So, here we are on the first real day of the Grand Prix weekend, and an early start was required!  We were up, washed and packed by about 7am and drove up the steep and windy road to one of the entrances, in the hope of finding some parking.

We found a camping and parking site, but there were no officials around… hmm, we thought.  Then we spotted a small strip of land big enough for about 6 cars, which wasn’t cordoned off or anything, so we pulled up.  After asking someone that was in an adjacent car whether they knew if it was okay to park there, it was clear that it was unclear!  So, out came the trusty old pen and paper and we wrote a note saying to please get in touch if there were any problems, along with my mobile number.  We also had a pass to access all of the local roads that was provided to us by the couple that we’re renting the cottage off.  These are normally only given to residents, so it was a good thing to have we thought, and also placed that on the dashboard.

After joining the surprisingly short queue, we waited until around 7:50am to be let in.  The gates were meant to open at 7.30am, ah well!  We headed straight down towards Eau Rouge, as this was one of the spots we wanted to check out in the days before the big race on Sunday.  We found a nice spot next to some Danish people, which gave great views to two corners and along a long straight – one of the DRS zones no less! Because this was one of the higher points of the circuit, it also afforded views down the valley, with a clear sight of the start finish straight and the pit entrance, as well as the end of the first corner and most of the first straight.  This is a strong possibility for our favoured spot for Sunday!

The weather was predicted to be changeable and light showers came and went, but we’d brought along waterproofs (it is Spa after all!), so there was no problem.  The first free practice session of the F1 cars gave me my first experience of the howling pieces of engineering prowess.  Oh boy, they delivered!  The scream of the engines and the composure of the cars as a whole really impressed me.  I’d seen some older F1 cars racing at the Silverstone Classic over the past few years, but this was my first time seeing current cars.  The difference isn’t as wide as you’d imagine, but you could certainly tell there had been 20 or so years of development.

The Red Bulls were strong along with the Ferraris, which set the scene for the day, but most teams put in a decent amount of laps, before the mainly damp session ended.  Next up was a GP2 free practice session, which was equally entertaining.  The GP2 class sits just below F1 in performance terms with the cars having around 600hp and resembling their superior peers quite closely.

The two sessions were broken up by several laps undertaken by the AMG Mercedes SLS and a big estate Merc also, which brought a deep (and very loud!) V8 rumble to the track.  Sitting where we were, you experienced the sounds of the F1 cars all the way around the track due to echoes and the sheer volume of them.

Next up was a break for lunch, so we headed back out of the gates, aiming to try out another viewing area and checking the car was okay in its sneaky spot on our way (which it was!).  The food and drink in the circuit was expensive, as you’d expect, but here’s a small tip – go outside the gates and you’ll find everything vastly cheaper.  A couple of examples; a 50cl can of beer inside the circuit was 5 EUR, outside it was 3 EUR and inside the circuit, a small portion of frites was 6 EUR and outside you could get a large portion for 3 EUR 50!  We thought it would be rude not to try a portion of frites, so tucked into them in the luxury of our camp chairs, before perusing the merchandise stalls in search of a cheap umbrella for the impending weather due tomorrow.

Upon re-entering the track, we found that the general admission viewing area was all fenced off, rather than being the large hill style that we’d tried earlier.  The viewing spot before lunch was great, as you looked down on the track over the cars with an un-hindered view.  However, we found a great place that had a lovely pair of bends with a straight in between and one afterwards.  By now the track had dried and so we waited expectantly for the F1 cars to be much quicker, and they didn’t disappoint.  The lap times fell by almost 6 seconds!  It was really interesting watching the different lines the drivers took and also their gear changes and how they balanced the car differently.  The noises that the cars make were also so much truer than anything you experience when watching on TV.

After the F1 cars had finished, the sun really picked up and both Lois and me took it in turns for having naps and also catching some shade in the woodland right behind us; I also made good use of our new umbrella, but for protection from the sun rather than rain.  After the GP2 cars came out again, it was time for the Porsche Supercup cars to take to the track.  These were obviously slower than the single seater marques we’d just been watching, but were equally impressive!  We then decided to skip the GP3 free practice session for today, as we wanted to get back to the cottage to enjoy the last bit of the sun.

We got back to the car and there was nothing to say otherwise to the fact that we’d got free parking for the day, right next to one of the main entrances – bonus!  We’ll be trying the same spot in the morning – fingers crossed!

It’s full on F1 qualifying tomorrow, which should be really exciting.  There is also qualifying for the GP3 cars and Porsche Supercups, plus a proper race from both the GP2 and GP3 classes.  It will be another early start, but it’ll be worth it!

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