Formula 1 Adventures - Silverstone Young Driver Test - 13th July 2012

Warning very long post alert!!!!!!

I thought I was lucky when I won a ticket for the FOTA Fan Forum the other week, I had a wonderful time and got to meet Frank Williams and Patrick Head, who are the guys behind my favorite F1 team Williams, so I didn't think that could be beaten, I figured it more than made up or not being able to go to the Grand Prix this year, it was like the racing gods were looking down on me. :-)

Anyway, I watched the British Grand Prix on the telly, it was a rainsoaked few days for everyone there, and no doubt that if I had gone I would've come home very muddy indeed, I spent most of the time imaging I was there and wondering how my friends were getting on, even though it was horribly muddy and wet this year I still would've given anything to be there.

Silverstone, quite possibly my favorite place in the world.

The week after the Grand Prix some of the teams decided to stay at the track and take part in a young driver test, this was only confirmed days before, but I heard about it and decided I'd try to blag my way in. I've been working on a F1 project for the last two years so I'm used to blagging my way in now, although I still don't take getting in for granted, I'm always over the moon when I do get in.

I set off with the aim to get some photos signed by the drivers to add to my collection, and I ended up with so much more than that...

Formula 1 Adventures - FOTA Fan Forum - 3rd July 2012

No nail polish today, today I'm going to tell you about my most recent Formula 1 adventure. :-)

This year I've been so skint there was no way I was going to the British Grand like I normally do, this really broke my heart, I love F1 so much, it's the only thing other than my family that has been with me nearly all my life. But the Formula 1 gods were looking down on me and decided to give me a little fix of my favorite sport.

Every year there's an event called the FOTA Fans Forum held in the UK, other countries hold them too, basically it's a chance for fans to listen to a few team principles and drivers (and other people from F1) being interviewed, and then there's a Q&A session afterwards.

There's around 200-300 tickets for each event and it's a lottery so it's just down to chance if you get a ticket, last year I tried to get a ticket as it was held at Mclarens Technology center and I'd love to have been able to go there, but it wasn't to be (although some of my friends won tickets so that was cool). This year it was being held at Williams F1's Conference Center, which I couldn't believe, Williams are my favorite team since 1986, so I had everything crossed that I'd win a ticket, and luckily for me I did!

So on 3rd July I borrowed my dad's car and sat nav and set off. I made sure I got there early, I wanted to get some photos signed, and there were a few people appearing that I really wanted to meet. The first thing I saw was this really funny topiary F1 car with mechanics changing it's wheels, it's so cool and really made me laugh. :-)

Once inside we got look around the Williams F1 car collection, which is one of the most amazing collcetions of F1 cars I've ever seen, it covers the whole history of the team, and it was such an honor to be able to see them all as it's not normally open to the public.

My love of Formula 1 and my F1 adventures

This is my first petrolhead post on this blog, I thought I'd offer up something a little different to all the polish, and tell you a bit about the sport I've loved since 1986 from when I was a kid.

I'm afraid I haven't got access to my old F1 photos so it's text only post, so feel free to skip this one if you like. :-)

This year is the first year since 2006 that I haven't been able to find the money to go to the British Grand Prix, I try to go every year as it's my only holiday each year, it's at least 4 days of camping with friends while being surrounded by people from around the world, all there to enjoy seeing fast cars flying around one of the fastest racetracks in the world.

I know motorsport isn't to everyones tastes, but I grew up around cars, so it's in my blood, I became a fan of F1 in 1986 when Nigal Mansell was driving , I was upstairs in  my bedroom and I could hear my Dad screaming "Go Nige, Go!", I wondered what was going on, and found my Dad watching the TV, I sat down beside him and that was that, I not missed many races since, and I'm a much bigger fan than my Dad was.