Silverstone Day 1

For my big birthday last March, my son bought me (and himself) tickets to the Silverstone Formula 1 Grand Prix.  At the time, he wasn't certain that the event would actually go ahead, given Covid restrictions, but they decided to make it a part of the "Events Research Programme".  This means that a full 140,000 spectators were allowed into the circuit, provided they could demonstrate that they had either been double vaccinated, or had had a negative lateral flow test within the previous 48 hours.

Although we both had some concerns, we felt safe enough to attend.  It is, after all, an open air event in a very large venue.  There are some pinch points, like the queue to get in (although that was quite short at our arrival time and reasonably well spaced, and we wore masks), in the toilet blocks (we wore masks) and in the stands, but we have back row tickets, so there is no-one breathing on us.

The weather is fantastic - hot and sunny with no chance of rain over the weekend.

There were events throughout the day - culminating in the Formula 1 qualifying, held here today (Friday) rather than the traditional Saturday.  This is to allow the trial Sprint qualification tomorrow (Saturday).

The atmosphere is great and it was a very enjoyable first day (if a rather late finish - but we got back to our hotel in time for a decent pub meal).

It is a long time since I tried panning shots of racing cars on track.  I had forgotten how difficult it can be and I am well out of practice.  I tried several shots during a Formula 2 qualifying session, with a rather poor success rate.  My blip is one of the better shots.