phew! finally home at 2 o'clock this morning! that was quite a weekend :)
our hotel was 20 km from the track, but it turns out buses only run that way during school term! so we had to make an 80 km trip every morning to get there. this took about 4.5 hours! nightmare :(
but it was worth it in the end. went to the pit walk on thursday when several drivers came out to see the crowds, so got up close to Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel, Nick Heidfeld, Robert Kubica and Timo Glock. then heard my first F1 engine running in anger on friday morning. Wow! those things are loud! the tv really doesn't do them any justice. it's a physical thing, you feel it as well as hear it, and they even have their own smell! it's like burning technology! :) the car's loud as it approaches you, then as the exhausts come level with your ears there's an extra bark that goes right through you. the Brawns are the loudest, even though the McLarens and Force Indias have the same Mercedes engine, somehow the Brawn seems louder.
so i was there for Force India's first pole, and Fisichella got an enormous cheer when he came past at the end of the session. then i was there for Ferrari's first win of the year. Fisichella actually got the biggest cheer on the podium.
it was hard work, with all the travelling, and that is one hilly place! Eau Rouge seems almost vertical! and the paths around it are just as steep. and the only way back to our hotel was by taxi, and those guys really took the piss, €70-90 for a 22km run! but if we go back, we know better where to stay, and we met and spoke to people from all over the world, Japan, America, Australia, Chile, Newtownards :)
if anyone's a fan of F1, you really have to experience the cars in person at least once. only problem is, it'll never be the same watching it on tv. i wonder could i sell a kidney in time for going to Monza?......
