Australian Grand Prix

We had a great weekend with our friends from London. On Sunday we did something cool - we went to the Australian Grand Prix! Going into it, I knew nothing about Formula One racing. I tried to educate myself a bit and watch some qualifiers on Thursday, but I didn't even realise that those weren't Formula One events. Oops lol. Luckily my friend and her husband were very patient and answered all of my questions. It was so helpful having them explain it all to me.

On Saturday my friend's husband went on his own to watch and he scoped out the best spot for us all to sit on Sunday. We had a view of the city skyline and Albert lake, and there was a big screen so we could watch along. It was really helpful to hear the commentary throughout the race. We were right on a corner which was really cool because it looked like the cars were coming right at us and then they would turn and speed away. We got to see a few almost skid out a bit which was a little fun.

There were 94,500 people in attendance for the finals on Sunday. And it was so hot. Saturday started of miserable and pouring rain, so it was nice that the weather was cooperating, but for a while there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was just beating down on us. I kept reapplying sunscreen and I still got a little burned. At one point a tiny little cloud covered the sun for like 5 minutes and it was such a relief (see the photo). It got cloudier later, and that night it was actually pouring rain, but thank goodness for cold beverages because it was so sunny.

There were other events going on throughout the day. We got there after brunch, so we saw the Porsche Wilson Security Carrera Cup race (10 laps) and the Coates Hire Supercars Melbourne 400 race (13 laps). Then there was a Formula One Driver's Parade (it was at this point I realised the Formula One cars were proper racing cars with the big wheels and open top like little kids play with! So cool!). There was an air display by the Royal Australian Air Force Roulettes and the Royal Australian Air Force F/A18 Jet. Those were fun to watch. The Roulettes are like the Canadian Snow Birds and did fancy tricks, and the jet was so fast like Top Gun. There was a jet pilot doing an interview with one of the commentators and it was very interesting to hear what he had to say about G-force and what it's like to fly that fast.

Finally it was the Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix (58 laps). It was way more exciting than I thought it would be. The cars were incredibly fast, and loud, and looked so cool. I wish I could post videos! I knew who Lewis Hamilton was because he has dated all the celebrities, but the Australian guy is my friend's favourite so we were also rooting for him. They taught me a bit about tires and strategy. We wanted to see someone do a big move but it was still pretty exciting.

Sebastian Vettel from the Ferrari team won, and Lewis Hamilton for Mercedes came in second. He had been winning and then Vettel came out a head after his pit stop. Towards the end of the race they were really close and then Hamilton dropped back pretty quickly so he finished 5 seconds behind. The Australian Daniel Ricciardo came in fourth. Both of the drivers for the Haas team dropped out because something was wrong after their pit stop which was interesting. In one clip you could see the pit guy waving his arms telling him not to drive away but it was too late. I want to know what happened there!

After the race everyone rushed the course and we walked along it for a pit, and saw where the cars merge in coming out of the pit stops. The podium was smaller than I expected. We tried to take some pictures where the cars line up but it was crowded.

At the end of the day I know slightly more about Formula One racing but I had the best time. I would love to go again! I always heard of race weekend in Montreal, but I never knew watching the race could be so much fun.

The next Grand Prix event is in Bahrain on Monday April 9 at 1:10am Australian time (so I guess that's Sunday morning in Canada). I might have to record it and follow along!

Have a great day :)