F1 Fanatic

My only top tip is that on Friday, you can pretty much sit wherever you want to (apart from the Supergold / Gold stands on the main straights). Take advantage of this and move around the track at the different sessions to get to see the cars at various different corners.

For instance, at Silverstone 2010 we had Copse Terrace tickets, but watched FP1 on Friday from Luffield, and FP2 from various points around the track.

It’s a great initiative on a Friday, and you’re going to be sat in your reserved seat watching the same 300 metres of track for the whole of Saturday / Sunday, so take advantage of this flexibility on Friday.

f1vick, I put some camping advice in my reply on page 1. Other tips are below:

- Some campsites give Sunday night camping for no extra cost, or a reduced fee. Take advantage if possible, for this will help you avoid the mother of all traffic jams and make going home much more relaxed.

- Take a tent you can put up yourself or with the help of people in your group (if any). Yes, people are friendly at races and willing to help, but handling a tent that’s over-complicated in high wind and/or rain is no fun.

- Practise putting up the tent and taking it down again.

- It is difficult to take too many supplies when camping. It is much easier to forget something. Make a list of things you want to take and triple-check it before going.

- Most of the things you will need for a camping trip to Silverstone are the same as you would need for a camping weekend anywhere else in Britain. A list you might find useful is here if you’ve not camped before. The racing-specific things you need, you’ll already know about given you’re a seasoned attendee.

- Check the rules of your chosen campsite before packing a given item. For example, if the campsite rules ban open fires, don’t bother taking the equipment to make one.

- Don’t take anything too valuable, unless you can keep it securely on your person at all times. Opportunistic thefts sometimes happen and a bout of wet weather can ruin sensitive items if put in the wrong place at the wrong time.

- Bring earplugs (specifically a type appropriate for sleeping in). Some campsites are noisier than others, but at some point you will want to sleep. If you’re taking a car with you, the back seat has better sound insulation that a typical tent, albeit at the cost of reduced comfort.

- Bring a reasonable amount of food and drink from home. Campsite food is expensive. If you get a campsite far enough from the track, you may be able to nip into Towcester or Bicester for top-ups at the local supermarkets, but that obviously isn’t the case if you’re camping near the circuit.

- If the campsite says to show up at a given time, do so. Ensure you have the payment close to hand, if you haven’t already paid.

- Don’t do anything anti-social. Tents tend to be very close together, so that music you think you are playing quietly through your speakers may be annoying people 2-3 tents across, depending on wind direction.

- While on “anti-social”, it’s advisable to ensure you use the shower at least once every other day (once per day if you’ve had to do a lot of walking during the day). People are a bit more tolerant of smells than in normal life, but you don’t want to feel dirty either, if you can help it.

- Campsite services (toilets, showers, snack places…) have peak times for 1-2 hours before the time one needs to leave to get to the first session of each day, and 1-2 hours after the time one would arrive at the site if setting out immediately after the last session of the day. Plan your access to campsite services to avoid such times.

- Despite the above item, you will get queues. Even if you’re after the shower block in the middle of the night. Take reading material and be prepared to chatter with the fans around you.

- Try not to spend too long in the shower – there’s never enough of them to go round.

- If you like group entertainment of an evening, most campsites will oblige. Otherwise, listen for the source of mass drunken-sounding renditions of pop songs – it’s an unwritten rule that in the absence of other entertainment, people of an evening will gather together to sing second-rate kareoke…

- Having said that, if you’re staying in a “quiet” campsite, don’t initiate any kareoke (drunken or otherwise). Simply because the organisers know where to put noisy people to avoid bothering those who want to sleep doesn’t mean any of the visitors do.

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1. Seriously, don’t bother with earplugs or ear defenders (unless you have a health condition that requires you to take a little extra care then, obviously, these will be needed). Yes, the noise is unlike anything else you will have experienced, but it’s never reaches the point where you will be in pain. Being subjected to this level of noise once or twice a year will not permanently damage your hearing. People get far too obsessed with earplugs! Why go to a race in the first place if you can’t be bothered to experience all aspects of it? If you have the (LUCKY!) opportunity of being in the garages, or near them, ear protection is a necessity as the sound waves have three walls to bounce off of. There’s no harm in spending a few quid on protection, but after all the money you have spent getting to be in the presence of the beautiful cars, I doubt you’ll use them.

2. Make sure your shoes are definitely comfy. Take your most reliable pair: the ones you have had for long enough that they’re worn in but still in good nick. You underestimate how much walking you’ll do.

3. Bring waterproofs but be careful with your choice. A waterproof jacket is a necessity but take one with a hood rather than an umbrella. Umbrellas are hassle to carry around and can make other fans very, very peeved.

4. Be realistic in how much money you will spend per day. Food is pricey, but whilst it is tasty, it certainly adds up quicker than you would expect.

F1vick
I’ve been camping at silverstone for years, and i’m sure you will have great fun. As others have said just take waterproofs and plenty of warm clothes as if its a wet weekend trust me nothing is more miserable than being wet and cold.

As far as bikes are concerned no problem yes you can ride round the circuit, the only ones they won’t allow you to take in are the motorised scooters, bikes. Having taken one once though I wouldn’t bother. There are so many people arouind that its hard to use a bike, you are definatley better of walking, and you are forever looking for somewhere to chain it up whilst you watch the racing.

@jetlag : The merchandise is priced exactly or similar to those values which you see online. However, it works out cheaper to buy at the GP as you skip all the horrendous shipping costs.

I went to my first GP at Silverstone last year – here are a few tips I think are essential:
- With a grandstand ticket, you can sit wherever you want on the Saturday – even right on the start/finish line. The key is to get to the circuit as early as possible. We got there last year at around 7.45am and managed to get a great spot overlooking the pit straight and first corner – although I think this year we’ll aim to get there even earlier.
- Buy a ticket lanyard (on eBay you can get them for about £2.99 including P&P). You have to show your ticket every time you enter a stand on the Saturday and Sunday so, rather than hunting through your wallet every time, it’s best just to have a lanyard around your neck you can quickly flash at the steward.
- Buy a cheap AM/FM radio. You have literally no chance of hearing the commentary through the PA system so buy a cheap AM/FM radio and tune into Silverstone radio at circuit to get commentary on each and every session. Also, as with all major sporting events, the mobile data networks become completely overloaded and slow to a snail’s pace so (unfortunately) you can’t rely on F1 Fanatic or Twitter for text updates!
- Bring clothing for every weather situation. We could’ve done with gloves and scarves during Friday practice last year but were fine in just a T-shirt on race day!
- Use the free park & ride service offered by the circuit. We found it to be excellent on the Saturday and Sunday morning – although I think it’s inevitable that there’s going to be long delays after the race on Sunday. You can park at the circuit for free on the Friday.

Hi Jake

Not to my knowledge. Only circuit where there are restrictions are at Abu Dhabi and that is for the concerts in the evening.