Favorite F1 Race you have attended

usgp 2005. you'll never see anything like that again. hopefully shumi and rubino almost taking each other out right in front of us at turn one. hilarious.

 

Was there too.
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It was a Ferrari 1-2-3 as Eddie Irvine finished 3rd for Jaguar! Was an amazing time to be in the crowd below the podium then.

 

Imola with you and Eddie's father over some Lambrusco outside of Tamburello remains one of my fav races. It was a said day for the Schumacher family, but it was glorious for you and me.

 

French GP in 68. I'm the guy in the Brown Sweater. The guy sitting on the white car won the race.
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That was fun. Also at Monza in 2002 I was sat in the pit-straight grandstand after the race and the podium chatting with some friends when Eddie's parents arrived. They were so pleased that he'd got a podium. I don't think it was expected at all. Got a photo somewhere of me holding the trophy with his parents. Good times!

 

Every F1 race i have been to has been special each in there own different ways. The one race that does stand out in my mind though had to have been the 2005 USGP that race was the absolute worst because of the Michelin boycott, The hotel trying to jack me over on the rates, the rental car agency trying to jack up my rates. About the only thing at that race that was good was the F-Chat dinner downtown and sitting next to Porsche Supercup driver Thomas Messer and his hott blonde girlfriend on the flight from Indy to Chicago the Monday after.

 

and to your left, in the black T-shirt...the Zodiac Killer!

cool pick, Jim! a lost era.

 

I think you're right.

 

For me, the 2005 USGP. First time I'd been at a GP, a 13 hour drive, TINY little hotel room with 3 dudes in it, and infield general admission seats. We did everything wrong, but had a great time. The whole Michelin thing added to the experience, and who would have figured a Jordan on the podium?

 

My first.. Monaco 1977..Won by Schecter, Ferrari 2nd and third.. Lauda barely missed catching Schecter at the finish. Elf was running those bizarre 6 wheel cars.
Was lucky enough to finnagle an orange "Circuit" arm badge (still have it today)from the Automobile Club De Monaco, and had full access to pits and track during all practices and race day. Was such an experience as opposed to being restricted to a singular grandstand all the time. Some scene when they close the streets and the F1 cars come flying thru Casino square.

Still remember Hunt coming into the lobby of the Hotel de paris way after hours after topping a few at Regine's disco Jimmy's.

Would highly recommend that trip as a life experience

 

Nice candid of Jacky Ickx! You couldn't get a shot like that today. And you forgot to mention that he won the race in a Ferrari.

 

That's what I call making the best of a bad situation.

 

His first win I think.

 

I was right. It was the first ever win for Ickx, and the first pole position for Rindt. Also Jo Schlesser had a fatal accident on the third lap of the race, when he lost control in the then-new Honda RA302 chassis which overturned and caught fire partially due to its magnesium content. He was chosen when normal Honda driver John Surtees refused to drive the new car, opting for the older RA301 chassis, on the grounds that the new car was unsafe.

 

I've had too many great days at Grands Prix (before Mad Max Mosley ruined it) to pick just one. These are my memorable moments, in no particular order (and not all the Grands Prix I've been to):

Brands Hatch 1980: My first Grand Prix and the only time I saw my hero, Gilles Villeneuve race live. He didn't last long unfortunately. Pironi was spectacular in the Ligier...and our coach got stuck in the mud when it rained after the race. Oh and Eddie Cheever spinning off during the race and missing the RAF Harrier parked on the infield after the air display by a fraction!

Brands Hatch 1982: Even as a Ferrari fan I still cheered when Derek Warwick took his Toleman past Pironi's Ferrari at Paddock. Of course, we now know Warwick had no fuel in the car, which was why he stopped shortly afterwards, but it was still an achievement. The ungainly Toleman was designed by a chap called Rory Byrne. I wonder what became of him

Hockenheim 1984: We were en famille at the Ostkurve chicane. One helluva trek from where we were parked. But the opening lap with the gathering roar of the engines through the trees before the pack burst into view still makes my spine tingle at the memory.

Imola 1985: A great race. Senna and Alboreto were at the front but hit trouble. Then a huge cheer as Johnasson, who had just taken over from Arnoux at Ferrari, took the lead. They were still cheering as, a few corners later, he came past us slowing to a crawl with flames coming from the turbos on the overrun. Our coach was stuck in traffic on way out of the circuit when the Italians around us suddenly went mad. Winner Prost had been disqualified.

Zeltweg 1987: It was pouring with rain during one of the practice sessions and all the spactators were crammed into the grandstand at the Bosch Kurve - the only one with a roof. The atmosphere was absolutely electric. Tremendous cheers for Berger: Ferrari driver and local hero.

Monza 1987: The late laps and Senna was leading with the active-ride Lotus, his tyres shot. Piquet's Williams was gaining fast. A momentary lapse. Senna ran wide at Parabolica and Piquet was through for the win.

Monza 1990: My favourite track and watching on the stat/finish straight. Derek Warwick rolled his Lotus at Parabolica on the opening lap...and then ran back to the pits for the spare car. The applause was thunderous.

Barcelona 1991: The first and far and away the best race at Montmelo. Mansell and Senna a fraction apart for the full length of the main straight, sparks flying. Senna arriving at the first corner in front of us and creating a huge shower of stones as he braked. Out of our sight he had gone off at the previous corner and all the gravel he had collected was now being flung out by the g-force as he braked. Alesi passing Schumacher and a backmarker with two wheels on the grass. Amazing. And the TV cameras missed it...

Monaco 1995: On the coach from Nice airport with Murray Walker. He didn't think Ferrari would be competitive that weekend. Well, Alesi dominated practice and would have been on pole but for a technical glitch. I was in a wonderful little grandstand (and the ticket was a bargain price too!) halfway up the hill towards the casino and able to see a goodly portion of the track around the swimming pool too - including Brundle's Ligier appearing into view going backwards after he had collided with Alesi whilst being lapped. I refused the offer of earplugs and after the race was completely deaf until the following morning (not very sensible I must admit).

Monza 1999: Mika Hakkinen had just crashed out of the lead, a helicopter was circling above him as he sobbed in the bushes and it was all on the big screen. Then he came back past us with the crowd going nuts around him.

Hockenheim 2003: Actually I hated what they had done to emasculate the track and we were sweltering in the heat in the grandstand overlooking the first corner. But Schumacher won and of all the Grands Prix I have been to that was the only time I saw a Ferrari win live. And to date it remains the last Grand Prix I have been to.

Jonathan

 

That's gotta be my favorite as well. Cruising the pits Friday night the Ferrari mechanics were changing decals on the bodywork, one of them handed me a Marlboro logo 'Alesi' decal. Cruising the pits Saturday night I was making notes of the various neutral valves and switches and asked a Benneton mechanic about theirs. He walks me into the garage and points into the bottom of Schumachers car where the neutral valve was located. Maybe I put a hex on the car...
Race day I'm at a response position driver's right before station 7B. No spectators, just me, a fellow marshall, and a security chic. Alesi and Schumacher are pounding around the circuit, we get used to hearing the cars get on the straight and shift a couple of times before we see them, then they shift again before braking under the bridge. Lap after lap we hear the same routine. Security chic's pulling for Schumacher, I'm in standard Ferrari mode (cheer them on for a win but it never works out). Finally there's the lap we hear Schumacher accelerate after 7A, shift, accelerate, then... nothing. I must've jumped 10 feet! Security chic hasn't clued in, but gets the message when Schumacher trundles by with a steering wheel that won't shift gears. A few laps later and I wave my newly purchased Ferrari flag to Alesi then head for the pit lane and spent the rest of the day there with people singing happy birthday to Alesi and generally swimming in tifosiness.
That flag's flown trackside for every Canadian GP finish since then and more than once out of the school bus worker transport. Looks like it's getting a rest this year.

 

I really don't have one specific favorite, many for various reasons each of which has importance. San Marino 2004 (weekend of total Ferrari activities for us), San Marino 2005 with the MS-FA battle to the end and a helio ride over the circuit, San Marino 2006 when MS broke the record for most poles (66) and beat Alonso (sitting in the stands at Acqua Minerali sharing wine with friends from the UK), Magny Cours 2004 for the brilliant pit stop strategy by Ross and Ruben's pass on Trulli on the final lap and all the Spa races we've attended where Michael would always set/break records. Can't forget the USGP in 2001 when they had a citron green Mercedes C320C on a trailer display...I said one day I would like a car just like that, well my '04 Kermit is sitting in the shop next to the Ferrari and my new TT. Life is good.

Carol

 

Long Beach 1976. First GP there !

Borsari was the head mechanic on Clay's car. I hopped the fence after the race and scammed up to the podium. Borsari was drinking the champagne and passed the bottle to me. Damn, no one there with me had a camera on the event. Thursday night went to dinner with the Ferrari mechanics to our local long beach watering hole at the Jolly Roger.

what a great GP !!

 

Definitly my first live F1 Grand Prix experience; Spa-Francorchamps 1998.

The one with the biggest crash at the start ever... Unfortunately I was at the bus stop chicane at that unforgetable moment. Nevertheless I saw Schumacher on three wheels driving into the pits after the famous Coulthard - Schumacher crash and I saw this crash happen right in front of me...

http://nl.truveo.com/F1-1998-SPA-FISICHELLA-CRASH/id/2106686130

 

2005 USGP. Infamous!!!

I have all but forgotten any race details of all the other USGP's I've attended.