Thursday:
Pit Lane Walk. First glimpse for many of the circuit. Marussia, Caterham, Toro Rosso had a handful of fans outside their garage. Ferrari was just manic, as to be expected.
Friday:
Friday is all about ironing out any issues for the drivers/teams as well as the fans. It was clear then that the Red Bulls were struggling around the Temple of Speed.
The crowd went mental when Alonso stopped in first practice at the first chicane. All charging over there to get a glimpse of the Ferrari. Can't say I blame them.
Saturday:
Teams, drivers and fans make their final finishing touches to making sure you are in the best position for Sunday's race.
Long queues to buy beer/water/food tickets.
Hulkenberg, understandably, was unhappy after his car failure at turn one. It made everything easier though in Q1.
Most of the time, on the telly, it looks quite slow but get up close and personal and you can see how fast a GP2 car is, let alone an F1 car. The Lesmo corners are great for that.
Sunday:
Mental scenes at the start of the GP3 Sprint Race. Last lap pass gave Aussie Mitch Evans the title.
Much more measured in GP2. The Italians didn't really celebrate Valsecchi's win, especially as he is a driver likely to be in F1 next year, maybe along with Razia.
Brit missed out in the Porsche Supercup, which has never really excited me on race day.
As for the race, I imagine the drivers were extra careful going into turn one as there is usually an incident. Not this time.
Vergne's accident was nasty but received a generous round of applause as it was clearly a car problem.
Vettel penalty for the Alonso incident was fair in my view, because he'd complained about a move Alonso pulled that was pretty much the same, although slightly better, last year.
Alonso coming third gave the locals some cheer (and made my life easier).
Perez a wonderful second and was my driver of the day. He could well have won had the race been six or seven laps longer. He was applauded for his efforts by the Tifosi. I imagine he'll be partnering Alonso next year. A future world champ. A good number of Mexicans were celebrating on the pit straight.
Hamilton had it in the bag from turn one. Few British flags on the pit straight after. Was a brilliant away win and it completes the renowned 'classic quartet' of Monaco, Monza, Silverstone and Spa.
Miscellaneous:
Some fans, when allowed on the track at the end of the race, grab whatever they can (e.g. 100m board). They're polystyrene with small metal poles in to keep them upright.
Drivers, especially in the early stages of practice, kept knocking them over so the poor marshal had to put it back. A good number of them had 'bite marks' in them.
) in not given Button credit when it's due, Hamilton is an arse for tweeting things he shouldn't have, Button out paced the rest in qualifying and racing. Maybe the McLarens are back on track?
