Forumula 1 (2 & 3) at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps

Up very early...along with hundreds of our closest friends at our campsite we headed to the catering tent for breakfast.  It was a bit mad as it actually looked to be a rain free day, so everyone was headed to the track.  Included in our campsite was cereal, juices, coffee, and toast with jam.  The boys loaded up and brought it back to our campsite which also had a cute table and chairs set outside.  We ate quickly and started on our 45 minutes walk back to Circuit de Spa-Franorchamps.  This time for the flatter route which took us most directly to our seats.

First stop was down the hill to the FanZone area for the interviews.  Alec thought we would be way in the back, but we went around the side and I would say where 25 people or so back from the stage.  We saw interviews with Red Bull, Alpine, and Mercedes.  Which means yes we saw Max and for me I was happy to see George Russell.  They were very fun and made them do funny challenges at the end of their interviews.  The crowd was great.

We were on turn 1 between two covered grandstands.  The day was filled with Formula 1, 2, & 3 sprints and qualifying.  I personally enjoyed the Formula 2 best and when it was the English commentators turn I would learn their cars are made for overtaking, not overall performance.  I also learned they start reverse grid, so reverse qualifying order in the championship races.  I like this too as it is similar to skiing allowing the less tenured racers to have a shot at a cleaner course and start.  The day was insanely hot...actually I should say humid, which we are not used to anymore.  Alec also decided to forgo the classics exhibition to stand in a nearly hour line for swag.  Everyone around us was great.  To our left were 5 guys from the east coast celebrating a 40th birthday.  In front of us a British couple who were quit young and quiet.  To our right a large German family.

Our seats on the top row came in handy this day as we are the only ones who could stand and also got a breeze as we actually were not completely blocked in by bodies.  This seating would also come in very handy on Day 2...when yes in true Spa fashion it would rain...and rain...and rain.

We enjoyed the catering tent for dinner where Andy had chicken curry and rice, myself veggie lasgna, and Alec cheeseburger and fries.  And of course we went to the pub for a beer while we used the charging lockers for devices.  Plans were to crash early and be up and walking by 7:15AM the next morning to make the Formula 3 race.  Ear buds in we crashed hard and didn't awaken until....

....the pouring rain and our alarms at 6:15AM.  Andy checked the radar and we decided to forgo the Formula 3 race.  Glad we did as it was actually canceled.  This morning we skipped breakfast all together and donned our rain gear.  Yes, we brought full pants and jackets and started our 45 minute walk to the track.  Luckily getting in was a little easier this time and the rain had stopped a bit and we would see the Formula 2 race.  Breakfast would be fries (which the Belgians claim are truly Belgium fries, not French as we silly Americans mistook French-speaking Belgians who provided them during the war as French people and it stuck) as the waffle line was a mile long.

The day would go back and forth between sun, rain, cloudy.  Come Formula 1 time they did the drivers parade and it was overcast, then time for the National Anthem and it started to rain.  The drivers would take 3 laps before they red-flagged the race and would eventually push out the start time by an hour.  The DJ was awesome at keeping the crowd engaged all over the venue.  We literally tried to do the wave all around the track and dance parties and singing broke out everywhere.  And why does the top row come in handy by the way...because we are the only ones allowed to put up umbrellas.  And by the way for those who were grumbling about the rain...it POURED!  Yes, we do agree they have tires that are supposed to work in the rain, but we definitely could see how the spray and visibility would make it very dangerous.

Saldy the race was a little anti-climactic when it did occur.  We were excited to be on turn 1, but they did a rolling start (which we will agree was not needed), so it was very tame.  Piastri would overtake Norris early and from there the grid for the top positions nearly held the entire race.  We will say it was great to see Leclerc hold off Max to finish 3rd and Hamilton got tons of cheers for going from starting in the pits to P7.  But given there was serious chatter about the race being canceled we were glad it was not and we got to see some good racing in quals and sprints.

We debated the track invasion as people pushed their way towards gates in front of our stand, but in the end when it was all over and we were exiting...we decided at the last minute to make the turn and go join the masses.

After our long walk, hot showers, and dinner in hand...another treat was joining a couple of hundred again at the pub inside the soccer clubhouse to watch the British women's football team defeat Spain for the 2025 Euro in a shoot out.  What fun that was!  Another unexpected surprise on our trip.  Next up...Alec getting to spend a chunk of his hard earned money from his employment at In-n-Out to drive 5 laps on the famous Nuerbergring in Germany.