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Whatever you do, DO NOT underestimate how cold it gets! My friends and I thought we were well-prepared last year with our wellies and waterproof jackets/trousers… little did we know, we’d want gloves, hats and thermals! We sat at Pouhon which is great, but you do need to get there early to get a good spot, and because of the position of the hill, you won’t be in the sunshine till about midday. So dress for December, not August!
That said, layers are essential, as once the sun reaches you it can get pretty hot. It’s basically four seasons in one day, every day.Thanks @kittyl48 for your in-depth review — it’s always helpful when you’re planning to attend a GP to read the experiences of people who’ve been before.
I do agree with some others though that perhaps your expectations may have been a bit high. In some respects, my experience at Spa this year far surpassed my expectations. The fact that the gate stewards don’t check bags, for instance, was a bit of a godsend in comparison with circuits like Sepang where you can’t take in any food or drink (even bottled water) at all, or Albert Park where you can only take in sealed bottles of soft drink, so if you’ve had just one sip of your water while queuing, they will tip the whole lot out and hand you the empty bottle (although at least there are drinking water taps to refill your bottle for free… no such luck in Sepang). A couple of years ago a friend of mine had a thermos flask confiscated when entering the Circuit de Catalunya; I think we’d have died without our flasks of coffee at Spa on Sunday morning!
I thought the food was pretty average for a GP and was impressed by €5 for a large can of beer, as that’s not too bad for a live sports event of any kind! I also thought the toilets were pretty good; yes, I’d rather not pay 70 cents, but for luxuries like toilet roll and a real sink (at a GP, I definitely consider these luxuries!) it’s sometimes worth it. My friends and I sat on the bank at Pouhon and had access to two sets of ‘proper’ 70 cent toilets, along with a few portaloos which very few people used (meaning they weren’t disgusting by midday, which is what I’d been expecting!) The bonus of all the woodland at Spa is that the vast majority of men tended to simply walk into the woods to relieve themselves, meaning the portaloos were left mostly unused… I didn’t even have to queue for the toilet after the GP2 race on Sunday, which is unheard of at other tracks.
Warm and waterproof clothing is definitely a must. We were prepared for rain but not for how cold it would get… next time I’ll be taking a hat and gloves as well as hoodies and head-to-toe waterproofs. It’s worth mentioning, though, that when the sun comes out it can get HOT. Fortunately I was wearing layers so I could peel them off fairly easily, but I did see some more extreme and inventive solutions — during the F1 race, a girl sitting near us actually cut off her jeans with a penknife to make them into shorts! So I would advise lots of layers rather than just thick winter clothing.
We usually sit in grandstands at GPs but as Spa is pretty expensive, we opted for general admission (Bronze). I thoroughly recommend it, as long as you have a camping chair and golf umbrella! We walked around the whole track on Friday and I thought that some of the grandstands looked pretty shonky compared with those at other (far cheaper) circuits. Also, the atmosphere in GA is brilliant. Yes, you have to get there early in the morning to secure a good spot, but if you’re not dedicated enough to get there early then you definitely aren’t dedicated enough to sit through a raging hailstorm so you’re probably better off in a covered grandstand! I’d agree with Lottie’s comment that GA is a better option than an uncovered grandstand, particularly considering the cost difference.
I can’t comment on the camping situation as we stayed in nearby Malmedy, and we drove to the track (which was very easy, as was parking). There are a few small towns in the area, most of which are really beautiful, and you can get pretty reasonable accommodation if you do your research. We booked our accommodation in June and it cost €30/night each.
I didn’t have much contact with staff at the track but all the stewards we spoke to were lovely. Overall it was a fantastic experience. This was actually my third Belgian GP but my first as an adult; previously I went with my family in the late 1980s when I was 7/8 years old, and my parents certainly didn’t think it was a bad place to take the kids!
Phone signal is pretty good at the track. I’d looked into getting a data package this year before I left for Hungary, but my network’s offer was too expensive to be worthwhile. Not that I could have stood to take my eyes off the track during the race anyway!
Hi
My friends and I go to the Hungaroring every year. Much as we were very sad to lose Fanvision after 2012, it’s easier to live without it in Hungary than at other circuits because the nature of the Hungaroring is such that you can see so much of the track, it’s very easy to follow what’s going on. Also there are a fair amount of jumbotrons so wherever you’re sitting, you can watch all the action.
The trackside commentary alternates between Hungarian, English and German. They don’t broadcast it on a radio channel (or at least, if they do, they don’t publicise the frequency! Last year we took radios and tried to find the commentary but couldn’t, and given how loud the cars were it was pretty much impossible to hear the PA system.) One of the bonuses of the engines being quieter now is that you can actually hear some of the commentary during the race!
My advice would be to go for one of the grandstands (or GA areas) around the last corner because you get a vast view of the track, the pit lane entry, and a screen, so even when you can’t hear or understand commentary you’ll be able to follow it all.
Hi @abi5
I went to the 2012 Malaysian GP so can answer a few of your questions.We sat in the grandstand at turn 1 – I think that’s the K1 grandstand. I’m not sure which block we were in but it was on the right-hand side of the stand. We had a fantastic view down the main straight, plus turns 1 & 2, and we could see some of the straight from turns 3 to 4. I would definitely recommend these seats to anyone.
Regarding the shade – if you’re too close to the very front or very back of the grandstand, you will get wet if (or should that be ‘when’) it rains! We were sitting about halfway up and kept dry. I wouldn’t say there’s more breeze at the top, really… I don’t remember there ever being any breeze at all :-/We stayed in KL over the race weekend. It is such a great city and well worth visiting! Some places really get into the F1 spirit, and the ‘local’ teams are bound to have promotional activities/events – we went to a Petronas-sponsored event where we saw Rosberg and Schumacher, and a Caterham event with Kovalainen, Petrov and Van Der Garde. There was also some kind of party near KLCC where we saw heaps of F1 people, but the only one I can remember for sure is Alonso. But suffice it to say, there will be lots going on to keep the F1 party going!
It is really simple to get from KL Sentral train station to the track. You can buy a ticket for the whole weekend, then you get the train to the airport and shuttle bus to the track. I think it took about an hour. On the Sunday evening we had to queue for the bus for a while, but other than that it wasn’t really too bad. It was much easier to get between the track and the city than some other races I’ve been to.I’m not sure about autograph sessions as we didn’t go to any, but I remember seeing people queuing on the Sunday morning so it was probably then!
I’m also not sure whether there is a pit lane walkabout. One thing about the Friday at Sepang is that it’s open admission, so regardless of which grandstand you have tickets for, you can sit wherever you like. We took the opportunity to sit in the main grandstand for a while so we could see directly into the pit garages.
I’m afraid I can’t remember whether people were allowed onto the track after the race – sorry!One more thing: Sepang is very strict about not allowing you to take food or drink into the circuit, even bottles of water. So make sure you take plenty of small change as you will need to buy lots of drinks during the long, hot days!
I hope you have a fantastic time. Malaysia 2012 was one of my favourite GP experiences ever. Enjoy every minute :)
I would say it’s worth looking into how cheaply you can get a mobile data package for while you’re there. I took a pocket radio to the Spanish GP but the standard of the trackside commentary was irritatingly poor (as an example, referring to Vettel and Webber as ‘the Toro Rossos’!), and there wasn’t any English-language commentary at all for the support races. A radio is certainly better than nothing, but if it’s not too pricey you’d be far better off having access to Twitter etc.
