So you want to go to a Formula 1 race? How bout in Italy?
About thirty minutes outside of the bustling city of Milan is a temple. Not your standard temple either, there are no monks or holy ones but a temple nonetheless. We are talking about Monza, The Temple of Speed.
Picture the scenes from Gladiator as he runs his hands over the crops. That’s what the walk from the car is like going into the racetrack. It’s hard to imagine as you look at combines and old stone farmhouses that within these grounds are twenty millionaires driving 1000 horsepower super machines with Rolex signs all around. As you crush the wildflowers with each step you enter the Temple and you feel it’s presence. It’s loud, it’s hot, it’s exciting and it’s sexy. As a grandchild of a racing car driver and son of a racing logistics manager I feel like I’m making a pilgrimage of some sort.
The Tifosi has shown up in droves. Tifosi is the Ferrari home faithful, a wild sea of red proclaiming their love for the Scuderia. A word that translates to “Stable” comparing themselves to the best racehorses, hence why Ferrari has the prancing stallion as its logo. I’m here and it’s magnificent. Cars go by in just blurs and a symphony of sound hits you right in the face, the whine from the V6 engine built by mad scientists, a cool wind sends chills down your spine and you can smell the hot brakes as they go by. It’s visceral. Inject this feeling into my veins forever. A Ferrari takes pole and the crowd goes wild, red flares everywhere, flags waving. The Heineken drunk mob then migrates over to the fan zone for a party with strangers, awaiting the drivers to come speak and throw team merchandise out into the fray.
BE PREPARED:
there’s a reason why the grandstand prices are what they are. You can see. That helps. I’m lucky that Europeans tend to be a little shorter at 6'2 I had no problem but Meghan on the other hand.....
This nonna is leading by example for those vertically challenged. Bring a bucket, stool, table, something to elevate yourself. Show up early. The experienced ones will be there before you wake up. We called this our initiation into the spectacle that is Formula One.
Most of these circuits you have to walk quite a way to get into the grounds so be mindful of that carrying things. Water is a must and there are usually water refilling stations with about three thousand people in line.
I can’t speak for every Grand Prix but Monza doesn’t have the best general admission areas, most of the time you are level with the track and have little to no vantage points so spending a little extra for a seat may come in handy. This isn’t like NASCAR or some Indy Car races either, with oval racing you can see action all the time. In Formula One it’s see a car and then wait ninety seconds to see it again so get your ass near a screen. Remember most of these races happen in Europe. Europeans have no problem standing close and lighting up a ciggie right behind you so get out of your American bubble and broaden your cultural horizons.
I have been to wild sporting events in America. College football, playoff baseball, minor league hockey have been the most exciting so far. London I saw Arsenal and sang songs but a Formula One qualifying gets the juices flowing. Nothing like being on a DRS straight and the car whizzing by in a blur of hard to read sponsors and color. Like I said before, inject this right into my veinshere will be some worldly people in the mix. I ran into a group of five Norwegians that knew more about what was happening in my country than I did. You’ll run into paddock pass holders that think they are better than you, they aren’t. You’ll buy a sixty euro hat because you just had to have it and then question it before giving up because it provides some shade from the unrelenting sun. You’ll walk ten miles and have dirty shoes but many stories to tell.
t’s truly a traveling circus. With machines that will blow your mind. The beer goes down smooth and the cold gold makes the atmosphere seem like one big giant horsepower filled party.
"The passion, the waving Ferrari flags opens up a world you didn’t know existed."
P.S. You absolutely cannot beat a seven euro Negroni on the go