All-purpose open-wheel (F1, IRL) racing thread

Just signed up for the email list to get notification for tickets to next year’s Miami Grand Prix. Seems like that would be a helluva good time.

The trackside/paddock/luxury experiences require a deposit of $5k.

 

I just looked at prices for the paddock experiences at COTA in Austin and you’re looking at $20k for a family of four to walk pit lane, meet the Red Bull team, access to the luxury lounge, grandstand seats and four nights accommodations.

Definitely pricey but, realistically, it’s not that much more expensive than a week at Disney World (albeit three fewer nights)

Monaco is a bucket list trip for me, but I’d love to do Miami next year.

 

I am hoping to go to Montreal next year

 

Remind me to never have kids.

 

If you are anywhere on the East Coast and don’t have to fly to Orlando, I promise you can do Disney for less than $20k. Might not be in a monorail resort, but you can do it.

 

A friend of a friend won a court settlement probably 10 years ago and took her husband, her mother in law and her kid, who might've been 2 or 3.

She says she spent $7,000, which to me is ridiculous. She's also poor, so I guess there was a bit of overcompensation.

I'm sure you can find some fleabag motel in Kissimmee for dirt cheap.

 

If you can afford it go to Monaco. Then spend some time on the Mediterranean and then swing up into Switzerland, which is like a five hour drive. If you have time drive down to Rome.

I did that two years ago and it was the best trip I have ever taken and I have been to 58 countries and 46 states.

 

Of course you can do it cheaper, but a week-long trip, including flights, lodging at an on-property resort, food, souvenirs and park passes is an easy $10k-$15k without being especially extravagant. You can definitely push it higher by staying at like the Grand Floridian and paying for the myriad other experiences they offer.

You can do the race cheaper as well. A single Sunday grandstand pass is $700.

I was just thinking that, in terms of premium experiences, an F1 race at COTA isn’t that much more expensive than a middle-of-the-road Disney vacation.

 

Let’s be honest, I’m trying to find a way to justify spending $20k to go see a race and meet Max and Horner.

 

That sounds like an amazing itinerary. I can probably get my wife on board. I think she can suck up 2 hours of racing for all of that.

 

I've done the Italian Grand Prix staying at Lake Como during the race, then taking a train to Venice for a few days after the race weekend. That was very, very nice.

I will say, if you're plotting a race weekend somewhere Miami would actually be pretty low on my list. I think it looks like a miserable layout -- an Indycar style maze of concrete walls and chain link fence. Maybe they'll surprise me, but parking lot courses tend to be pretty dire.

One of the things I love to do is walk the circuit during practice on Friday and Saturday to see all of the track. You can't do that with a street (or parking lot) circuit, because you have to be in a grandstand to actually see over the walls. That's my only beef with Canada -- loved everything but the fact that I was pretty much glued to me seat all weekend because you can't see the cars otherwise.

I think COTA would be light years better than Miami -- great views from everywhere. (I went the year the weekend was almost washed out so it was kind of a lousy experience, but I'll try it again someday.)

Having said all that, if Miami is your first F1 experience you'll have a hell of a good time. The cars are mind-blowing to watch.

There's still a lot of talk that Indy may come back, particularly if COTA drops out with money concerns. That was a dopey Mickey Mouse circuit but the view from turn one was GREAT. I'd love to see it return just to sit there again.

(And if you start seriously plotting a trip and need help/advice/whatever, feel free to reach out. I've been to a bunch of them.)