A few weeks ago, I flew down to Hungary to see my first real live Formula 1 race.
I'd never been to a race even though I've been following the sport for years.
But this year I decided to actually go.
So I picked Budapest because I thought it'd be cool to visit a new country as well. And somewhere where the weather is nice.
Turns out it was very nice.
Arrived in Budapest on Thursday evening, went out to eat and it started raining.
Asked the people working in the hotel reception how to get to the circuit. They all said "taxi".
Which I thought was a bit suspicious since I had read about there being buses and a train there.
So, Friday morning comes. Take the train and it stops somewhere on the country side in a small village. All the people wearing F1 clothing gets off the train. I do the same and follow them.
You basically walk on this sand/gravel street for 20 minutes and then you're at the circuit.
It's pretty straightforward actually.
As I walk through the gate, I can hear the cars. The first practice session had just started and some of the smaller teams' cars were out.
The cars sound amazing in person!
There's not a lot of people around at this time. It's only Friday and the practice sessions don't always attract a lot of spectators.
I'm not complaining, less queues!
I got a Gold 1 ticket so the seat is close to the finishing line.
Got there early on Saturday as well in order to see the last practice session.
Not that crowded yet.
People started showing up for the qualifying in the afternoon though.
Lots of Polish fans who were confident after the qualifying.
Sunday morning.
It's apparent everybody's coming to the race today. It's not sold out, but all the grandstands are way more packed than on the previous days.
More flags, more people.
Lots of Polish fans and Finnish fans too.
A lot of Kimi flags. Most of the people carrying them aren't even Finnish.
Before the race, they have a drivers' parade where all the drivers are on a flatbed truck and are driven around the circuit.
Then, there's a presentation of the grid, before the cars are pushed into their starting positions.
The cars belonging to Kimi and Fernando Alonso before the race.
When the race starts, it's an unbelievable noise that you don't get to hear when you watch the races on TV.
The Hungarian GP has a reputation of being boring. But this was not boring at all.
Hearing the crowd cheer when Massa overtook Hamilton in the first corner was priceless.
Hearing Felipe Massa drive past with an apparent engine problem and seeing his engine blowing up on the big screen only a few hundred meters away was unbelievable.
Seeing the Ferrari pit crew manage to get Kimi past Fernando was amazing as well.
As soon as the Polish fans realized their hero was not a contender for the podium, they went silent and started packing their BMW flags.
They weren't as loud as they were after qualifying.
Heikki winning his first F1 race.
Kimi was third, notice the flags on the big screen.
Podium
After the race, it was time to head back to Budapest.
The train was hot as hell.
As I got out of the train in Budapest, and I think it was 25-30C outside, it felt cold!
That means the train was a lot hotter than the outside temperature....
Budapest was a nice place to visit. Lots to see there.
I definitely recommend going to see a live race for anyone who's interested in F1.
It's kinda like a music festival, except there's cars involved!
/jarmo
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