Imagine going on a road trip in Europe and having the option to choose one activity or attraction during the trip. A single one. Each. Which one would you have chosen? When our teenage son Sebbe was asked the question, he didn’t have to think long before answering. “See a Formula 1 race live!” All said and done, a few months later he and his father lined up at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya track in Montmeló to watch the giants drive lap after lap in their monster cars.
Experience a Formula 1 race in Europe: 5 tips for your trip
#1. Why watch a race live – what is the feeling and experience like on the spot? (And tips to make the experience even better)
I asked my son to write a few words about the feeling and experience on the spot:
“When you watch live, you’re not there for the racing. It’s an experience just to see (and hear) the cars roaring past. It’s a really cool atmosphere and it almost feels a bit surreal. If you buy general admission you probably won’t have access to a monitor so you’ll have a very poor idea of what the standings look like.
It will be difficult to tell the difference between cars from the same stable, so I recommend learning to spot the differences in the drivers. You can learn more about their different helmet designs, but even better is to check out the camera located at the top of the car above the driver’s head. One person in the stable has a black one, the other a neon green one. Find out which driver has which in your favorites so you can easily identify them. If you have access to a monitor, that is not a problem, because you can view the score at any time.”
#2. Buy tickets for a Formula 1 race in Europe
For us it felt good to turn to a Swedish actor with long experience to buy tickets and thus avoid standing there with “fake tickets” and a long nose. My husband Tobias did extensive research before finally choosing the actor BE Resor which he thought seemed serious. BE Travel has been selling F1 trips since 2007 and apparently has a 24-hour emergency telephone, which gives a feeling of security if something goes wrong.
#3. Our selection of Formula 1 races
Because we wanted to go in a specific period (June/July 2024), the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya race in Montmeló suited us best.
- Destination: Barcelona – Montmeló
- Category: GP of Spain
- Event: Spanish Formula 1 – Barcelona 2024 (Formula 1 tickets)
- Ticket: General admission Friday-Sun (standing)
- Price per person: SEK 2,615 (SEK 5,230)
#4. Things that might be good to think about during an F1 race in Europe
The information below is based on the experiences of Tobias and Sebbe from Barcelona, but presumably the procedure is approximately the same at all F1 races.
Parking
If you come by car, you will be led to gigantic fields of parking spaces. Despite the large number of cars, it is quite easy and convenient to find your own parking space. After parking, we were faced with a walk to the arena, which could take anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes depending on the location of the parking lot. It got worse when we left the parking lot. Then ALL the cars would drive out at the same time in disorganized chaos. We literally raced decimeter after decimeter for hours before we finally got out (thankfully without any dents in the car). Learn? Take a bus to the arena or find private parking far from the stadium. Despite the extra 30-40 minutes walking distance, it is definitely worth it.
Food and sunscreen
There will be many hours of waiting, so it is good to have a backpack with food and water. You can buy food on the spot, but the burgers we ate were both expensive and cold because they were not cooked on the spot but waited for hours for their customers. Many visitors brought their own pasta salad and the like. Due to the long waiting time, it is also advisable to bring a hat and sunscreen during hot summer days!
Find your place in the arena
The area feels huge when you are in the arena. It’s fun to walk around and look at everything and in some ways the experience is almost more about the atmosphere than the race itself. There are beautiful and expensive tickets in the various stands and there are often monitors with the position in the race and other good information. We had bought slightly cheaper tickets where you could choose your own spot somewhere around the course on a suitable slope. We chose a spot where we thought we could see as best as possible and settled down on the sunbeds we had brought with us. A very good tip is to have an idea in advance where you want to sit, otherwise it can be long walks in the heat. Study a map and choose a place! Having a monitor available to watch is an extreme plus, as it’s difficult to track position if you don’t have access to TV images.
Accommodation
We combined the Formula 1 race with a real road trip through Europe. We have chosen to live on the Costa Brava…
…where we rented a house through HomeAway that we were very happy with.
Read more: About renting a house in Costa Brava, Spain (via HomeAway)
#5. Last but not least…
…plan to stay with Formula 1 racing for a long time! Enjoy the atmosphere and take your time. Stay a few hours after the race is over to avoid the crowds.
Read more about our road trip: Road trip in Europe 2024 (our family day by day trip)
Feel free to follow me further Instagram under “Resfredag” for real-time updates! Author: Annika Myhre/Resfredag.se
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