Morning all

I'm thinking of getting my other half tickets to the British F1 GP at Silverstone this year.

She's never been before and enjoys watching it on the telly.

Just wanted a bit of experience on the general admission tickets, I assume these are the tickets that allow you to wonder the circuit on the grass banks and watch from the comfort of your very own arm blanket !!!

Any experience and advice welcome

We went to Spa on a ticket like this.
I'd suggest getting in a position where you can see a big display, or get an iphone app etc. so you can figure out what's going on. It isn't at all obvious from the side of the track.
Also bring a picnic. Once you have a good spot don't give it up by wandering off to a burger stall etc. You won't get it back.
I'm making it sound bad, but in reality it is a brilliant experience.

Thanks SF

I was thinking being sat on a grassy bank would almost be more involved in the action than sitting in a grandstand.

I'd imagine (I've never been) that you can buy some sort of earpiece which'll give you commentary to keep you updated on what's happening.

If you're a Sky customer and have a smartphone/tablet you could watch the race on SkyGo whilst you're there.

Nellybear, MrsC and I went to Silverstone in 2010. We stayed the Saturday night on the campsite and thought we'd be sneaky and get up before everyone else to get a good spot to watch from. We got up at 5, but outside was like a Zombie movie - lots of middle aged couples clutching folding chairs slowly trudging in the gloom towards the circuit. When we got there, it was rammed - 5 deep at the fences. We actually couldn't see the track at all if we sat down. We didn't really know what to do, especially as MrsC wasn't feeling too good. In the end, we said WTF and paid an extra £60 each for seats in the Grandstand at Stowe: best £120 of the weekend (which ended up costing £500 in total). Superb view, great atmosphere, reasonably comfortable seats and right in front of a huge TV screen. Don't worry too much about getting to see the action away from where you are, as the giant screens are well-placed. You may want to get a Sky (or whoever) earpiece though as the commentary is the usual race-circuit unintelligible reverb...

If you have an ipad and trust the 3G to work, you could take the app along, but frankly I never looked at it.

As a spectacle, the noise and atmosphere is great, but if I were going to spend reasonably large wedge on a motorsport event it would be Goodwood over the F1 (and I'm a big fan of F1) every time.

5Live with some decent headphones

You can't beat watching F1 on telly. With to all the info, views and replays you get on TV, you are comparatively clueless to what's going on when at the track. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't experience it at least once

I was at Silverstone in 2010 also. We were at Vale Grandstand and tickets were about £230 each for weekend, even for the kids. It's about 10-12 seconds of view you get from these seats.(Better than Monaco which cost double that and you got about 5-6 seconds view of Car) There is a large Grassy area in front of Vale Stand which had plenty of space and looked more comfy than our seats in the Vale stand . The best Grandstands sell out early so get in quickly. We were to late and couldn't get five seats together and ended up taking seats in Vale. I wouldn't choose Vale or Club Stands again.
There are plenty of Screens but these can be hard to view if it is blazing sunshine like wot we had. Yes you do need an earpiece/headset for commentary as Jim said as the track commentary is inaudible. Don't view the race via your Camera or Phone lens -get pictures taken early and concentrate on race or you'll not have a clue what is going on and the race will be over. Don't bother trying watch it on a Tablet/phone while there - it's pointless on so many levels. It is very very loud and noisey at F1 - you will not be prepared for how noisy it is- it hurts and you will do a lot of shouting. The Campsite Music stages and bars were fun with Eddie Jordan turning up and entertaining the campers at night. You need to get their early on Friday if you are Camping to get a good quiet spot. Don't camp in the beautiful tree lined avenue as we did. I tried to catch up on sleep after the Race on Sunday and discovered the Helicopters use this as a navigational aid and there was a helicopter shuttle service- line astern- going over every 10 seconds for about an hour and a half. Then it was 30 secs after that. IMHO Overall F1 is way overpriced for the fans, you don't get a lot for your money and the catering is absolute crap and a rip-off also.
The best part was not the race, for us it was everything else and the people we met at the camp site over the 2 days.

I have to agree that it's hard to keep up with what's happening on track when you're there, but as said, the best bits are soaking up the atmosphere and experiencing it.

Get there Thursday and watch the place fill up over the weekend, go to the pubs and you'll chat to the locals and other fans and it's just a friendly, brilliant atmosphere and feeling to be there.

I went to the Spa track in Belgium around 2003/2004 with a local newspaper package holiday trip which was good, although was general admission tickets, so trying to find a good spot was a bit of a nightmare.

I think it was 2005 when I went to my first British F1. We bought tickets for the Luffield stand, but it was a covered stand, so was a bit chilly under there when 'outside' was sunny.
It also seemed a bit cramped and if anyone stood up to cheer their team on, you had to stand up also, just to see what was happening.

2006 was the best year for us. We both knew what to expect, so travelled down a day earlier and arrived for camping on the Thursday.
We booked Pit Straight tickets, so had a good view of the cars on the grid, etc.
That year, the tickets covered us for the Friday and Saturday also, so we had a good 3 days at the track.
I think the weather helped as well, it was a glorious weekend, bbq's at the campsites, etc.
Even going to the local (only) shop in the village is an experience, as well as the walk from the village to the track

Get general entry tickets this year, get there early for a decent spot, experience the camping, the atmosphere, the noise, etc and if you enjoy it, save up for stand tickets for the following year.

I took my youngest son to Silverstone in 2007 - went on the Saturday and Sunday. I booked quite late, but got REALLY lucky with a couple of seats on the exit of Woodcote, about halfway down the grid and almost directly opposite the podium.

Yes, we only saw cars for a few seconds at a time, but there was a huge screen above the podium, so we could see the TV feed very clearly. However, the atmosphere was spine-tingling, especially when Lewis put it on pole in the dying seconds of Quali - well worth the price of the tickets for that moment alone.

It also meant we got photos like these:

Podium celebrations

Mrs Beckham watching, with friend

Red Arrows (minus one) showing off a bit against a perfect blue sky

Contrast that with a few years earlier when we tried to save money with a general admission ticket - we turned up too late (ie 6:00am) and found that we were already 50+ feet back from the fencing, hardly able to see anything AND we daren't move all day for fear of losing our spot.

Pay the extra for a grandstand seat (covered if you think the weather might be iffy) and have a properly enjoyable day

I'd agree with Nigel on this.

I have been to every BGP for the last 15 years and love it. Luckily for me I am paid to be there as work for a Helicopter company that provide shuttles mentioned earlier in the thread, even now with the reduced number of flights it's still the busiest airspace anywhere in the world.

As others have said it is all about the atmosphere. Camping makes the whole experience entirely worth it. I have done Magny Cour a few times and would love to go back there for 4 days of pure drunken fun!

I'd agree with much of the above. I went many many years ago (Mansell was on pole) and it was great though my bro and I were hugely under-prepared. We went to the Sat and Fri sessions in the subsequent years - much better value though I'm not sure you can get tickets for just those days any more.

Went to Spa in the late 90's - shocking! Never ever spent so much money and have been treated so badly ever. You kinda have to get a grandstand ticket there.

I'm taking my kids to Silverstone this year - blown a large amount of money on some really good tickets - I'm planning on having a great 3 days. Like Spa, I think general entry tickets is a great way of spending a lot of money for a really average experience. Go big or go home!

I agree that any sporting occasion is great to attend. I've never been to a Grand Prix, but I've done Twickenham for the Calcutta Cup, Lords for a Test Match, White Hart Lane for the mighty Spurs, Priestfield Stadium and several others following the high-flying Gillingham, Wembley for a Cup Final and Wimbledon for the tennis. You attend these events for the atmosphere, not the viewing experience which is infinitely better on TV (and usually warmer/dryer in your own home) and a damned sight cheaper. I'm afraid that £230 or so for standing in a field in Northampton being deafened for three days doesn't float my boat (unless it rains).

Having said that, I am now of an age where I need reliable and accessible toilet facilities

I have never been and would love to go! Thought about it again this year and think it's just an aweful lot of money!

Especially if it's just a glimpse and you watching mostly on a big tv.

I went to Brands Hatch to watch the A1 when it had its opening race there and the next year. (does not exist now)
That I thoroughly enjoyed. Pretty much anywhere you stand you can see alot of the track at any one time. The 'being there' experience I would agree there is no substitute. The volume from the cars I have never experienced before as they literally screamed from the start line.

Hope you enjoy it, bit cheaper and I would be there.

Seven of us are going to Spa this year. I've never been to F1 before as I refuse to go to Silverstone (cannot stand crowds). We've got covered grandstand tickets at the top of Eau Rouge and two large caravans booked at campsite Eau Rouge for 4 nights, which is walkable to the Les Coombes entrance. With Eurotunnel bookings it's costing each of us a shade over £500 which I think should be good value, but we'll see. I'm not planning on going again soon, but this is the perfect year to go as it's the last year for the V8's and the Spa grandprix may not be around for much longer, unless Bernie expires.

Sorry cannot offer advise, just letting you know the rough prices involved if you fancy going to Spa.

I hope Spa has improved as a spectacle. When we went the race day entertainment consisted of
1. A Porsche Cup race
2. A bicycle race of local celebrities (obviously the joke "Name 3 famous Belgians" hadn't made it as far as the organisers)
3. An F1 race which started under the safety car (due to a cloudburst just before the start) and has no victory lap.

We were soooooo bored that, mid-morning when a marshal rode round on a moped, he got a standing ovation.

By 9am there wasn't a single bit of bog roll left (we took our own). By midday every seller had run out of any and every sort of refreshment.

We camped. My brothers queued for 1.5 hours for a shower. The Germans turned their disco music off at 5am when we all trooped into the circuit.

As for crowds - with nothing after the GP to keep some people back, EVERYBODY headed for the gates the instant the race finished. They'd forgotten to open the gates so everyone had to file out of the turnstiles. We then sat in traffic all the way back to Brussels.

By comparison, Silverstone was/is magical...Entertainment all day and plenty of concessions. Despite the bad things that are said about it, I found Spa & Valencia far far worse.

See you there then!
Haven't sorted accommodation yet.Do you mind me asking where and which tickets you guys bought?Ours are all bought and paid for.

There's now GP2 & GP3 as well as the Porsche Supercup which I also follow to keep us interested. Melker had a massive crash in the GP2 race last year just opposite the Eau Rouge stand which will have woken up the spectators.

Did you stay at Eau Rouge campsite MRS? I've heard lots of poor reports of the official track camp site but Eau Rouge is open all year round and seems very pleasant with lots of good reviews. I'll be taking the ear plugs and plenty of bog roll anyway. We do not plan to buy any extras at the track, except the obligatory chips and mayo and will be coming and leaving by the Les Coombes gate.



I think we got about 20% off when I bought them in October. Seven Gold 3 Eau Rouge grandstand tickets for 2,720.00€ delivered (now 3,210.00€).

We stayed at a campsite near Les Coombes somewhere. Don't remember the details. Think it was private

The lads camping at previous SpaItalia events always stayed at the Eau Rouge campsite and were very happy with it.

It may be different at F1 GP time I suppose.

For sure - Germans turn up with 6 camper vans: one of which is the disco, one is the shower block and so on - they take this stuff very very seriously ;-)

Getting seating is certainly the right thing to do. No need to arrive until just before the action starts. Others will have been there from 5am. By 9am people are standing 15-deep