










Heres a couple of photos of the view I had from my seat...



















A few gorgeous ladies...










Drivers boarding the Drivers Parade lorry...



















Eddie Jordan, Suzi Perry & David Coulthard...










Cars taking their positions on the grid for the warm up lap...




























Lewis Hamilton entering the pits for a new tyre...










Max Chilton making a pit stop...



















My seat gave me a great view of the cars approaching from Stowe...



















Sebastian Vettel came to a stop right in front of me, which was pretty cool...



















I also had a cracking view of the podium. Heres the award presentation...










Followed by the champagne...










And Damon Hills speech...










Followed by the crowd spilling onto the track...










So I thought why not, and went onto the track myself and picked up a few bits of tyre rubber for keepsakes...










Overall a superb adventure, albeit perhaps a once in a lifetime experience due to the costs£££:doublesho. My only regret was not knowing that Carol Vorderman was going to be appearing on the grid just before the race 

Loads more photos if anyones interested 

Thanks


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

Great pics , great seats you had, and pic 1 & 5 for me:thumb:, what camera and lens was you using and did you select these seats, and did you say you was £250 each on another thread, thanks for sharing
Yes more pics please


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## sprocketser (Aug 4, 2012)

Great pix again mate ! Thanx for sharing .


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## Bizcam (Nov 19, 2012)

Glad you had a great day. Photos are great.


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## LeadFarmer (Feb 23, 2011)

Derekh929 said:


> Great pics , great seats you had, and pic 1 & 5 for me:thumb:, what camera and lens was you using and did you select these seats, and did you say you was £250 each on another thread, thanks for sharing
> Yes more pics please


I used my Nikon D5000 but I hired a lens especially for the occasion - Nikon 80-400mm. At first I didnt think the lens was any better than my Tamron 70-300, but Ive now realised I was wrong. I can zoom into the photos to crop them and still get nice clear images. Pics 3 & 4 were taken with my 18-55mm to show an overall view. Some of the pics were taken whilst I was also recording with my camcorder, resting my long lens on top of my other hand whilst recording!!!!!

The seats cost me £345 and I chose them myself after phoning Silverstone for advice. I said I wanted to be in the Int Pit Straight with a view of the pits. They suggested these seats as they said they also gave a view of the podium.

I would have liked to have been further down the grandstand towards the start line to see Hamilton, but I wouldnt have got a view of the pits as the fence obstructs. I also wouldn't have had a view of the cars approaching from Stowe.

As it turns out I think the seats were perfect :thumb:

Camping at Silverstone Woodlands cost £90 each:doublesho and I then upgraded to an electric hook up pitch for an additional £60:doublesho

Like I say, a once in a lifetime experience, What made it perfect was the view, weather and a Brit in pole position


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

LeadFarmer said:


> I used my Nikon D5000 but I hired a lens especially for the occasion - Nikon 80-400mm. At first I didnt think the lens was any better than my Tamron 70-300, but Ive now realised I was wrong. I can zoom into the photos to crop them and still get nice clear images. Pics 3 & 4 were taken with my 18-55mm to show an overall view. Some of the pics were taken whilst I was also recording with my camcorder, resting my long lens on top of my other hand whilst recording!!!!!
> 
> The seats cost me £345 and I chose them myself after phoning Silverstone for advice. I said I wanted to be in the Int Pit Straight with a view of the pits. They suggested these seats as they said they also gave a view of the podium.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info that's great so £500 each was this for the weekend ? Great location in deed and perfect weather


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## LeadFarmer (Feb 23, 2011)

£500 covered me arriving on Thursday, roaming around all the grandstands on Friday & Saturday, my designated seat on Sunday, and of course camping, finally departing on the Monday.

A few more photos....

Grid getting very busy in the build up to the race...










Photos of the crowds...



















General Admission ticket holders arriving early...



















Back to the grid...



















View from Stowe on qualifying day...










View from Becketts grandstand looking across to The Loop???










View from the General Admission area next to Becketts grandstand...










View from Becketts grandstand...










Get well soon board for Murray Walker...


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## Buckweed (Aug 27, 2012)

Sounds like you had a great day and the weather turned out fab, love the pics well done :thumb:


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## RichardM (Mar 1, 2009)

You certainly had better seats than me! I really enjoyed it, first GP I had been to.


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## Matt. (Aug 26, 2007)

I've been looking forward to you posting this thread. 

Looks like you had a great time, and the photos are excellent. 

Is camping in a tent the same as caravan pitch?

Is £345 for the seat for all 3 days?


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

Matt. said:


> I've been looking forward to you posting this thread.
> 
> Looks like you had a great time, and the photos are excellent.
> 
> ...


Matt no just grandstand on Sunday roaming other 2 days he confirmed, great seat though


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## LeadFarmer (Feb 23, 2011)

Matt. said:


> I've been looking forward to you posting this thread.
> 
> Looks like you had a great time, and the photos are excellent.
> 
> ...





Derekh929 said:


> Matt no just grandstand on Sunday roaming other 2 days he confirmed, great seat though


Correct:thumb:

Friday - they let anyone into the grandstands as long as they had at least a General Admission ticket (and assuming there were seats available). 
Saturday - you had to have a grandstand ticket to sit in a grandstand, but you were free to go in & out of them all. General Admission ticket holders weren't allowed into grandstands.
Sunday - you could only sit in your designated seats, in your designated grandstand.:thumb:

Popular grandstands like Becketts filled up about 1hr before the practice/qualifying sessions started. But to get your choice of seats you really had to be there about 1.5hrs before.


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## LeadFarmer (Feb 23, 2011)

*Camping*

You have a choice when booking to either pitch in the lively area or the family quiet area. This year tent and caravans were separated into their respective zones. The only exception to this was for anyone who had upgraded to an electric hook up pitch, in which case both caravans and tents pitched together.

Some camping photos...

Heres an overall picture of the circuit including the official Silverstone Woodlands campsite to the right, marked in red...










And an aerial photo...










The difference between lively and family camping is due to your proximity to the entertainment marquee which is shown here looking like a circus big top. Noise from the live music went on till about midnight. We could still hear it in the quiet area, but not quite as loud...










Heres a photo of the designated caravan area which was right next to the marquee...










Also next to the entertainment marquee is the Petrol Head Pub...



















One of the family camping areas...










And the electric hook up pitches, shared by both caravans and tents. You can see the large white generator in the foreground, with the yellow fuel tank next to it. These hummed away 24/7 and if you were unlucky enough to be pitched right next to one then it would be quite annoying at night time. When arriving you were directed to a pitch, so had no choice where you went...










Inside the camping entertainment marquee (thats Eddie Jordan on stage!!)...










Some of the food stalls outside the marquee...










The toilets and shower blocks on the campsite. Despite the brilliant weather, we did have sone rain on Thursday & Friday. This was enough to churn up the mud on well walked areas. Because these paths received constant foot traffic they never really dried out. At times the toilets were swimming with mud, but there were staff on hand that were constantly in and out fixing the problems...










And the chemical toilet disposal point (dont know why I took this photo ). Its a good job the sign was there as I was feeling really thirsty:doublesho...


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## tmitch45 (Jul 29, 2006)

Cracking photos mate I really like the one of Hamilton coming into the pits and the one of Hamilton in the second batch! Sounds like you had a cracking weekend!


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## LeadFarmer (Feb 23, 2011)

It certainly was a cracking weekend, it could only have been made better had a Brit won the race.

*Entertainment*

There are two entertainment areas. The main one is a central entertainment area within the circuit, and the other is at the Silverstone Woodlands campsite. You have to be pitched on the site to access this (wristbands are issued).

Heres the main central entertainment area...










On the Saturday night Billy Ocean was on stage, and he was surprisingly good...










These are some photos of the after race party, which ended about 6pm. Some of the drivers made an appearance. First up - Lewis Hamilton...










Now not being a big F1 fan I cant remember who everyone else was, so please fill in the gaps for me...

?????????










??????










??????










I think I know this one...










And of course Damon Hill...


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## LeadFarmer (Feb 23, 2011)

And sadly the drive out of Silverstone on the Monday morning ....










To stop receiving any more photos, please text the words 'Stop posting photos your boring me' to 07797 313*** :wave::wave:


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## VW Golf-Fan (Aug 3, 2010)

LeadFarmer said:


> Loads more photos if anyones interested


Yes ta! :thumb:


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## LeadFarmer (Feb 23, 2011)

VW Golf-Fan said:


> Yes ta! :thumb:


Your a bad boy

Ok then, a few more. Im trying not to post just close ups of cars, so heres a few random ones...

Practice day in the rain - Luffield I think??



















I cant recall the name of this bend...










Becketts grandstand (this really was a good grandstand to view the cars)...



















Is this Webber?










From the General Admission banking next to Becketts...










Recovery team (this must be the perfect job?)...










Do they say that Silverstone becomes the busiest airport in the UK on race day?...


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## id_doug (Apr 6, 2011)

You've got to be pleased with them, some cracking pictures! :thumb:


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## LeadFarmer (Feb 23, 2011)

id_doug said:


> You've got to be pleased with them, some cracking pictures! :thumb:


Well you'd expect a few decent ones from over 2000 taken  plenty of really poor ones as well though.


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## id_doug (Apr 6, 2011)

LeadFarmer said:


> Well you'd expect a few decent ones from over 2000 taken  plenty of really poor ones as well though.


I guess the law of averages sassy there would be some good ones! :lol: you have to cover your options


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