F1 an Experience

The trip started with Kate, and I arriving at the airport at 5:00 AM, several hours before our flight. There are many times that my paranoia for arriving early has rubbed some people the wrong way, but this paid off. When we arrived, there was a line stretched through the DIA baggage claim, and then queued over to North Terminal. After taking 53 minutes to get through security, we were on our way!

After an uneventful flight, we were welcomed to an F1 themed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The whole town was ready for F1, and so were we! We then made our way to pick up our rental car, and were greeted with a handy service that dropped us off right at the car. {Insert pictures of car}. We decided to name her Susie W., after Susie Wolff. 

We then made our way over to the apartment we rented, which at first gave us quite a scare. We took a wrong turn, and saw a BMW being ripped apart for parts. We then realized our apartment was right next to the building where this was taking place, and was directly above a cricket wireless. We were concerned at first that we made a terrible mistake. 

After taking a brief nap, we had to pick up our guests of honors, and first time Devious Owl guests Patty and Tom Baker! We picked them up from the airport, and they loved the place we rented. Their unwavering positivity saved the day, and our perception of our wonderful rental that we now call “The Cricket Condo”. Our first meal together was at a local burger joint in the same parking lot as the cricket condo, Simon’s Burgers. The four of us where famished from traveling, so we decided to place an order. {insert picture of burgers}. After our wonderful meal, we did what Patty, and Kate love to do….plan everything for the next several days to the second. Kate, and Patty took their plan to action, running to the grocery store to get us everything we needed for the next couple of days. Once they returned….two hours later, we carefully unloaded the cornucopia of food they procured. These two found everything that a family could ever need. Sweet Tea, smoked meats, sandwich fixings, and fine wine, were now a part of our meal plans for the next couple of days. We each looked forward to Friday, our first day at Circuit of The Americas!

Once Friday arrived, we all woke up early with immense anticipation of what we would see that day! After breakfast we headed out to the track! Something that we were dreading was the traffic, we have heard from several locals, and trusted members of our friend group of how awful it was. Some were claiming it took hours to get out of the parking lot once the days activities finished. Regardless, it was worth the risk. The first day at the track was all practice (Practice 1 = p1, Practice 2 = p2). The drive to the track was straightforward, and only took 10 minutes longer than expected,once we saw the track for the first time, the wait didn’t seem so bad. We were parked in lot N, located where turn 3 started, on the opposite of where the other lots were. {will find a track map to put in}. When we arrived, we decided to familiarize ourselves with our area. We were sitting at Turn 3, next to several vendors. We had a great selection of merchandise, and snacks. Our first stop was to the F1 outlet, which sold previous years merchandise at a discounted rate. After picking up some gear, we settled in our seats, and started reviewing the map of the track, and we watched p1. This year’s p1 was special since several first time F1 drivers were taking part, including an American for the Williams team. He was the first American to drive in F1 in several years, who was also from Texas. Seeing these drivers fulfill their dreams is always something very special. After a non-eventful p1, we decided to head out to explore the track. We were told that the fan zone had some better merch options. Kate, and Patty both wanted to find something for their respective teams. Kate picked up a McLaren hat, and Patty picked up a diecast model RedBull car. Once we picked up our stuff, we headed back for P2. P2 had all of the regular F1 drivers who would be racing that weekend {insert video/pictures for both practices}. Once P2 was over, we decided to head back to the cricket condo to plan for dinner. A place called “Mi Madres” was suggested. The food was great, I had a beef quesadilla, Kate had fish tacos, Patty had a chile reno, and Tom had tacos. It was a great way to remind all of us of how strong the food scene is in Austin, and we decided for the next day that we wanted BBQ before going to the track for qualifying. 

Saturday arrived, and with qualifying not starting until 5:00 we decided to spend the first part of the day in Austin. Kate, and Patty found a Red Bull event in downtown Austin. This event had several activities that us normies could take part in to get a taste of Formula 1. They had a racing simulator, a tire changing competition, and a life size replica F1 car. Patty, and Kate took part in the tire changing simulation with…GREAT success.

We finished up walking around the event, it was cool to see how much thought/effort Red Bull put into the event. They were also planning a watching part for the race, for those who could not get tickets, or did not want to fight with traffic. It was great to go to an event hosted by Red Bull, I have always admired how much they invested in the motorsports world.

Our next stop of the way was going to the original Yeti store in downtown Austin. {insert pictures} Kate, and I both picked up some yeti products! I picked up a hoodie tshirt, and a mug of my new MLS team Austin FC. Kate picked up a luxurious bag that she used the rest of the trip around Austin. Patty, and Tom were both overwhelmed with the quality of the products in the store (no surprise), that they both picked up some souvenirs that will last a lifetime.  Next was lunch, and we went to a legendary BBQ place “Terry Black’s”. We only had to wait in line for 30 minutes, and we were lucky enough to get some Texas style brisket.

We then proceeded our way to the track to watch Qualifying, where the start order for the race is determined by the fastest lap. Formula 1 has a unique method of qualifying. There are 3 separate Qualifying sessions, where the slowest 5 cars don’t get to move one, Q1 has 20 drivers participating, Q2 has 15 drivers participating, and Q3 has 10 drivers. As long as you are not one of the slowest 5 drivers in each session, you get to move on. Qualifying has become important in F1, as passing at any track is difficult. It’s a safe assumption that where you start, is close to where you will finish. We made it to the stands just in time for the final practice session, and had 2 hours to kill before qualifying started. Kate wanted to get a Red Bull hat, and I wanted to get a Verstappen championship shirt. We made our way over to the Fan Zone, and procured our items. Patty bought a hat just like Kate’s! I know…it’s shocking that they think so similar. We made it back to our seats just in time for Q3, where Kate was disappointed to see Riccardo out of the first qualifying session. Q2 was more of what we saw in practice. The Ferrari’s looked fast, and Red Bull appeared to have the best cars. Q1 came with Red Bull taking pole position, and Verstappen starting second. Both teams had drivers with grid place penalties. We decided to call it a day, and head back to the cricket condo. We all had a simple dinner, while some of us had delivery. 

Sunday, the big day, where dreams are made…the race! We left a couple hours before, as it was expected to be a long trek into the event with 140,000 people all going to the track. We arrived after an hours drive that took us 20 minutes the day before, and credit to the track staff, things were moving smooth. We went inside, and found our seats. Tom made a comment about how the F1 outlet was picked clean, our idea of shopping before the race was a great one! We made our way to our seats, and noticed how warm it was. The sun was out, and our metal bleachers had zero shade. It was going to be a long race from a temperature perspective. We eagerly watched the race start, and pole sitter Carlos Sainz didn’t make it through the first corner. By the time the pack reached us, Max was in the lead! However, about midway through the race, the Texas heat was starting to get to me. Lucky for me, I have a very thoughtful, and observant wife, who saw I was in a bad state. After 3 gatorades, and 80 ounces of water, I started to turn the corner. We went down to the concession stand to get some food, and then back to our seats. I unfortunately lost to the Texas heat, and we had to leave just a tad earlier than expected. Thankfully, this meant the drive home was not the nightmare that we heard about. Although, we did have to take some detours through some beautiful Texas backcountry. We made it back to the cricket condo in record time, thanks to Kate’s inspired F1 driving, and lack of traffic from leaving early. We all settled in for the night to watch the race, and eat dinner. We were all thankful to be out of the Texas heat. The next F1 race we attend will be in a colder climate, and/or at night……aka Las Vegas night race 2023.