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Got a weekend ticket for the German GP at the Nurburgring this weekend.

Not a massive F1 fan but figured I should go as its just down the road.

Anyone been to Grand Prix before? Is 3 days of cars going round and round going to be boring?

I went to silverstone last year for my birthday present and fucking loved it!

We camped, which was horrible. But everything on track was awesome.

It depends on where you're sat, but it didn't get boring for me, as theres always a car in front of you because during the race the field gets so spread out.

Also, there's tv screens all around so you can watch them to keep track.

Aslo all the promo stands are pretty cool, simulators etc.

Obviously Germany might be different, but I would assume it's basically the same idea.

Again only ever been to Silverstone but....

Fridays are usually good because they are quiet, so you can look round stuff. The F1 action is a bit hit and miss but that doesn't matter.

Can't say if you'll find 3 days too much, but there is usually much more going on throughout the day both on the track and off it. You usually get better racing from the support races :)

My advice is usually take a radio, in ear headphones and noise defenders to put over the top so you can hear the radio  as following the race is difficult otherwise. But that all depends on whether there is radio commentary at the track and how good your German is! Depending on how close to the track you may need the noise defenders or earplugs because the F1 cars are somewhat noisy.

Thanks guys.

I noticed from the lineup that there is actually F2, Porsche Cup and mini Cup races as well so looks like there is plenty going on apart from the F1.

Batch, my German (apart from being able to order beer) is non existant so hopefully there might be an English radio option! I have heard about the ear protectors but was a bit sceptical, sounds like they are pretty important!

It looks like it is going to be raining all weekend, which I guess will make the racing more exciting!

I went to my first F1 at Silverstone this year and loved it. Batch is spot on especially re: earplugs, they are essential. Aside from the radio I found following twitter on my phone to be useful as well particularly the updates on the #f1 and #bbcf1 threads.

Just looked on the map and I am sitting in T8 which looks to be on a hairpin bend and opposite a big screen.

Hopefully the beer and food at the place isn't ridiculously overpriced!

I always found the Silverstone screens hard to read unless you were exactly directly opposite it (or had binoculars). Still not the same as having commentary though.

You could always hire a kangaroo TV set at silly euros (might as well watch it at home then though!).


You do realise this is F1. Bernie Ecclestone's F1. Nothing is cheap. Merchandise nor food. At Silverstone they usually have an  F1 village at the camp site outside the circuit - which has some retail outlets. You might want to see if there is a German equivalent as it a bit cheaper for a souvenir, though clearly some of the stuff is 'last years stock'.

I found the beer and food prices pretty reasonable, considering the captive audience. The beer was not that much more than my local. The hot dogs were cheaper than the ones at Swindon (and better)

Turn 8 will be a good place to be sat.

Don't know what it's like at Nurburgring, but at Silverstone this year, you never went more than 30 mins without there being some track action. It's good that your opposite a scree, otherwise you have absolutley no clue what is going on, even if you can't make it out fully, you will still get a good idea of whats happening.

When I first went, I was of the opinion that ear plugs would be pointless and one of the best things is the noise, the noise is immense but after having it for a long period, they are definatley a good idea.

You will love it, very jealous!

There's loads more than just the F1.. If my trip to Silverstone is anything to go by.

There'll probably be a Porsche race, there was also an vintage F1 car race... loads from different era's and also a dude doing motorcycle stunts.

Yeh, you will have GP2, GP3, Prosche supercup and whatever else they put on specifically for the German GP.

It's only overpriced at Silverstone - went to Monaco a couple of years back - the beer was 3 euros and a hotdog was 2 Euros!  Had a great time, you'll love it.

Bloody hell, that's cheaper than normal Monaco prices on a non-GP weekend :)

As a matter of interest, where did you stay, and where did you watch from. Would quite like to do Monaco once, but assumed staying anywhere near would be lethally expensive and impossible to book.

Thanks all for the feedback. Off to Nurburg now until Sunday. First beer in a couple of hours!

Really would like to go to Silverstone one day. How do you actually get tickets for the F1 races?

Just go on the silverstone website mate. Next year's tickets already on sale.

If you want a granadstand ticket though, it's quite steep!

That's good. Should have a better view then.

 :D You would hope so aswell at those prices!

I get tickets through work as we sponsor mclaren

Woke up to fog and rain today. Should make for an interesting spectacle!

F1 for me is like watching cricket. If you want to watch the detail and follow the game then watch on TV at home or if you want to enjoy the occasion go and see it live.

Should be a good race today. Hopefully McLaren can maintain their new found pace (well Hamilton at least). I have a feeling Vettel has done the opposite to his usual gameplan this time though. I reckon he's got a better set up for the race which is why Webber was quicker in qualifying. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Red Bull's dominate again if i'm being honest. At the moment McLaren don't seem to know what their best set up for either qualifying or race is. I wouldn't be surprised if they get it wrong today.

As usual webber will blow the start and vettel will be first by the third corner. Weather and the big difference between tyres could make it interesting.

Good race. Thought Mclaren had fucked up bringing in Hamilton earlier than the other two at the end, fair play to them thoguh

Fantastic GP yet again. This season has been class.

Super ja? Danke deutchland!

Well despite the weekend costing me an arm and a leg, had a superb time.

The practice and qualifying was less boring than I imagined it would be and the noise of the F1 cars is something else. We could hear them clear as day from the hotel 1km from the track. The weather was cold and cloudy but I still managed to get sunburn! The organisation was in general very good and what struck me was the lack of security searches that usually go on at big sporting events. In fact it was non existant. These Frenchies in front of me brought in bottles of wine and knives to cut their meat and cheese up and got me thinking that it would only take 1 madman and it could cause all manner of disruption.

Anyway, the race itself was brilliant. I could see the big screen as well so had a general idea of what was going on. Jenson Button looked like he was storming through the field but then I noticed on the screen he had retired which was a shame as he looked fast.

Would definately go again, the camping looked great fun as well, some of the stuff these guys take to the campsite is unreal. One group of guys had a music stage tent and a hot tub and a group of Dutch people had a bus with beer taps installed.

Where did you sit/stand? Did you get a chance to have a look at any of the old Nordschleife? What support races did they have on?

We were sitting at T8 if that means anything? Its on a hairpin bend where the cars are doing almost 300 and have to brake hard to go down to 100kmh.

The support races were GP2 of which there were 2 of them which were pretty entertaining, GP3 which we didn't see any of, and Porche Supercup which was good to watch as well.

Sadly we didn't get to see the Nordschleife, however I wasn't aware how large it actually was, over 30km.

We went into some of the bars in Nurberg and I was surprised on the Friday night how quiet it actually was. One of the locals said that this year for some reason it was much quieter than normal, we could get seated in the bars very easily.

Beer was pretty cheap overall and at the track a 300ml beer was 2.40 which I thought was reasonable value. I love my Weissbeer so the Erdinger went down a treat as well!

Oooh good spot that hairpin.

The Dunlop-kehre I assume (the furthest point from the old track)? I'm still not used to all the corners being referred to as numbers. That's got the banked seating going right round it if I remember rightly? How far can you see up the hill from there? Much action down there?

2.40's not bad, I remember 400ml being the best part of 4 euros when I was in Karlsruhe last (May). Are you still in Luxembourg? If so are those tubs of tobacco you can buy pretty commonplace? I bought a kilogram of rolling tobacco for 50 euros in a Luxembourg petrol station in May and it's lasting me an age.

P.S. I'm pretty jealous.

Yeah it was the Dunlop curve. We were slightly elevated on plastic seats and you can see all the way down the hill and back up around the corner and away to the left. There wasn't as much action as I think on other corners but it was a really good spot and you could see what was going on (being able to see the big screen helped!)

Still in Luxembourg but don't smoke so not too sure about the rolling tobacco, sorry!!