If you almost spilled your martini looking at your Rolex, you'll probably just land your 24k gold helicopter at the Belgium Gran Prix helipad and saunter into the onsite hotel that graciously offered me a room at only $5000/USD a night. Bless their innocent hearts ... However, if you're not in the 1%, you probably can't saunter worth a shit, so here's what you need to know about a normal visit to Spa Francorchamps.
STAY IN OR VISIT BRUSSELS. By all means, see the city. It's beautiful despite the recent idiotic ISIS fuckers. People are friendly, the food and beer is great and they know the race is on. You'll talk to and see lots of F1 fans wearing their gear in the city.
In Verviers, there is another local train you'll be tempted to cross the platform and take. Don't do it. It takes you the backside, close to Spa but instead, WALK OUT THE TRAIN STATION AND USE THE BUSES! They are excellent. There are dedicated express, freeway ones and dedicated more local route ones. Don't wait for one or the other, just get on whatever comes first. Sometimes the express ones get jammed with freeway cars anyway. They come often, fill up efficiently, go directly to and from the circuit and you can spend the time talking to people from all over the world about why the driver and team you support is the best and why their shitty driver and team are obviously hopeless losers.
DO THE PIT WALK ON DAY ONE. If your goal is to see one of the two, Kimi or Lewis, GO EARLY and wait at the Spa gate, then go directly to Kimi or Lewis's pit area. They are incredibly popular and those areas get packed fast.
Spend a practise day WALKING THE CIRCUIT to figure out where you'd like to sit or stand. It's a big track so be prepared for a lot of walking or doing half the track. You can get tired just going from the coaches, to the track, to where you're going to watch the race, so be preparation is key.
BRING A VERY GOOD LIGHTWEIGHT RAIN JACKET. Well-known for it's notorious weather changes, be prepared for rain. Look, if it's raining, it's going to be shitty so make the best of it. Know that you're going to get wet even with the best of gear so make friends with the person next to you in case you need to cuddle up under their umbrella. Cheap ponchos (quality and price) are available but they're complete rubbish so don't rely on them.
VISIT THE MARKETPLACE AND SELLERS LEADING UP TO THE CIRCUIT and be prepared to pay money. As we all know, this ain't a cheap sport for merchandising and you're going to be more tempted by the atmosphere at the race to pay up for things you might be hesitant to buy while sitting at home. There are ATM's on site, everyone is happy to take your credit card but check out the sellers outside the circuit for last year's merch and classic memoribilia. Also, consider buying merchandise that has to do with the Spa circuit itself. Just be prepared to lose some money.
>>>> RACE DAY <<<< - FOR THE LOVE OF GOD - GO EARLIER than you expected. At practise and qualifying you'll think "it's not so bad crowd-wise" but on race day, give yourself an additional hour earlier as way more fans who have camped close to the site and attendees who will only do race day will flood the circuit early.
I was quite surprised by how reasonably priced and available half-decent food is at the site. It's not pheasant on china but the variety is good. You can bring your own snacks, and it's a good idea, as you're in for a longgggg day but EATING AT THE TRACK IS QUITE EASY AND NOT AS HARD ON THE WALLET AS YOU'D EXPECT.
THE KEMMEL STRAIGHT ON RACE DAY will be first to get packed. If you plan on sitting here be aware of the following:
- It's hard on the ass as it's surprisingly rocky. Bring something to pad your bum.
- It's also steeper than you'd think so wear good shoes if not boots that can dig in to the incline. It's just that tiny bit steeper that can be hard on you over the course of the day.
- Chairs get planted early at the top of the hill closest to the walkway. People stake their claim here early because it's the flattest to sit on, Be prepared to politely but firmly move through these people to sit on the incline. There's a certain amount of "fuck you, I was here first" about them so they're not exactly happy about parting way all the time. Look for the gaps and smile your way in.
BE PREPARED FOR DRUNKS. Hahaha, F1 fans are so greatly all over the place. They're crazy, excited kids dragged by their parents. They're barely walking pensioners who have the best F1 stories of yesteryear, by all means talk to them! They're uber-rich who love the atmosphere hanging amongst the poor who have scraped pennies to the race. They're all there. Fat. Skinny. Women. Men. And they are there for fast cars and fast times. Be tolerant of the absolutely, completely drunk, because 9 times out of 10, they're FUN but 1 time out of 10, not so much.
LEAVING THE TRACK SUCKS. Whether you scream towards the exit the second someone crosses the finish line, whether you are driving, whether you are taking the buses, expect to move slowly, expect to wait, expect to get out of their late into the night. It's a mass exodus and at least half of it has been drinking all day, so BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE CIRCUIT, USE THE TOILET!
Trust me, when you're stuck in traffic, you'll thank me later.
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