Formula 1 tickets and which race track?!

[Countrylifemama]

hi there

so a newbie question for my husbands 40th i wanted to gift him F1 race tickets - but struggling to know which track is the best one? I am basing it on the location 😂so thining monaco sounds good but then been told the actual experience and track isnt that great...

any suggestions as well as where to purchase tickets please would be much appreciated

It really depends on your budget; watching Suzuka this weekend they were all saying it's the best track and venue on the circuit. Best for fan experience, traffic, best fans/people etc. And an awesome track!
Also depends on who you support, perhaps; if you support Lewis then maybe Silverstone would be best, if Verstappen Zandvoort would be amazing! The Ferrari history/tifosi etc would be great to experience in Monza... If you want the weather maybe go to Oz!
Monaco would be great, I think, if you could afford a really good package like an apartment overlooking the track with a pool on the roof...
Think I'm lucky it's out of my budget - don't think I could choose even for myself!
Maybe just pick one; he's sure to have a great time and enjoy it either way!

Someone I know did the Singapore one recently and said it was brilliant.

Monaco is one of the more boring circuits. Great location, crap racing! Spa or Silverstone are my faves.

I've been to the Malaysian and the British GP at Silverstone, would recommend both.

The Belgium GP is fantastic, circuit excellent.

You could always stay in a City/town or travel in.

We booked using Leger holidays

I took my husband to Monaco for his 30th (pre covid) it was amazing. We didn’t have the most expensive tickets but we had a fantastic time. Was a package deal so grandstand tickets on sat and Sunday with hotel transfers from
nicE included. Weather was great and the whole atmosphere was lovely. My DH is an F1 fanatic. Although the race itself isn’t the most interesting maybe he did say that he felt there is something really great about going to Monaco as a fan and it’s the whole experience not just the race

I disagree with the posters recommending Spa (Belgium). The track is in the middle of nowhere and a pain to get to - we end up helicoptering most of our guests.

Monaco isn’t worth it. Personally I’d go for Barcelona and make the most of a long weekend.

Could you find out husband's favourite race?
Spa is my favourite which is probably why I am recommending it.
I have however done Spain, Austria and British.
Only downside to Spanish race is if you want to have a drink the beer is all non alcoholic

Where would you like to go?! And what's your budget? Your DH will enjoy pretty much anywhere to see the race, I'm sure. But you are unlikely to just to spend the entire time at the track. If you are going to spend a small fortune on this, make sure you go somewhere you quite fancy going too!!!

DH is a huge F1 fan and always says Spa would be his European race of choice. But he also says he would like to drive to the race weekend in something fun and camp so it may or may not be your cup of tea to do similar - and that tallies with what a pp said about the location being a bit meh.

I have done Abu Dhabi which was excellent. Good track views and lots going on around it. They sell more tickets to the race than the post race entertainment venue can accommodate so by the time we had walked to the neighbouring venue to watch guns n roses it was already full - you basically had to miss the end of the race to get in!! So don't always bank on that bit without researching first

Not Monaco, overtaking is near impossible and the race itself is almost always a boring procession, same for some of the other races. Assuming Japan is too far, I’d go for Silverstone or Spa.

I wouldn't recommend Monaco purely for the cost. I lived there for 6 months in an apartment overlooking the track. It was quite an expensive place to live and renting it out for just that weekend paid 4 months of our rent!

We went to Silverstone for my 50th and it was amazing but VERY expensive.
My parents have done Barcalona and Valencia and loved both. A friend went to Singapore when her DH was working there and she's not even a big fan - loved it.

It a brilliant experience there is so much other stuff (racing and not) the F1 is the icing on the cake.

As a long term fan. I would do one of the traditional tracks and not a street circuit as they aren't my favourite.

The Dutch one at Zandvort is relatively easy to get to on the East Coast to Netherlands ferries, but you would have to be able to tolerate the Verstappen idolatry

Brazil would be my choice. Short circuit but hair pin bends and up hill drag to pits and fab place to visit.

Japan would be next on my list

Silverstone is worth a punt - we go every year (but prices this year are crazy!)

We always buy tickets direct from the circuits as we dont do the packages and book accommodation ourselves. There are several uk companies that do sell the complete packages.

If you want cheap and cheerful good weekend then Belgium Spa is probably the best option.

I would say consider the weather! I think it was last year that the Belgian Grand Prix lasted all of two laps because of the rain… That will be a bit of a anticlimax for his 40th!

Obviously it depends on your budget, but I would also consider tracks where overtaking is easier: it can get quite boring watching a bunch of cars going round and round in unison with very little action.

"It really depends on your budget; watching Suzuka this weekend they were all saying it's the best track and venue on the circuit. Best for fan experience, traffic, best fans/people etc. And an awesome track! "

But huge downside of the weather this time of year - it's often very wet; this weekend the race was delayed by 2 hours and only ran for about 40mins. I think the FIA have tried to move it but the circuit management doesn't want to.

As others said, what's the budget? GPs are generally very expensive - a weekend ticket is likely to be several hundred - a day ticket to spa is around £200 without a seat. A package to Imola of hotel and ticket, no travel, is £400+.

Do you know which team/driver he supports?

I've been to Budapest, great city but a real pain to get to the track and I don't remember if there was any entertainment.

We were at Singapore last weekend (we live there) and it's very central. The race was exciting because we had a storm, so lots of crashes because of the wet track and it's a night race. Loads of people go for the entertainment alone which is usually good and safe. Great buzz in the city for F1 weekend and easy to get to as it's in the city centre. You can also make a holiday of it, a few days in Singapore and pop to a beach (ie Thailand) for a few days. I wouldn't stay more than 5 days in Singapore.

You could go to Silverstone, save money on flights and upgrade your ticket. Seats across from the pit lane (where they change the tyres etc) and seats on the finish line are good, you can pick different seats for different days to mix it up or if you're feeling really flush, look at Paddock Club £££. That's VIP, you get to walk around with the drivers and celebs and see all the behind the seen stuff. If you watch it on the TV, you'll see all these pillocks trying to get their face on TV.

Every day is different and there are other races too, W series (women) and some races where folk pay to drive a car. Friday practice, Saturday qualifying (the order they race in) and Sunday is race day. Give yourself the Monday off too, you'll be knackered from walking, beer and travelling.

Next year there are new races including LA but then you've got flights. I'm not a massive fan, I rarely watch it on TV but it's a good weekend out. Look at the F1 website for tickets, only buy official ones and brush up on the rules if you're going with him, it makes it more interesting.

My husband loved Monza. Barcelona v good he said. They going next year him and son

Silverstone is a great experience, and watching the cars go through Copse, Maggotts & Becketts is incredible, but the track is enormous and completely flat, so it’s difficult to find a spot where you can see more than a couple of corners.

Spa is also an amazing circuit, but if you buy a ticket you are taking a huge gamble on the weather, as I found out the year I went. I have also been to Austria, where the track is much smaller and tighter so you get to see far more of the action from the stands.

If I could go to any track next, it would be Suzuka.

We went to Silverstone last year and it was absolutely brilliant.

I'd love to go to Spa, Monza, Canada, and Hungary is usually a good race.

As someone who races, I'd recommend Spa - great circuit for drivers and crowds - plenty of overtaking opportunities, not too far to travel and a great vibe. Don't be put off by the 'rain cancelled play' situation last year - highly unlikely to happen again. Zandvoort is also a good circuit to watch - small, accessible paddock, and the circuit is right next to some lovely beaches with bars/restaurants running along the top so you can go post-race and have a beer on the beach. Perfect! And the Verstappen bit gets my vote too so I wouldn't get wound up by the millions of Dutch fans!

Spa is the best circuit but it's not the best as a visitor and the weather is just too risky. I've honestly had swimming lessons that have left me dryer than I was at the end of a day at Spa.

If you want Silverstone tickets you will need to move quickish if it is his 40th ext year. They are selling out and prices are going up as time goes on

Silverstone Tickets

Of the ones left I think I would go for Becketts over Abbey (although Abbey is fab for the start of the race). Others may disagree though

Las Vegas. Not really as it's going to cost a bomb, the casinos will have insane packages.

Really, he'll enjoy it wherever you decide. Don't stress too much over the choices.