After an incredible day driving through the Swiss Alps, we finally arrived at our mosquito infested campsite in Como where we were staying for the duration of the Monza Grand Prix. After negotiating our way through a grocery shop at a Cash and Carry for businesses only, we had a fairly early night to escape the wrath of the mosquito’s bite.
Friday morning we woke up early and excited and made our way to the train station after getting lost a few times and taking a few detours. We eventually arrived in Monza. After a nice scenic walk through Monza, and 45 minutes later, we came within hearing distance of the first practice session. Friday was all practice session of Formula 1 and we were permitted to sit anywhere. We therefore sat in the main grandstand with a view of the pit lane. We took in our own pre-mix of whiskey and cola as the price of beers were 7 Euro each. Most of the day was spent walking around the track trying to find an ideal spot for qualifying on Saturday and Race day on Sunday. There were a few support races as well and were just as fun as the F1. Our camera has a delayed reaction, therefore taking photos was an extremely difficult task as we kept missing the speedy cars completely. We did however manage to get a few photos. After a full day at the Grand Prix practice, we caught a train back to Lake Como, walked around the lake, watched the sunset, ate Gelato, had a beer and did some people watching (one of our new hobbies).
Saturday morning, we followed the same routine to get to the race track, just without getting lost this time. We arrived to find it a lot more packed with the atmosphere a lot more buzzing than Fridays practice session. We ignored the price of beer and got ourselves an early morning cold one. The amount of Ferrari fans at Monza was ridiculous, however the British Hamilton fans were not too far behind. Lauren chose to support Daniel Kvyat, the young driver from Red Bull Toro Rosso and her heart throb Sebastian Vettal while I was supporting the Williams Team of Felipe Massa and Valteri Bottas. Mercedez took the top 2 places on the starting grid and Williams took 3 and 4. After qualifying, we made our way back to the campsite and ordered Pizza at the restaurant hoping to escape the mosquitos. While enjoying our pizza, we caught up with some internet time and wished Faye happy birthday.
Sunday was Race Day and because it was a Sunday, the train timetables had changed and we missed the train to Monza. We waited on the platform for the next train and then caught a connecting shuttle bus to the track to make up for lost time. Once again the atmosphere was incredible, even more so than qualifying day. After buying myself a Monza cap for my pub, we found a good seat on the last corner where the cars go onto the main straight or into the pit lane and once again ignored the price of beer. The build up to the race was a lot of fun with the support races providing some good entertainment as well as a drivers parade on the back of a flat bed truck waving their support to the crowds. The actual race was really entertaining and exciting and we stood standing for most of the race. As the race ended, we swarmed onto the track to get as close to the podium as possible. It was pure carnage and how we didn’t lose each other remains a mystery. All in all, it was an awesome experience at Monza and we would love to do it again.
We made our way back to the campsite, ordered another pizza and had a fairly early night. Our next stop is Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera!!