I’m sitting in Grandstand K at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on June 23, 2024. It was a couple of hours until the Formula 1 cars took to the track, and I was excited. I had already seen cars go around the past two days during practice sessions and qualifying. Still, I got an adrenaline rush from thinking about the race. The past two days had been so much fun watching F1, F2, F3, and F1 Academy. For my first in-person race weekend, I saw a lot of racing. Despite the Formula 1 Grand Prix being anticlimactic, I still can’t believe I got to watch at the track.
The highlight of the weekend was the Formula 1 qualifying on Saturday. It was one of the most exciting ones this season. I witnessed Lando Norris take his second-ever pole position, his first since 2021. I’m a huge Lando fan, and I’ve never cheered as loud as I did when he crossed the line and his name went to the top of the leaderboard.
There was also F1 Academy and the F2 and F3 sprint races on Saturday. F1 Academy is a program for only female drivers to have the opportunity to race and gain a platform. It’s a stepping stone to get them the support they need to rise up the ranks, and hopefully into F1 at some point. Even though they don’t go quite as fast, it was still exciting. F2 and F3 are the lower levels of F1. Many current F1 drivers won the championships in those levels. There were two F1 drivers for next season competing in the F2 that weekend. It was exciting to see the future of the sport that will eventually be at the top.
We were able to get tickets for one of the best views on the track. Grandstand K is just after the pitlane exit and before Turn 1, but you can also see more areas. We saw tons of action, but there were two screens visible that showed any replays. It was about a 15-minute walk to the track after a very long bus ride, and about a 5-minute walk after bags and tickets were checked. Our seats were in the fourth row from the bottom, so the visibility of the track and cars was great. I never got the opportunity to walk around the whole track, so I only saw my grandstand and the fan zone. When I did go to the fan zone, I made sure to keep it brief because there were so many people.
Overall, the venue was great for my first Grand Prix experience. I got to see four different levels of driving over three days, 7 total races, one of the most exciting Formula 1 qualifying and race starts of the year. And I even got to go on the track.
As the lights went out on Sunday, the cars came speeding down the track right in front of me. The car that was starting the race in fourth got into first in the first turn of the race. It was one of if not the most unexpected moments of the entire season up to that point, and I saw it in person.
I didn’t see the end of the race. It wasn’t a particularly interesting race overall, except for the start, and some of the battles and overtaking sprinkled in. At the final race of the weekend, venues will let spectators out onto the track to watch the podium ceremony and possibly get views of the pitlane and the drivers. My brother and I wanted to get a good view of the podium, so we queued up for the last five or so laps. It was further than I had imagined, but we got to a good place. I had to stand on the tip of my toes and hold my phone with my arms as high as I could to get good photos and videos of the podium, but it was worth every second.
If you enjoy watching all the action during races, then going to one isn’t the best. You can’t see the whole track and you don’t get to see all the excitement unless you’re lucky. But despite this, there are plenty of reasons to still go. Getting to see the cars, the incredible people who drive them, and their hard-working teams is a privilege. I’m grateful to have witnessed some of the best in Motor Sport. Seeing the speed in which they go and the effort and the skills it takes to drive the cars is something unimaginable until you see it in person. I highly recommend attending any F1 race, but if you get the chance, head over to Barcelona and experience the Spanish Grand Prix.
