Ferrari F1 Hospitality | FerrariChat

Ferrari F1 Hospitality

Discussion in 'F1' started by SECRET, Nov 11, 2019.

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  1. SECRET

    SECRET Formula Junior
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    May 19, 2007
    934
    Has anyone purchased F1 hospitality packages through Ferrari recently?

    If so, how was your experience?


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  2. SECRET

    SECRET Formula Junior
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    May 19, 2007
    934
  3. paulchua

    paulchua Cat Herder
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jul 1, 2013
    15,979
    Menlo Park, CA
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    Paul Chua
    my pockets not deep enough.

    Let's see, a F1 weekend or a used Fiat Abarth 500?

    I'll take the latter.
     
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  4. Two...you need one for each foot.... :D
     
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  5. spirot

    spirot F1 World Champ

    Dec 12, 2005
    14,500
    Atlanta
    Full Name:
    Tom Spiro
    I was at COTA and next to the Ferrari Suite. It's very well done, lots of pasta, and very high end experience. I was at Mercedes ( guest of one of their sponsors ) I think Ferrari's suite's service was better, and the food looked amazing .(I peeked in to say hi to some friends). you are paying for the access to the Paddock and looking over the pit lane. Usually the teams take you down in groups to the garage during the day you are there.... and either before or after qualifying. Its a fun time, and you get super close to the cars. They usually have a couple of "hosts" who take you through the day, what's happening etc.. and the drivers come up and talk each day. I ran into Charles Leclerc coming up the stair well from the paddock.

    what you don't usually get into is the actual team hospitality - which is just as nice but you are also right there with the team & drivers etc... I have friends who work with Ferrari who got into the Team hospitality which I would die for, but their comment was you don't see any of the racing, except on TV.
     
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  6. SECRET

    SECRET Formula Junior
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    May 19, 2007
    934
    Thanks! So you do not get into the team’s hospitality area downstairs in the paddock? (The one just behind the garage).

    Do you know how one would gain access there?

    Also is your Paddock Pass active for all 3 days?
     
  7. Racing? Who needs racing when you can have all of paragraph one? :rolleyes:
     
  8. spirot

    spirot F1 World Champ

    Dec 12, 2005
    14,500
    Atlanta
    Full Name:
    Tom Spiro
    Ferrari hospitality is their version of the Paddock Club. you get several times a day a "tour" down in the paddock. The Team Hospitality is for team and sponsor guests - usually for "working guests". its quite common for teams to host their sponsor managers etc.. for meetings while in the country of the F-1 race.

    usually you purchase a 1-2-or 3 day "experience" each day you have a new Pass, for both Paddock access ( other than an FIA credential ) or Paddock club/ Ferrari hospitality.

    pic of passes from COTA 2019 .... I was there for Sat & Sunday. Qualification day is to me the best day ....
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  9. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Dec 6, 2002
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    Houston, Texas
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    Bubba
    I was in Mission Winnow for a few minutes, and it was very nice.

    I left the race wearing the badges Spiro has, trading them for a tall pretty lady, that needed a ride downtown.
    They were Prox Cards to the Entry Turnstiles....I went up the Freight Elevator.

    As described, where you are is ABOVE the Ferrari Pits, with a seating balcony opposite the main grandstand.
    I did not sample the food, or even prevail on them for more than ice water.

    I really was just charging my phone, when a goon tossed me out!

    All of COTA catering is RS3 provided, but at the Paddock Club and VIP Suite level its very nice.

    I went down to the Balcony on the end of the Paddock, and struck up a convo with Southbys that was serving Andretti wine.
    He gave me a bottle after the race, as there's no distribution in Texas.
    He was impressed I knew that I guess.....

    No idea what three days of 'Formula 1 Experience' costs, I guess check the website!
    I'm guessing $3K to $4K....
     
  10. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Actually one of mine was lime green with FIA VIP on the ribbon, so I outrank Spiro!!

    They were dead when I got them, of course......Sunday evening.
    The goons chased me out of the Balcony as I finished my wine.
     
  11. spirot

    spirot F1 World Champ

    Dec 12, 2005
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    Atlanta
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    Tom Spiro

    Its easy to out rank me!

    Catering at all Paddock Clubs is by Do & Co..... surprisingly partially owned by Lauda. the food is good, service is usually a mix of local and group that travels with DO & CO. lots of Austrians, Swiss, and Germans..... the Hosts are usually from host company.
     
  12. SECRET

    SECRET Formula Junior
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    May 19, 2007
    934
    Any opinions regarding USGP vs Canadian GP from the perspective of attending the race? We loved the USGP, but we're wondering if we started at the pinnacle of hospitality or if there are better cities.

    Some things that we learned while we were there that was not well advertised or discussed:

    · Daily schedule is somewhat of a 'Plan it Yourself' thing rather than a host that is paired with you to help you figure out how to maximize your trip
    · We got the Legend package thinking we were one of a handful (at least that's what our group organizer led us to believe). The Legend package appeared to have been sold to at least 150-200 attendees, some of whom had little manners, high expectations, low patience, and the highest possible entitlement factor. This made for an interesting first day, to say the least.
    · We did not maximize our Paddock Pass. We did not realize that the one day Paddock Pass was highly exclusive and was literally one day only. As a result, we found out that most others only get a Paddock "tour" rather than a pass.
    · We completely missed the Pit Lane Walk the first day. This was a self-guided thing and required you to get yourself to the right place at the right time. Many of the hosts in the Legend lounge didn't really spell it out for us, so that was a missed opportunity for us.
    · Manufacturers also have their own hospitality suites in the Paddock building and then a cafe/lounge in the paddock itself behind the garages. **This is the area that I'm looking to find tickets for.**

    Overall, it was a great race, and I would definitely do it again. We're just trying to find out if it's better to stick with F1 Experiences or try to tie into a manufacturer in hopes of getting into the garages and closer to the driver, cars, and team.
     
  13. spirot

    spirot F1 World Champ

    Dec 12, 2005
    14,500
    Atlanta
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    Tom Spiro
    Getting into the race team area hospitality area requires an invite from the team or drivers... or main sponsor this is usually for working people vs fans


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  14. sherpa23

    sherpa23 F1 Veteran
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    May 28, 2003
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    I guess I can shed a little light on this since I'm a supplier to F1 and attend most rounds.

    The hospitality that you're asking about here is essentially like buying a ticket to a sky box at a football game whereas the team hospitality is really more like being the locker room.

    In the first one, the paddock club, you have lots of food and drinks and it's generally a social party. You have a special pass to paddock club and cannot get into the paddock.

    In the second, you are part of the team and the function of the team and/or Formula 1. There are both garages and behind the garages, the team hospitality units. At some tracks these are temporary buildings (Montreal, for example), mobile units( many European rounds, for example), or permanent villas (Abu Dhabi, for example). If you are there, you have a paddock pass and are usually part of a team or F1 or media and would have a "home" there somewhere. Media has its own building, usually, and it's quite the machine. You have a special pass for this and it's either green, red, or orange.

    If you have a permanent paddock pass, depending on your role within the sport, you are welcome to go into the hospitality units other than your own. Sometimes its for meals or snacks and sometimes it's for meetings.

    However, even if you are in the paddock with a paddock and garage credentials, you cannot go into the paddock club without a credential for that and most certainly paddock club people cannot go into the paddock and/or garages without a borrowed credential. And, as mentioned, usually they do paddock tours in small groups for paddock club people.

    Hope that helps.
     
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  15. SECRET

    SECRET Formula Junior
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    May 19, 2007
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    Thanks that sheds a lot more light! During the Austin GP, we had a one day paddock credential as part of our package that we purchased. We didn't realize how rare that was until midway through the day as we spoke to others in the Paddock Club (with a capital P) who had to fight their way into getting tours.

    How would I get myself a VIP Grid Pass?
     
  16. sherpa23

    sherpa23 F1 Veteran
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    Sorry, I just read through your post from before so I'll answer that and add some more that may be helpful.

    I honestly don't know much about VIP Grid Passes. I make things that go on all the cars and are used by all the teams so my role is strictly within the sporting aspect of Formula One whereas the VIP Grid Passes are things that exist more on the marketing and promotional side of Formula One.

    The VIP Grid Passes (NOT to be confused with Grid credentials) are usually attached via sticker to limited green paddock passes and are given out by F1 to people who are there for lots of other reasons. Sometimes it's a favor, sometimes it for promotion, etc. but this is how you see famous people in the paddock and on the grid.

    I don't interact with those people too often as at each round, I am in the garages mostly and unless there's a certain condition, green passes don't usually give the holder access to the team garages or team offices themselves. I usually have an office in the garages and another in what you called the "cafe/lounge" buildings - which ARE cafe/lounges in the front for the teams but really serve to house important team offices and meeting rooms in the back and sometimes above.
     
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  17. 635CSI

    635CSI F1 Rookie

    Jun 26, 2013
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    Graham
    Tricky one this.
    Would I pay a ton of cash to be in Ferrari hospitality to watch us win the 2020 Italian GP?
    Hell yeah !
    Would I pay a ton of cash to be in Ferrari hospitality to watch us get stuffed by MB ?
    Hell no !
    Let’s see how we get on in the first few races of the next season, then weigh the odds.;)
     
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  18. Hawkeye

    Hawkeye F1 Veteran
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    Sep 20, 2009
    7,462
    I've been to a few F1 races with the Ferrari F1 Club package, it's a fantastic experience. You'll get plenty of pit walk & grid walk opportunities, but not the immediate pre-race VIP Grid experience. I've also found my way into Mercedes and Porsche hospitality while upstairs at various races. Ferrari has the best food hands down.
     
  19. wrxmike

    wrxmike Moderator
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    Mar 20, 2004
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    Mike
    Sherpa's comments are spot on. If you are somehow connected to a team ( ie sponsor, big client, VIP ) you have a chance of team access by invitation, otherwise a Paddock club ticket provides a good level of access with a pit lane walk available over the weekend. From my experience a team Paddock club ticket ( ie say Ferrari Paddock club ) will also get a visit from team officials and pit garage tour.
    In Melbourne for the past 5 years the Ferrari Club Australia has organised its own suite for members and guests at the GP, we usually have a cocktail function in the Paddock club on the Friday evening featuring an interview with a past or current GP driver, pit lane walks every day, also a Ferrari parade ( lap the circuit in your own car) on the Saturday.
    In the last 3 years the suite has been on the upper level of the main straight at the pit lane exit, pretty good location but only view of a section of the main straight.
    This year we have moved to an even better location in a purpose built structureat the corner of turn 2 that allows a great view of the turn 1 exit and all the way to turn 3.
    Catering is very good, (note that at the GP there is one company that has the contract, so the food at the corporate Porsche, Merc, Aston etc all made by the same people. By comparison the paddock club suites often have "named" chefs providing the food, but IMHO that's overkill.
    The cost of the the FCA suite is around $3550 pp AUD for the weekend, this is less than 1/2 of the Ferrari paddock club experience, it sells out pretty quickly.

    BTW The FCA recognises membership from other FOC's and we have had members from NZ, UAE and Singapore purchase tickets and attend in recent years.
    https://bb1e8b06-d8fc-4aa9-9150-f905c567a9e1.filesusr.com/ugd/846d28_038c5295be844f3288aa20fac0fb4bb5.pdf
    https://internationalsuite.com/reserve-seats/

    M
     
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  20. SECRET

    SECRET Formula Junior
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    May 19, 2007
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    Thanks for the insight. Did the Ferrari F1 Club ticket provide you with your own Paddock Pass? Or is it a guided tour only?
     
  21. 635CSI

    635CSI F1 Rookie

    Jun 26, 2013
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    Graham
    That sound perfect, well done to you guys.
     

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