If you are trackside for a Formula 1 Grand Prix, I have good news for you, I made a bingo sheet for you to have fun while spotting different merch!
You can just look and cross off your findings and race your friends on who is going to have the first bingo! Or you can use it as a way to make new friends!
My sister and me always play “Spot the merch!” when we are together – the rule is you have to spot any F1 merch. This sheet is a bit more complicated, as you have a set list of items to look for.
I want to make new friends, so my version will be to walk up to people and actually talk to them about what I’m doing and take a shared picture (if they allow) to prove my find! It is one way to do it, but you are free to do it anyway you like!
If you post pictures of your scavanger hunt, don’t forget to tag me! @carhappylady on Instagram and @carhappy.lady on Tiktok!
I will be at the Hungarian GP and will hand out some sheets! But you can play it at any F1 GP, and of course you can download it by clicking on the button!
Writing about my visit to the Red Bull Ring has been long overdue – I was there on the May 1 long weekend, and yet we are in the middle of June… But at least, it could be a nice intro for the Austrian GP, I guess.
My worst track visiting habit was in play again: going by public transport. The good news is that there is a bus that leaves you practically at the entrance so at least you are free from walking by the side of the road.
The track has guided tours in German and in English (this already overdid some other circuits that I am not going to name), but unfortunately it does not involve going around the track itself. Maybe we could have bought some extra ticket, but the day we were there, there was an actual track day with cars, so it was out of the question.
I love track tours, at this point I have done quite a few of them, but let’s face it: they are quite similar in some sense. Doesn’t mean that I would get bored or that I’m not interested, but seeing race control for the first time and seeing one for the tenth time… Well, the thrill is just not the same.
What the Red Bull Ring offers (that I haven’t seen at many tracks) is an open grandstand, where you can go up and just watch the cars. Even if it was only the beginning of May, the weather was perfect and honestly, the first corner view is something else. You can see a huge portion of the track with the backdrop of beautiful Austria! It looks pretty on the broadcast, but in real life, it is downright gorgeous. In some ways, it reminded me of Spa, because that was the other track where I saw nature blending in perfectly with motorsport.
My mom was my companion and we spent one hour before and after the tour on the grandstand, and it was my absolute favorite part. They also have a nice cafe that we also tried for lemonade. The good thing is that even if you haven’t booked a guided tour, but you are in the vicinity, you can still just stop by, because their lobby is a museum in itself with some cars – formula and otherwise. I enjoyed the shop – they had nice pins for 4 EUR, which is a “good shop” indicator in my book. Their merch is also pretty nice, not completely into your face, and just nice graphics overall. Though I don’t know what I expected, Red Bull is basically an empire of marketing, of course they know what they are doing.
The tour of course was lovely, the guide used to work in F1 as a paddock builder (or I don’t know what the official name of his position is), so he shared some insider knowledge as well. After watching a short video about the history of the Red Bull Ring, we took the tunnel under the track and went to the other side. I love that tunnel, by the way, it is full of historic drivers that achieved something great at that track. And if you watch the 2020 season of Drive to Survive (maybe first episode) you can see a lot of it…
We went through the usual places: media center, hospitality, podium, race control, and of course I loved it all, but I loved it the most when we could just look out from above the pitlane and see what was going on there. No pitlane walk in this tour unfortunately (though I’m not sure if this was again because of the trackday that was happening in the meantime), but I liked the overall thing.
All in all, this guided tour in itself was all right (though I think participation should have been limited because there were way too many people in my opinion), but for me the grandstand experience made it special and the cars exhibited right in the lobby. It is an easily accessible track (in relation to other tracks, because a bus that goes in every 2 hours is not really the peak of accessibility).
I had a great time, I recommend visiting this track if you can, and after this experience the Austrian GP definitely made its way to my long-term bucket list. Have you ever been to the Red Bull Ring?
If you are once again just browsing Netflix to find something to watch, but nothing on your list seems appealing and whatever you start seems boring after 5 minutes, I have a recommendation for you! F1: The Academy is similar to Drive to Survive, but focuses on the 2024 F1 Academy racing series. You don’t even know what that is?
It is an F4 level single-seater racing series, where only girls race. Their race weekends are shared with F1 and all F1 teams have a racer there and a couple other brands sponsor the rest. It is a championship where the winner gets a completely sponsored seat next year at the next level of tracing.
I first heard about it at the beginning of 2024 and I was extremely hurt that nobody thought to tell me about its existence, when it is common knowledge that I am all for female equality (and I’m not going to use the F-word, because someone might misunderstand, but you know what I mean) and Formula 1 is my obsession, so it is obviously something I would be interested in. It is possible that they didn’t know about it either, given it launched only in 2023, but that year was kind of a trial run. Anyway, I decided to be a better friend and I sent the news to all my friends that were interested in F1, so they wouldn’t experience the same.
I wouldn’t say I was following F1 Academy as close as F1 (the level of obsession that goes into F1 cannot really be duplicated because contrary to popular belief I do have a life that requires some time and energy), but I still was aware of what was going on. More so than I am with F2 or F3 though that is changing now. So watching the F1 Academy series on Netflix was a no brainer for me. Also here is my coming out: I did come into the F1 world through Drive to Survive (not completely, but it was a major part), it is my comfort series now, so if they do it for F1 Academy, then damn, I need to see that.
I knew the contestants, I knew the series, mostly knew what went down – I was still superexcited for the premiere. I did NOT expect the level of emotions it brought on me. In F1, I love the cars, I love the history, the grandiosity and the drama of it. But most of all, I’m in love with the stories of it – and I think that is what Drive to Survive is built on (in some cases, the stories are a bit made up, but if you follow reality, it is not that hard to figure out what is only there for the effect). In F1: The Academy it is no different.
You get to meet the sisters from the Emirates who are not performing as they expect themselves to and one of them has to come back from a very serious arm injury. You see the Filipino girl whose life is racing but she makes mistakes after mistake because she is completely distracted by all the media and modeling world where she has to earn the money that keeps her racing. Then there is of course the English girl who either wins this championship or has to stop racing because she cannot afford it anymore.
Some of them say openly that they want to race in Formula 1. But at the moment, the goal of F1 Academy is not really to get them there. More like showing little girls and their parents, but basically everyone that yes, girls can race, too. The level of exposure these young racers get really is priceless for them personally, but also for us as a society, I think.
Susie Wolff, the managing director of F1 Academy says that they don’t want to be a moment, they want to be a movement. And damn, did this TV show move me… Learning about all of these girls’ stories, their struggles to keep racing, to keep getting better, I’m not gonna lie, I cried several times. Yes, I’m a very sensitive person, but it really touched me to just see how much these girls want to race, but most of all win.
It was a lot more relatable to me than Drive to Survive, in the sense that I felt that the problems that were shown seemed to be much more relatable – struggling under pressure, being frustrated when messing up something (and then crying about it), having money problems, all just things we all might have experienced. I loved how openly this was shown and even said out loud explicitly.
I could have binged the whole series in one sitting – it is only 8 episodes of 30-40 mins – but because it premiered during the Spanish GP week, I needed a bit more time. And now, I’m writing this a million years later, but never mind.)
To give you a feel, here are some of my favorite parts: James Vowles, who is everything I strive to be as a human and as a professional, talking to Lia Block the Williams driver about her performance and if she will be signed for the next year. It was so touching: Lia was on the verge of tears, James was tearing up and frankly, I was straight up crying. If you don’t mind spoilers, here is the clip about it:
I also loved the way Abby Pulling was portrayed, I don’t think it is a big spoiler, so here it is: she became the champion. But how she talks about her family and the way they support here was something that also brought me to tears. Her attitude is also something to admire: “not winning is not an option” and look how it got her!
I could go on and on about all the stories, but then you wouldn’t want to watch it, so I will stop here. Know that I have already converted one person to watch F1 Academy (my couchsurfing hostie in Barcelona, Iain), so just be aware that after watching the series, there is a chance, you will also be converted! Have fun!
For the last day of my trip, I planned only one thing: the Horacio Pagani Museum and Atelier. I didn’t really know what to expect, or how much time to plan as I had never been in a car factory before. Very short summary of my visit: I was mind-blown. I learnt so much, and both of my guides, Ilaria and Sebastian, were so welcoming and knowledgeable that it honestly made one of the best carhappy experiences I have had so far!
The cars were beautiful, but to be honest I was even more amazed by the person behind them. What was clear for me after 5 minutes was that Horacio Pagani is a man possessed. Possessed by the idea of building the most beautiful car in the world. I would not even say obsessed, because he is on a completely different level.
When he learnt about Motor Valley (the area with all car and motor manufacturers in the Emilia-Romagna region), he decided that he would move there and make the most beautiful car in the world. Some years passed and guess what: he did just that! He also went into aviation, and making prosthetics, because apparently he felt that it is his duty – sounds a bit like Tony Stark to me. Just to emphasize the above point, this man has built his Empire without ever completing university. It was a turbulent time in Argentina, when he was young and it was impossible for him to finish his degree – but he is a car designer!
Instead, he had always done what he loved. He made model cars from the materials he could find at home when he was a kid and later he built a Formula 2 car with a friend and entered it into the championship! This was obviously a formative experience as it was the first time that he build an actual car (a successful one), and made connections in the racing world – this led him to get to know the 5-time Argentinian F1 champion Fangio, who took a liking to him and wrote recommendations to his European friends, including Lamborghini, where Pagani eventually landed a job.
Not that you need any more proof, but when he was already in Italy, he was convinced that using special composites, e.g. carbon fiber in cars was the way forward (and how right he was!). But Lamborghini at that time had other priorities, so Pagani took a big step: he bought an autoclave (the oven for composites), and started his own company, Modena Design. Which later led to Pagani Automobili, where Pagani actually designed his own cars and the rest is history.
The museum is relatively small, only one small movie theater with a video about Horacio narrated by a friend of his, then a hall with different types of Zondas and Huayras. There are no Utopias yet exhibited because those prototypes are still needed for production. The room goes through the history of Mr. Pagani and the cars with a vantage point on the side of the hall to be able to take a picture from above. I loved all the cars, and my favorite was the Huayra that played a human-built evil transformer in Transformers 4: Age of Extinction (this realization also made me watch the movie when I got home).
Then came the atelier, and I know I called it a factory earlier, but given that what happens in there is not mass producing but ART, it is called an atelier. Horacios main inspiration was Leonardo da Vinci, who combined art with science – this is the direction that the design takes as well: everything has to be useful, yet beautiful. The era of Renaissance is also a returning theme, as the atelier is made to resemble a Renaissance workshop with the feeling of a town square (there is even a clock tower that chimes every hour).
It really is magical! Every car is assembled by hand and can be customized to the tiniest detail. You can make the most insane requests and they will make it happen: do you want Horacio Pagani’s signature in Swarovski crystals? Done! Want the gear shift’s button to be shaped like a futball? Done! Golden and platinum leaves on the livery made by an artist? Done! (And mind you, these requests were real.) So if you order a car, it will be 100% tailored to your needs and wishes! All the cars are one of a kind because of this, but also because they are manually assembled.
I feel like I asked all the questions in the world from Ilaria who took me around. In the museum once again I considered becoming an aerodynamicist – especially that 2 of the 3 type of Paganis have wind-related names: whole Zonda is a type of wind in Argentina, Huayra (Tata) is the quechuan wind god. While in the atelier, a sudden interest in composites hit me – I never have found it exciting, but I can see the beauty of them now.
I have to tell you that it was one of the most educational and interesting carhappy experiences I have ever had – I learnt so-so much, and I don’t think I will ever shut up about Pagani cars…
Some practical advice for you: Do the guided tour and do not miss the atelier! It might be a bit pricier, but I promise you that you are in for a treat. I don’t think you will see anything like this anywhere else in the world. I think the experience can be fun for people who are not very much into cars, and also for children, who can get their own activity book and do some fun things during the visit.
As for getting there – I arrived by bus from Modena, which meant that from the bus stop I had to walk 25 minutes by the side of the road (which at this point seemed like a returning have of this trip), it is doable, but not the most comfortable. I was pleased to see that the museum had lockers (you would think this is pretty standard today, but it is not) – and you don’t have to worry about coins either. I went on a weekday and it wasn’t very crowded, I’m not sure about the weekends.
All in all, it was a great experience (I spent approximately 3 hours there), and if you are in the region I highly recommend doing a trip there, it is very much worth it. I’ll admit that it was not my top priority to visit it, but I was wrong – such a special place, such a special brand, should be on your list!
One of my earliest plans going back to Bologna was visiting the Imola track. It was even on my vision board for this year. I felt that it was a very special place – and it did not disappoint!
Imola is a classic Italian small town, except it has an international racetrack. I arrived there by train (which was easy coming from Modena), and I took a 25 minute walk to the track instead of taking the bus.
My first surprise was that in their gift shop there was a 2014 Torro Rosso on display (given the closeness of Faenza, the home team is V-CARB/AlphaTauri/Torro Rosso more than Ferrari, who considers Monza their main track anyways), and it had Carlos’s race number! He started in F1 in 2015, so it was a bit of a pickle for me, but he did some free practices in 2014, so that was my explanation.
Right when I arrived I had a coffee with Michela, who intercepted my email to the track and as she is responsible for organizing different motorring related programs in Emilia-Romagna, we decided to talk a little bit. She had also worked for the Racing Bulls F1 team for 15 years, so I took the opportunity to pick her brain. I have never met anybody before who worked for a team, so I didn’t even know where to start my questions…
She had travelled with the team, because she wanted to see the world and did logistics. She even took care of the drivers, who she referred to as “my babies”. At this point, the fangirl in the back of my brain started yelling: “Now you are only one person away from Carlos Sainz!!” I obviously quieted her down and pretended that I was normal. Anyways, Michela obviously has a strength of taking care of people, providing for their needs and guiding them, as right now she not only works for the region but also as a counselor. It was clear from the beginning that Michela 100% lives according to those directives that she also advised me to follow: search your soul, find your strengths, interests and wishes and build on them.
When I was properly inspired, she suggested taking a walk in the park before the guided tour, which was a perfect way to wind down a little bit and reflect on what we talked about. I could also visit the Senna memorial, which was pretty much abandoned and I really appreciated those 15 minutes that I could enjoy there by myself. Except for an older gentleman who showed up at one point, adjusted the Brazilian flag on Senna’s shoulders then left.
Little known, but there is also a Gilles Villeneuve memorial in Imola, because Enzo Ferrari had a special place for him in his heart – even his praising words are on the statue. Even though Gilles didn’t die here, Imola was his last race back in 1982. The statue has 7 interlocking circles symbolizing the beginning and the end, and there is an Italian sentence by Roberto Nosetto (former Ferrari Sporting Director and Director of Imola) saying “From Gilles, I received a life lesson: he taught me not to give up.”
As I still had some time, I walked up to the Acque Minerali corner of the track – amazing view with benches, so I enjoyed a bit of quiet time. I probably would have enjoyed it more with a bit of engine noise, but I take what I can get.
On the way back, I almost got lost, because the underground tunnel is as well-hidden as Sirius Black’s house at Grimmauld Place, you can only find it if you know it is there.
When I finally got outside of the park, it was already time for the guided tour. We went around with a minivan once then we did it again with stops. (I always appreciate those track tours where you can be on the tarmac either by car or on foot.) The first stop was the start/finish straight, and I learnt a bunch of interesting facts (our guide knew her stuff for sure), like motors have a special extra chicane to do compared to cars, and that the F1 start line is a bit ahead of the regular one because they asked for that…
We stopped at Tamburello, which used to be a lot faster before, but has been changed into a chicane after Senna died. We once again visited the memorial and there was also an introduction of the Villeneuve memorial, but just from afar. Then we went into the pitlane, saw the safety car (a brand new Lamborghini), and could do one of my favorite activities at any track: hanging out in the holes of the pitlane-track separator. I don’t think people see how good I am at that, otherwise, somebody would have hired me a long time ago to do those boards for the drivers!
Finally, we checked out the podium and the race control, then went back to our starting point – the Imola Faenza tourism company. They have simulators and the shop (I didn’t buy anything, even though they had nice pins, but if it’s more than 10 euros, I’m not buying it.)
I took one more look around and said goodbye, because there was one more part of my plan. I wanted to visit the home team in Faenza. Michela also talked to someone so they would let me into the lobby. I also got the advice to take a taxi, because the HQ is in an industrial area, but I thought that the weather was so nice so I was just going to walk it. Of course, I ended up once again walking by the side of the road with no sidewalks…
It was a nice 40 minute walk with sunshine, so I’m not going to complain, but if you feel less adventurous than me, do take a taxi! When I arrived, I immediately recognized the place from the pictures, but the Red Bull logo would have been a big giveaway. I was unsuspectingly taking selfies, when the gate started to open. As there was nobody else there, I assumed that it was for me, so I went in to take another 100 selfies in the front yard.
I decided to go to the lobby (to see what happens) where a supernice receptionist not only let me take photos, she also offered to take some of me and gifted me with a lanyard as well. One of the tasks to set for myself was to get some driver cards, I also asked for those (and I was shameless to ask for more than a set, so I can also give one to my sister and also do a giveaway!) – and got them, mission completed!
If you are willing to go to this little town that isn’t the center of tourist activity, you can actually visit the Racing Bulls team – well, at least from the outside until the gate.
I had a pretty busy day full of experiences, but given the lot of walking, I didn’t feel overwhelmed, but more like I had an inspiring day! I definitely recommend looking around the Imola Faenza Tourism Company website, because I heard about some things that are coming, and damn, I will have to go back for them. If you are interested in carbon fiber (after seeing the Pagani atelier, I am one of those people for sure), there will be a carbon fiber factory visit and also Gresini Racing opens their doors to visitors (I’m not a MotoGP fan, but that sounds interesting too!).
I am not a runner – I always hated it, running after a bus made me fight for my life and was not able to run for 1 minute straight. So imagine this: a person like this signs up for a 5K run. It is a true story, though and I earnestly started to train for it, which I surprisingly didn’t hate. But what made me do all this? Well, Ferrari!
Last September, I saw an ad about the Enzo Ferrari Memorial run, which normally wouldn’t have interested me, but then I learnt that it goes through not only the factory, but also the Fiorano test track. Even though I have been to Maranello, and did the factory tour which included Fiorano as well, it was from a bus through the windows. So the opportunity to feel the asphalt below my feet and see it with my own eyes was not something I was willing to pass. Even if it meant that I had to run 5K.
So I signed up. There were also different distances: a 10K run and a half Marathon that went from Maranello to Modena. I trained in earnest and kept receiving all Italian emails, which I decoded when I got 3 or 4. Some of them were just ads, others were useful.
Anyways, the run was set to happen on Sunday, but I decided to go and grab my race number and starter pack a day before just to have a feel for where everything is and not to have to rush on Sunday. It ended up being a great choice, because even though most of the event was set up, the crowd was not there, so I could take pictures with all the Ferrari staff to my heart’s desire. As well as pick up my number and pack.
In the big activity tent you could get a haircut or a massage (to me it seemed to be a bit weird to be in your underwear and getting a massage in a space with a ton of people, but each to their own), buy some running shoes, or my favorite: customize your T-shirt. I waited for about an hour for it, but I ended up with a T-shirt that says Carhappylady on the back, so in my opinion it was 100% worth it.
On the day of the run, I was a bit nervous, because I knew that even though I improved a lot, I am still unable to run 5K. It didn’t help that the 21K and the 10K started earlier and I didn’t even see anyone walking.
But when it was time for the 5K? I think people signing up for 10K or 21K are the actual runners and the “5K runners” were the tourists, like me. I hardly even saw people running. They started walking, and once we reached Fiorano, there was no more pretending that this was anything else than a Ferrari sightseeing walking tour. Everyone started taking pictures and videos, stopping at different spots. I think Ferrari anticipated this (how could they have not?), because in one corner, they very nicely lined up their different cars, and you know that Shall gas station? The current F1 car was on display there!
Once we left the track, we walked through the factory, where you really couldn’t see much – only the names of the buildings and the roads (named after champions), and at the end, the wind tunnel. After that, it was a bit underwhelming, so I decided to do some actual running, not letting all my training go to waste.
At the finish line, everyone got a medal saying that you completed the race and also some water and bananas. I collected my bag from the storage and that was pretty much it. I loved it. This was the first event like this, but I suspect that this is going to be a tradition and if so, then I might make it into a tradition of mine as well. Especially that I liked my couchsurfing host in Modena and also there are so many things to see in Motor Valley that I still haven’t seen.
Would you like to be notified if there will be a run like this next year?
I will be honest with you, I had no idea who John Haynes was before I went to the Haynes Motor Museum. If you are the same, don’t worry, we’ll come to that a bit later, but for now, let me just tell you this museum is 100% worth checking out – I highly recommend it! It is a bit out of the way of everything – for me it was only convenient to visit because we could make it a stop from Bristol to London.
I wanted to arrive prepared, so I looked them up and let me tell you, I was mind-blown by their TikTok/Instagram. I spent half an hour on their Tiktok (because this is how you do social media!) and I immediately knew that I would have a lovely time there. My favorite reel is when 2 volunteers (older gentlemen) go around the cars and describe them with Gen Z expressions. It was so charming and funny that I think everyone should see it – also good intro to the museum – HERE it is.
I also checked out what exhibitions they have and was pleased to see that there is one on WIlliams Racing. I love all kinds of cars but my first love was Formula 1, and I am a faithful person, so I was the most excited about this. I even decided to wear my Williams cap to be appropriate
I got so excited when I arrived that I needed to calm down in order to be able to concentrate and actually enjoy the experience. This is a feeling I get quite often around car museums when there are so many things that are interesting for me and want to check them all out. At the same time. Given that this is not possible, I usually do a quick round, to trick my brain into believing that I gave it what it wanted, while also getting the idea of how big the place is and where my main interests are.
I was actually about to do the same, when Jez showed up. He was the volunteer tasked to answer my questions and show me around. Talking to people also tends to help me relax, so we decided to go around with him, then explore on our own. The volunteer concept was quite foreign to me given that in Hungary, we don’t really have a culture of volunteers in museums, so we asked him about that a little bit.
It is a common practice in England that the museums are operated by charities, and they only have a few full-time employees and a lot of volunteers. For reference, the Haynes Motor Museum has 20 full-time employees and about 80 volunteers. Obviously, the latter don’t work everyday e.g. Jez told us that he is in the museum once a week. The volunteers engage with the visitors, answer their questions, show them around. They sometimes clean the cars, sometimes do some car maintenance or obviously some TikToks. Jez used to work in car design but now is retired, so it makes perfect sense for him to volunteer in the Haynes Museum. I wish we had this in Hungary.
We started in the first room with Jez – it is dedicated to John Haynes, and here’s a little recap as I promised earlier: he was the first one who made car manuals for everyday people, so that they could fix their own cars. I think that is really cool and it is weird that nobody thought of doing this before him. He started this as kind of a hobby, but it turned into a business, in which his wife helped him and they ended up making a lot of money, so that was why he could also have a car collection as well. Based on what he did, I think it is obvious that he was a person that wanted to share his love of cars and that was how his museum came to be.
Going around the collection with Jez, my absolute favorite was the Red Room (if you are a Marvel fan, turn that part of your brain off now!) – where all cars are red. It is explained that this way the viewer can look past the color and concentrate on the design elements more. The descriptions also explain the power of red, the emotions associated with it and a bunch of interesting facts about the color.
There is also an American cars section that was also close to my heart – especially that you can go up to a mezzanine where the motorcycles are and see it all from above. The turquoise Mustang was a beauty that I didn’t expect to see that day, and was obviously love at first sight. I also came across a time-machine that I have never seen before (a silver Delorean).
In the Ferrari room, I felt right at home, though my favorite, the F40 was missing from the collection. The next room is a garage built up as if it was still used by Haynes. In the motorsport section, you can see Hamilton’s first Formula car – and it is actually the only one that exists.
My second favorite room was the Williams exhibition – there were 5 Williams cars from different eras (actually only 4, one was missing), with beautiful aesthetics built up around them. In the cinema room, a short movie ran about the history of the team, and I have to admit I have teared up a bit at that. Some general facts were also shared about the regulations of the sport and also about the greatest Williams drivers. I loved it!
The British brands section houses some really nice Aston Martins (as a newly turned Aston fan, I took a lot of pictures), and the “Wheels around the World” exhibition expanded our horizons a little bit with some interesting cars (but no spoilers here, you will have to go and see for yourself!)
It was a lovely experience and I am happy to report that the gift shop is also top notch. They not only have a booklet about the whole museum, they also sell postcards with paintings of their cars. I have gotten 3 of these, because I couldn’t pick just one. They also have T-shirts, mugs, and a bunch of really cool things. I could have spent all my money, but fortunately the limited capacity of my backpack prevented a crazy shopping spree.
It is a nice place to visit if you are in the area and even if you are not a petrolhead. I have proof of this: you might have noticed that I kept saying “we” – it is because I was with my friend Anna, who has zero interest in cars and even she enjoyed it (the red room was also claimed to be her favorite).
At the end, I want to say thank you for the opportunity to the museum and also to Jez, who made the whole experience a lot nicer and a lot more personal! If you visit ANY museum in England, make sure you talk to the volunteers, and they will make your visit 10 times better.
I make mistakes while I travel, but I hardly make the same mistake twice – so this time, I showed up a few minutes before opening at the Brooklands museum and planned to stay all the way until closing. I have been there before, so now I didn’t have the urge to check out everything (which would have been impossible anyway), only the parts that I missed last time and my favorites, of course. Turns out these can fill out a day and I would gladly spend another day there or visit one of their events. I guess Brooklands is there in my favorites along the Silverstone Museum.
A tiny bit of revision about what Brooklands is and why it is so close to my heart: IT IS THE CRADLE OF MOTORSPORT!!! Sorry for yelling, I got enthusiastic, but don’t blame me, you’ll understand in a minute. The Brooklands racetrack has been the first EVER racetrack built in the whole world with the purpose of having races on it, cars, motorcycles, bicycles, you name it! Unfortunately not much has remained from the original track – though there are some lovely bankings – some parts are just missing and the remains are in a condition similar to the Monza bankings.
But this is not all! It also housed aircraft factories, if you have heard of the Wellington bombers, those are from here, and Brooklands is considered the home of Concord (or at least one of his homes). And there is even more: there is a stratosphere chamber, which is a genius invention to test aircraft on the ground but in different stratospheric conditions. I hope you understand my previous yelling now!
Upon arrival, I headed straight to the Grand Prix exhibition, because obviously that is one of my favorites. What you have to know is that the museum itself is a huge piece of land with different buildings housing different exhibitions and they also have an aircraft fleet, so prepare for the weather conditions! Anyway, I went through the Grand Prix cars and I skipped the simulator because I was awful at it last time, but there was a Senna car that kids were allowed to sit in.
I was told that I am too tall to squeeze in, so I left in despair, but I also googled how tall Senna was: 2 cms taller than me!!! So I knew that I would confront the people later about this – which I did, and I don’t think adults are supposed to sit in there (but let’s face it, I am smaller and lighter than a lot of kids), but I did force myself in. Was it comfortable? Not at all. Was I happy to do it? Immensely, so that is a win in my book.
Afterwards, I walked around a bit, visited the McLaren exhibition – I was very appropriately wearing my McLaren beanie, so I felt right at home. But then came the Concorde experience that I couldn’t experience last time as it was under construction. Once again, I felt the urge to switch careers and learn to be an aerodynamicist because it is so marvelous to use the different aero forces to make a plane go twice the speed of sound! I think I have already said that airplanes would probably be my obsession if motorsport and cars wouldn’t already take up most of my time.
It was a 35 minute thing, where a guide told us about its history and its mechanics, then we stepped inside to see some memorabilia and videos. Finally, we could enjoy a “flight” on the Concorde and we all left with a certificate showing that we did indeed take a flight with the Concorde. I enjoyed the tour, but my favorite part was learning about this engineering miracle – but my curiosity was not satisfied so I also had some talks with ChatGPT afterwards (ask him about the sonic boom it is exciting!!).
I was getting really cold (and needed time for my further research), so I ate my sandwich at the clubhouse and ordered an oat milk latte. Last time, the club house wasn’t open either, but it has such a nice atmosphere and they make damn good coffees, so I enjoyed a nice half an hour there before heading out to the remains of the track (it is my favorite part, always makes me tear up a little bit) and to the bridge above it. It was muddy, but I saw a random McLaren 720S (no, I didn’t recognize it, it was written on the car) in the wild, which made the little walk even more worth it.
Finally, I climbed all the airplanes, because last time, I only had time to check out one – but that was one of the most interesting part of that trip, talking with a volunteer explaining me some aero aspects of the plane (I think you can see the pattern here), and this time I also had some nice chats with the volunteers.
After this, it was basically closing time, but I left after a day well-spent. I am sure this was NOT my last visit, especially that they have a lot of cool events as well. Brooklands is in Weybridge, just a tiny bit outside of London, and accessible by car or train – either way, make sure to check their website for the correct zipcode to put in your navigation, otherwise it makes you take a huge detour. Other advice: give it a whole day to explore!
Even though I tried my hardest (like recruiting my family and also me sitting at an airport waiting in the virtual line), I didn’t manage to get a ticket for the F175. Yet, as a F1 history junkie, I had to be there, this being a once in a lifetime thing (or at least the first of its kind), so I was dead-set to attend. And I mean, DEADSET. So what I did was look up all the online giveaways and play. Of course, I gave myself as many chances as possible, so I hereby apologize to my friends that I tagged on Instagram but are not at all interested in F1. My efforts were obviously crowned with success, otherwise I wouldn’t write this: I got 2 tickets from TeamViewer.
On the day, I couldn’t contain my excitement, so even though the gates were supposed to open at 6.30 pm, I was there at 5 pm. It turned out to be a good call as Aston Martin made the North Greenwich metro station their own. There were people dressed up as Aston mechanics (and you could take pictures with them), a photo booth and a show car. They even handed out free merch, though I unfortunately missed that because I was in line for the photo booth.
It started well, so when my friend arrived, I was already inside the O2 exploring. We got in pretty quickly and went into the arena itself as soon as we could, just to take a million selfies and videos before the show!
I am sure if you are reading this, you have watched the stream or you are planning to watch it back, so I’m not gonna explain what exactly happened. Being there in person was a dream come true – the atmosphere, the people, the monumentality of the whole thing! I really-really wish all concerts could be like this: starting on time, moving forward according to the schedule and ending at the time it is planned. Maybe I’m a grandma, but this made me feel so nice.
When the show finally started, and I don’t mean MGK (I never listened to his music, but it wasn’t half bad to be honest, but I didn’t come for him), I had goosebumps! Massive ones for minutes! My friend, who is currently in my project of me slowly turning her into an F1 fan but not quite there yet, felt the same.
I think the whole show had a great rhythm and I loved how differently the teams approached the task and most of them represented their culture and values pretty great – though I’m still not sure what Alpine was going for, but I have the feeling I’m not alone with this. Their livery though…! I have a weakness for pink cars!
Aston Martin was a great surprise for me, I probably underestimated them so far, but they blew my mind, so I can officially say now that they made me an Aston-fan (we are not exclusive though) – some James Bond movie nights are in the planning now.
I don’t want to talk about Carlos in blue and Lewis in red, Instagram has made me slowly get used to these sights (and what a sight they were!!), which they did well, otherwise I might have gotten a heart attack on the spot. As a Williams admirer (we are also not exclusive, but I was wearing a Williams hat, so I think this says something about the situation), their acknowledgement of their past, yet them looking into the future combined with how unserious both drivers and James Vowles was just made me love them even more!
If unseriousness, let’s talk about RED BULL!! Both of their teams did such a good job – bringing the fun, the casual but also the insane obsession of racing, I just loved it. What I didn’t like was the booing both for Christian Horner and Max. I don’t get mad easily, but the FIA could have fined me for swearing I had such a strong opinion about this. I don’t care who your favorite team or driver is or what you think of Abu Dhabi 2021, booing Red Bull is such a disrespectful, ugly thing – it says more about the person doing it than the person booed at. When you will be able to drive like Max or lead a team like Horner, then you will have the right to criticize them, but even then, only in a respectful way.
I had very high expectations towards Mercedes and Ferrari, but they both lived up to it, showing their legacy and their values, just like Haas did! (And yes, this was all about Ferrari and Mercedes, I have zero comments, because well-done!) So, I think Haas leaning into them being an American team is something that suits them – and as a person in love with the American ideals that is something I enjoy. Honestly, I had no idea who their narrator was, so please, do let me know if you do, but I could have imagined better ways to execute the vision. E.g. leaning into Ocon’s Marvel fandom and do something Captain America themed? (If this ever happens, you heard it here first!)
Sauber made me goosebumpy again after the initial one, though I am not mind blown by their colors (I just don’t like neon green, sorry), but Bortoleto was so endearing enjoying the moment that to me the car was only secondary to him and the Hulk. Yeah, Binotto was there too, I don’t care for him too much.
And McLaren! All their championship winning cars made me smile like crazy, but Lando being asked about being a champion this year – someone please do ask Oscar to teach him what the correct answer to this is! Because the man was a rambling mass denying even last year’s achievements…
I think that was all the teams, so let’s talk about Jack Whitehall a bit. I never heard of him before (my bad!), but I think he did a decent job, though some of his comments were a bit too much for me – the ones about Charles Leclerc, who was so visibly uncomfortable, that I could literally feel it. And poor Mike Krack, wherever he was!
Here we are at the end, I don’t know what the English customs are, but I think it is pretty rude to leave before the end of the show, which is exactly what a lot of people did: they started to stand up and go out even before McLaren (like that is literally one of your home teams and also the current champs!). But I only feel bad for those from whom they obscured a view with their standing up. Because those people who have left not only missed Take That but also all the cars and drivers on stage at the same time. I told my friend that this is the most beautiful view I have ever seen and I have seen the Grand Canyon, so it means something!! Those people who left, missed this!
A funny little story to the end: I don’t know who the group of people were sitting in the sector next to us, but they all seemed to know each other and had Mercedes boxes on their seats (maybe Adidas?). We tried to scout what was inside the boxes, but we couldn’t see. My friend noticed that at the end of the show, some boxes were left behind, so the stereotypical Hungarian we are (or at least in this sense), we decided to investigate. Some were empty, some had trash, but some had unopened leftovers and I even managed to find a completely untouched one. My motto these days is that “Fortune favors the bold” because it applies to much to my life these days, just like in this case – we managed to get one full box and the contents of another one: it was a bunch of fancy snacks and water – which we desperately needed by the end of the show.
So this was my review. I might have left mentally, but emotionally I am still there – I will probably also watch the stream, because I’m sure that I missed bits by being so excited that I couldn’t properly concentrate…
My second day in Stuttgart didn’t actually take place in the city itself. Thanks to ChatGPT, I found out that if I’m interested in motorsports, I could visit the Hockenheimring. Reaching the track was another adventure involving a skillful combination of two trains and a bus. By the way, Stuttgart seems to have countless different machines for purchasing public transport tickets. So, I opted for a regional ticket and hoped for the best. (I wasn’t fined anywhere, but I later discovered the ticket wasn’t valid on ICE trains—something to note for next time.)
This is how I eventually arrived at the track. At check-in, they informed me that the guided tour would be in German. I used to know German back in the day, but sadly, that knowledge has somehow disappeared from my brain. They promised that the guide would also explain the information in English. However, despite four of us taking the tour, and two of us not understanding German, the “English version” consisted of one English sentence for every five German ones. I understood about 60% of what was said, thanks largely to the fact that this wasn’t my first rodeo when it comes to track tours.
What was special about this tour was that everyone could use their own car to drive around the track. They were surprised I didn’t have a car (there was no mention of this on their website—or if there was, it was in German, which I couldn’t understand). Despite this, the guide vehicle was a minibus, and two others eventually joined us in it. I quickly snagged the front passenger seat, a choice that paid off handsomely since, at the end of the tour, we drove a lap on the track.
Whether or not this part of the tour happens depends on other events scheduled at the track. We got lucky—there was a private driving session, but they went for lunch just as we finished. You can’t exactly reach Formula 1 speeds in a minibus, but credit to the guide, he floored it and tried to follow the racing line (unlike a similar lap I took at Monza, where we drove so slowly I felt snails could race us and have a chance of winning). We did a lap time of about 4 minutes, but even strapped in, I was bouncing from side to side, so I didn’t really mind that we weren’t tearing through the track.
The tour itself covered the usual stops I’ve seen at other track tours: the podium, race control, pit lane, and the track from a VIP grandstand. What stood out here was that we could enter the garages. Though they’re just large, empty spaces when there’s no race, it was still interesting for me since I’d never been inside one before.
I also asked whether Formula 1 would ever return to Hockenheim. (I chuckled internally later on about various news articles speculating on Hockenheim or Nürburgring making a comeback—I felt like a “blind squirrel finding a nut” type of reporter accidentally asking this.) The answer was that they have a good relationship with F1, but the fees they charge are simply too high for it to be worthwhile, so it’s unlikely F1 will return anytime soon.
Another fascinating tidbit for me was that the very first F1 race at Hockenheim was held in 1970, won by Jochen Rindt. Although he was German, he grew up in Austria and raced under Austrian colors, so it was a semi-home victory. Tragically, he died in a crash at Monza a few races later, but by then, his lead in the championship was so substantial that no one could catch him. He remains the only posthumous world champion to this day.
The visitor center also features a highly advanced simulator—not just a screen, but a massive hemispherical display, with a seat that isn’t static. I didn’t feel like trying it, but I did grab a coffee before leaving. Being a Saturday, buses stopped running after 2 PM, so I had to walk back to the train station, which took about 30 minutes. Honestly, I don’t understand how these tracks near/in small towns manage during big events. (Actually, I do—endless traffic jams and long waits everywhere.)
If someone wants to visit a racetrack, I wouldn’t particularly recommend Hockenheimring, especially if you don’t speak German. Although it’s relatively easy to reach, there are far more interesting tracks out there (basically every other track I’ve visited so far). However, if it’s on your route or you’re in Stuttgart with half a day to spare, it’s not a bad program.
