F1 test session at Silverstone

[Eddy Matthews]

Thanks to Hans Freund (scotfriend), myself and Walter (with a couple of others) went down to Silverstone on thursday to watch a Formula One test session....

For those that don't know, Hans works for BMW Sauber

It was a fantastic day, we all thoroughly enjoyed it - The sight, and more importantly the sound, of an F1 car at full tilt just has to be experienced. TV coverage just doesn't do them justice!

It was a busy session, with BMW Sauber, Red Bull, Torro Rosso, McClaren, Ferarri, Williams Renault, and others all there. Apart from a brief shower during the lunchtime break, it stayed fine all day, so some really quick laps were set. There were a couple of short breaks during the session, mainly due to Fillipe Massa throwing his Ferarri at the scenery a few times!

Hans managed to get us into the BMW Sauber garage and the pit lane late in the afternoon, so we could view everything close up - And I mean close up! I thought the sound of the engines was impressive as we watched them hurtling around the circuit, but it was nothing compared to the sound of an F1 car literally two feet away from you!!!

So my SINCERE thanks to Hans for arranging it for us - I haven't stopped smiling since I got home!  

[ajg141]

I'm glad you enjoyed it Eddy. As you say. the sounds and smells of the real thing have to be experienced to be believed. To me the real thrill was always to try and watch as the cars came flat out down a straight then  dropping down the gears and braking heavily for a tight corner before accelerating away. Pure magic!

Andrew