The Spielberg diary
Formula 1 race weekend in Spielberg through the eyes of two young yet enthusiastic fans visiting for the first time in their lives.
During the start of the month of June, Anna and I have decided to attend the Austrian GP. We sat down with our fathers and they agreed, even saying they were going to join us. So we spent a few days planning everything, so we could leave for the Red Bull Ring right after the school year ended.
We drove in one car, so the way there was filled with a lot of food and very very bad dad jokes. On the evening of the first July day, we arrived at a town close to the Red Bull Ring, where we had a hotel booked. The hotel was very interesting to say the least. It wasn’t bad, but some things did surprise us, such as these two toilets that were in the same stall in the bathrooms of the hotel lobby.
The first day of the weekend we attended was the free practice day. We started with buying Max Verstappen Red Bull caps in one of the merch stores. Then the racing started with the Formula 3 Free Practice. It was nothing exciting but since it was the first time ever Anna and I saw formula cars live, it was quite entertaining. The F1 Free Practices followed along with the Porsche Super Cup. We then saw the W Series, F3 Qualifying, and then headed back to the hotel. Friday wasn’t that exciting but as I said, it was our first time at a race so we enjoyed it. In the evening, we bought some fabric and paints and decided to make a Frederik Vesti poster.
On Saturday, we started the day by spending around 20 minutes at the drive-in part where all the people with paddock access walked or drove by. We managed to talk to Roman Stanek, Olli Caldwell, we also waved at a few other drivers including Dorian Boccolacci. The Formula 3 races were absolutely amazing, as Hauger and Schumacher took the wins. In the evening, we went back to the spot and congratulated Schumacher, Vesti, and Hauger on their podium as they were leaving the post-race press conference. We saw quite a few drivers and team principals leaving the race. We got to take a picture with Arthur Leclerc, and Enzo Fittipaldi. Unfortunately, we forgot the Frederik Vesti poster in the car, but we brought it with us for Sunday.
I started Sunday with an overpriced Covid test at the entrance of the track. But as soon as we were, Anna and I met some more amazing people like Mick Doohan and saw a few F1 drivers drive by. We then went to see the F3 race and waved our Vesti banner like crazy. After the race, we went back to drive-in in hopes that we would get to see him. We did as he walked out of the post-race press conference and showed him the banner. He liked it, and so did the official communication manager of F3 and F2 as she took a video of us. Frederik was still holding his champagne and trophy, which made the moment even better. Then later we met Logan Sargeant, who is Anna's favourite F3 driver.
The Formula 1 race was absolutely amazing as the atmosphere was like no other. We were sitting at the Red Bull grandstand with an army of Max Verstappen fans. Everytime Max drove by, they cheered. When Valtteri Bottas got the instructions to overtake Lewis, everyone started cheering, clapping, and screaming. When Max won the race, everyone started screaming and clapping to the point when the grandstand was shaking.
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