Astrophsx

Great report!

I did the F1 in Shanghai two years ago with an SPG Moment. Look into them if you ever go back to Shanghai as they are one of the cheapest SPG F1 auctions. I think I was able to snatch VIP passes for 5k or 8k for qualifying. We got to sit in the Mercedes garage! Was an amazing experience.

TOMFORD

This remains one of the greatest TRs, and not just because moondog and I were in it

Madone59

You got to sit in the garage, that is so cool?! Pictures pleeeease. I'd definitely spend several K points for that experience. I need to get a SPG account going

High praise indeed. Thanks man.

Astrophsx

In the red shirt:


Me smiling in the back left trying to get on camera:

Madone59

Thank you so much for posting those Astrophsx!!! What an awesome experience. Looks like I need a SPG credit card ASAP. Can't wait for the last two races of the year

offerendum

Something special and many peoples dream

Astrophsx

It was an interesting and exciting experience. When you are sitting in the garage you put on headphones with the team's live radio feed. Really blew my mind all the things you miss on tv. You hear both drivers. In front of you are iPads with a special app made by Mercedes that has a bunch of video feeds and car data. The garage was spotless and really fun to watch. When the drivers (Nico & Hamilton) hopped out of their cars during and after practice they were so relaxed.. like someone who is on the job and gets a 15 minute break and needs a stretch. It's not until qualifying did they get more serious.

Since the big motor change the cars are much more quiet. I remember in 2012 we got tickets to the inaugural race in Austin for turn 13. You could not make it more than a minute or two without ear protection. In the garage with no ear protection it wasn't bad, but then again they weren't at full throttle.

The Paddock Club makes sure guests have as much food and champagne as possible. The waiters are from around the world and are very beautiful. They travel city to city for the races. They are paid to pretty much chat up the guests and are very flirtatious. They even had a corner with masseuses giving massages.

The security was pretty high. You wear the badge that has an RFID chip and are constantly scanning it to use a turnstile to access different areas. There were a lot of areas to explore. You could go up one of the towers and see almost the full race track, go to the garage, or the roof be above any team's garage to watch pit stops. They did pit walks between practice sessions where you might bump into some of the race reporters doing a live broadcast or Niki Lauda getting interviewed.

I believe they gave us each a gift bag with around ~$200 in swag.

YuropFlyer

Astrophsx, you really make me miss it.. (but our goodie bags were better )

Astrophsx

Did you do an SPG Moment? I'm going to monitor Hilton and Marriott's auctions next year as well. I know Hilton has some experiences.

YuropFlyer

I worked in F1 (racetrack) - sorry if I wasnt clear enough..

Shanghai was "the boom" in 2010 when some icelandic Vulcano gave us an extra week there