Which F1 Grand Prix for DH's 40th?

[BlowDryRat]

DH is a big F1 fan but hasn't been to a race. His 40th is coming up next year and I was thinking of buying him tickets, but don't know where to start.

We're in day-trip distance to Silverstone so that would be easy, but there are various tickets types and opinions on where's best to sit. BIL is also into F1 and says Silverstone is ridiculously expensive for a mediocre view and you get much better value going abroad.

My budget is around £3k. Any wise MNers with recommendations?

No idea - but following!

My DH always says Spa in Belgium is a good one but I don't know much about it all.

Are you sure he would want to go?

My H loves F1 but said he would never want to go as he can see more on the TV

Abu Dhabi - the weather is great at that time of year and you can get some good deals, especially if you are prepared to fly Wizz Air and change somewhere in Europe rather than Etihad or BA direct.

Monaco is the purists one isn't it? Tbf I'd be happy with any of them but only if I had paddock club tickets 😂

We were in monza for my DH 40th
We picked the seats on a turn with a view both sides.
There was a train direct to monza from milan and free trains back
The atmosphere in Milan centre was fab for the w end. He loved it
I enjoyed it .
Nothing like sitting at Bar having a drink opposite the Duomo. I like bergamo city also cheap flights into there . Hope any of that helps. My DH says Silverstone is gone too ridiculously expensive for thr common man just silly money

That's exactly the kind of thing my DH would say but he'd also love it as a one-off.

I checked and paddock tickets for Silverstone this year are £52k 😳

I'd second Monza - it's a really easy track to get to from the city & DH & I had a wonderful week on Lake Como, hiring a car to head into Milan for the GP.

DH & I have also attended the Spanish GP at the Circuit de Catalunya (5 times 🤣) - again very easy to get to by car or public transport and you can add on a nice break in Barcelona on the coast!

We've done Silverstone once & the weather was awful, had great weather in Spain & Italy so they'd be my preference anyway!

Monaco is a boring race to watch though and won't be much fun on £3k.

You could do Austin on £3k if you do a short visit, Austin is a great city and a great race, COTA is the nicest track we've been to for facilities!

What team does he follow though as that matters, if Ferrari it has to be Monza, if Red Bull you might want to one of the orange races.

Spa is quite a popular one for the F1 purists.

You can't move around at Monaco as you have to stay in your own area so as PP said, it's quite dull unless you're watching from your yacht.

At Spa you can move around different areas so it's much better.

Monza or Spa. Proper race tracks, great atmosphere and both easy to get to.

As said above monza or spa are good, we did spa a few years ago for a special birthday and it was the same price to fly out, 4 nights in a hotel with transfers and tickets for all 4 days as it was for 4 day tickets and parking to Silverstone.

Spa is one of the best but it could tip it down with rain for the whole 3 days as its up the mountains surrounded by trees.

Austin would be good or Monza but maybe not if he hates Ferrari.

I've been to Silverstone 4 times and if you don't get a good spot, it's rubbish and the facilities are pretty crap too.

Last GP I went to, I spent most of the Sunday reading my book as the view was hopeless.

Yeah it's very much about the atmosphere, unless you've got the big bucks for a view, you'll need a radio.

Monaco. You can travel in by train from Nice or Cannes or further west.

I've never actually been to any but watch them all

I'd want seats that let me see the start and first corner as that's the best bit, you'll probably be able to see the pits and podium as well. Probably more pricey but I'd want my money's worth

*Silverstone is a good track, there usually seems to be racing too as there's the ability for overtaking

*If he supports Max/likes him, Zandvoort (Dutch) is good for the atmosphere as all his fans are there, they often have DJs etc for the build up

*Spa is notorious, BUT it would put me off from the time I watched a recent GP, it lashed it down, they went out for about 2 laps behind the safety car and then went back in and waved the chequered flag, the fans had sat for hours getting soaked and got 2 laps procession. Don't think they refunded them as there was "racing" I'd have been fuming

*Monaco is only on the calendar imo for the history, it's a very sterile race, would not recommend

*Italy is usually good, as with Max and his fans at Zandvoort, you have the Ferrari tifosi, watching them flood the track after racing if a Ferrari driver is on the podium looks amazing, they are very passionate

*Suzuka in Japan is a good old fashioned racing track, usually a few incidents etc, but I'd imagine is £££'s

*Just asked DH, he said Las Vegas 🙄

*I think China is back in the calendar after a while and I'm sure the racing used to be decent but it's not a country I want to go to due to their animal ethics (the eating cat and general poor animal ethics)

*Brazil is another proper circuit, but probably £££'s and not sure it's a country I'd fancy

I wouldn't recommend any of the middle east tracks they're very sterile

If I had to pick it would probably be Suzuka or Monza. Spa if I knew it was going to rain but race still go ahead

Spa. Monaco is a deadly dull circuit.

If budget wasn’t an issue - Singapore.

Came to say Singapore. Hands down the best F1 weekend of my life.

Had seats on the pit straight so could see start and end of laps and pit stops. Perfect.

Plus, lots to do outside of the race - including the big wheel that lets you peak into the paddock

I'd say Barcelona. Unreal track and this year is the last year it's on the calendar. Zandvoort also looks amazing

I loved Monaco. For any of them my advice would be to go with a company. Often they gets the best ticket and accommodation deals and no hassle with getting to and from the track. I've been with leger and Newmarket but other posher companies are available.

ive been to races all over the world, and keep going back to silverstone, to me if you are in driving distance its a no brainer.
but if you do want to go abroad then id look at barcelona as its easy to get to
Spa is in the middle of nowhere and high chance it will rain
monaco was great but the race day was a bit procesional as it always qualifying is more important there plus it was easy enough to stay in Nice and get the train in every day

Good advice above re going with a company, we used sports breaks for a recent football game, got very good seats and they offered us an upgrade to get posher seats and lounge, which we took up. Lounge was lovely for before the game and at half time

In my opinion the best races are the wet ones, unfortunately nowadays they red flag as soon as it's more than a bit of drizzle, as the tyres can't cope - there were some epic 90s races when I was growing up in the rain

https://www.racefans.net/2025-f1-season/2025-f1-calendar/

We did a few, a lot of years ago and so my knowledge is limited on the newer tracks.
We loved Canada ( Montreal) as it was very easy to move around the track, and we got some great views. Loved the city too and combined it with a visit to Quebec City.

We lived in the ME so Abu Dhabi was our home circuit at the time, and it was new then, so quite interesting, but hot!

Monaco was a bit ‘meh’ for me, but we could not afford to do it as it probably needs to be done - no yachts or penthouse balcony for us!

The above link, if you have not already used it, gives some feedback on the tracks included in next years season.

We loved our day at Silverstone. Got seats on the Wellington Straight and saw lots of action. Fantastic crowd as well.

I'd love to go to Spa, Monza and Montreal.