And it's lights out and away we go!
Disclaimer: this post is not a commentary on the race but an account of our experience of attending the race weekend!
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People are generally surprised to hear that I like Formula 1 but I got introduced to it through Wil who has been watching it for many years. I used to complain on race weekends as so much time would be taken up by watching the build-up and the race itself but now I happily follow F1 (and would even watch it if Wil wasn’t around).
It may sound exceptionally dull just to watch cars go round and round in laps but I think Formula 1 is one of those things where investing a bit of time and getting to know the drivers, teams and tactics pays off and then you get into the cars going round and round! I also enjoy test cricket which some people don’t find very entertaining either. Coincidentally, both Formula 1 and test cricket are excellent sports for Sunday afternoons - you don’t need to watch every second and you can get on with life with them on in the background.
Anyway, on to this year’s Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix! Even before we’d got to Japan, it was a given that we’d be going to the Japanese Grand Prix - there was no discussion and we’d both assumed that of course we’d be going. Tickets for Silverstone had always seemed expensive but somehow we felt it was easier to justify the expense whilst we were in another country for a short amount of time! Plus, the Suzuka Circuit is actually one of the better race circuits in the race calendar.
We had a four day ticket for the race - don’t worry, I’m not going to give a run down on each day but here is summary of what each day focused on:
Thursday: not an official part of the race weekend and there are no cars on the track but the circuit is open for keen beans
Friday: practice day for the drivers to test the cars
Saturday: qualifying day to decide the starting order for the race
Sunday: RACE DAY!
Here’s my thematic account of the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix instead which is hopefully more interesting then a blow by blow account of the four days…
Formula 1 Fashion - the Suzuka Style Gallery
Lots of people in Japan love to dress-up and the race weekend is an excellent opportunity for the Formula 1 fans to dress-up to show their love for their favourite drivers or teams and unleash their creative side with inventive hats and costumes. As a keen fancy dresser, one of my favourite bits of the weekend was actually just walking around the circuit and spotting all the people who had made the effort to dress-up! I regret not dressing-up (and made do with a free cap that we got with our ticket) but I am already planning what I might wear to the next Formula 1 race I might go to!
There were many excellent and more elaborate and over the top costumes that I failed to get a photo of (living in the moment and all that) but here’s a selection of what I did manage to capture!
The atmosphere
The atmosphere over the four days was ace and that is all down to the behaviour of the amazing Japanese fans and to some extent the staff at the race too. The crowd was a good mix of enthusiasts and hardcore fans, lesser fans like us, a surprising number a few families with kids and a sprinkling of international fans.
The Japanese fans demonstrated that it is possible to have fun and enjoy yourself, and let others have a good time too, by being respectful, nice and just a decent human really. And the staff made it possible for the fans to do so as they all took pride in what they were doing and were helpful and polite.
It was by far the most jovial and enjoyable large public gathering that I have been to. Back home I’d always be worrying about the yobos who might start jeering, get confrontational or just generally make a tit of themselves - I know they might generally be a minority but they ruin it for the rest of us (who have often paid a fortune to attend these events and don’t want the constant threat of a menace to lessen the experience). But luckily, avoiding yobos was not a concern at Suzuka! We spent a lot of time walking around the circuit during the four days and not once did we see anyone get aggressive, confrontational or being reprimanded - quite an achievement for a large public gathering, let alone a sporting event! In fact, we just saw lots of fans chatting to each other, lots of people taking photos in appreciation of each other’s outfits or people simply keeping to themselves and not bothering others!
One of the things we found surprising was the lack of security given that Suzuka Circuit has a capacity of over 150,000. There were no bag searches, scanners or strong visible presence of police or guards at the event. During our four days, I think we saw a handful of police officers around the main gates and that was it. But I think the lack of visible security helped set a different, and a more relaxed, tone for the event.
However, one thing the event did not lack was mascots! In fact, no Japanese event would be complete without a mascot and here’s me hanging out with some!
Another key aspect of any Japanese tourist sights or event is the souvenir treats consisting of regional specialties or snacks that specific to the event. And there was no shortage of themed souvenirs at Suzuka and Wil bought some to take back for his colleagues as that’s expected here.
A simple, small thing that helped improve my race experience was not having to worry about being on “liquid lockdown” or bladder control in order to avoid using disgusting public toilets as would be the case back home. One of the worst things about public events in the UK is having to use the toilets - pretty much always a dire experience thanks to the gross people out there. I have no idea what makes some people in the UK think that they can defile public toilets (and for some reason the rest of us have just accepted it as the norm that public toilets will generally be gross rather than challenging it) but people here, thankfully, do not do defile public toilets. I was shocked at how clean the toilets were even in middle of race day when the circuit was as it’s busiest - the toilets were spotless and cleaner than the bathrooms in most of our homes - this really is not an exaggeration.
I’m sorry if parts of the “atmosphere” section ended up sounding like a whinge about things that I do not appreciate at UK public events (in fact I could have done with some more enthusiastic cheering and Mexican waves that I love at home!) but the difference in atmosphere felt so stark that I felt I had to make the comparison as it frustrates me that if people here can behave here why can’t people behave everywhere! But in summary, the atmosphere at Suzuka was fantastic and it makes me look forward to attending more events in Japan!
Rubbing shoulders with the Formula 1 drivers
On Thursday we saw some of the drivers close-up when they came out for their walk along the circuit. We saw Sebastian Vettel (four-time Formula 1 World Champion), Romain Grosjean (one of my current faves), Marcus Ericcson and Sergey Sirotkin (and I managed to get his autograph and I am hoping one day he’ll be more famous than he is today because let's be honest, no one has heard of him YET). We also saw Felipe Massa who retired last year.
I am very upset that I never made it to a race whilst my favourite drivers (Jenson Button and Mark Webber) were still racing so I missed out on a chance to see them. My current faves are Kimi (I like to think I’m on first name terms with Formula 1 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen), Daniel Ricciardo and Romain Grosjean. Here’s a photo to prove it.
The race and the cars
So if you are a F1 fan but somehow don’t yet know the race result skip ahead to the photos at the end instead of reading this paragraph! After a few days of rain and changeable weather which created for an eventful qualifying session (Ferrari screwed themselves over) we had glorious blue skies and sunshine for the race itself. The cars went zoom, zoom and the race went by incredibly quickly and it was great to watch Lewis Hamilton (a British driver who is currently leading the championship) comfortably win the race at Suzuka Circuit! I am not a big Lewis Hamilton fan (I always preferred Jenson Button to Lewis Hamilton out of the British drivers during the past few years) but obviously I’ll always cheer for team GB!
To finish, here is a selection of photos from Suzuka!
Setting the scene for as I wrote this blog:
Location: I started writing notes for this blog during the four days we were at Suzuka and then finished it off at home!
Weather: It has been a mixture of rain and blue skies during the few days I wrote this.
Soundtrack: chitter chatter of fans and then the quiet at home.
Bonus fact: The race at Suzuka Circuit was the 30th Formula 1 race there.
