Today, my second race weekend reporting trackside as a Formula 1 journalist came to an end, after a fantastic German Grand Prix.
However, I am not heading home just yet, as I will soon be off to Hungary for the next round on the 2014 Formula 1 calendar.
My race day kicked off with a 6:00am alarm, before arriving at the Hockenheimring just before 8:00. I had a few pieces to get written up and posted - including Pastor Maldonado being retained by Lotus for 2015, Eric Boullier rubbishing claims McLaren pushed for the FRIC ban and a few thoughts on the low attendance figures on Friday and Saturday.
I also returned to the Ferrari motorhome for breakfast (again, it was lovely) and also prepared a few pieces for prior to the start of the race. The time flew by and we also had entertainment from the GP2 and GP3 races.
The weather was quite a bit cooler in comparison to previous days, with rain falling as we left the hotel and more soaking the track just prior to the GP2 race. It was largely overcast throughout but it remained dry for the main event.
Prior to the race, Luke Smith (F1 writer for NBCSN and my boss at Richland F1, and Phillip Horton (F1 Zone) went for a walk up and down the paddock, spotting the likes of Jacques Villeneuve, Daniil Kvyat and Rubens Barrichello.
I always get a bit nervous before the start, but the feeling increases considerably when I am actually at the circuit. I am a bit like Christian Horner when he is on the pit wall, with my feet dancing constantly.
The start was one of the most dramatic we have seen in quite some time, with Nico Rosberg getting away well from pole position but Kevin Magnussen and Felipe Massa colliding at the first corner. Massa’s car was pitched into a barrel-roll. Fortunately he was okay, although he was very angry (despite, in my view, it being largely his fault), but he was unable to continue, unlike Magnussen.
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The safety car was immediately deployed. Lewis Hamilton, of course, started from the back of the grid but made up several places in the early stages. He completed some brave and aggressive moves, with a few including contact, and it was great to see him really fighting through the field.
Overall, I just loved all of the battles that we got to see. There was pretty much always a fight to watch and although some of the scraps weren’t the cleanest, it made for an exciting race and had me on the edge of my seat at times.
At the front, Rosberg was faultless and eventually finished 20 seconds clear of Valtteri Bottas. The Finn scored his third consecutive podium and continued to impress. Hamilton amazingly recovered to third, with Sebastian Vettel in fourth.
Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo’s late scrap went right to the flag, with one tenth separating the two. Nico Hulkenberg, Jenson Button, Magnussen and Sergio Perez completed the top 10.
After the race I completed my report, added the results and posted a few story pieces on Hamilton and Bottas. Like Friday, there were very few press sessions post-race that I could attend, with the majority taking place in the media pen.
However, I did head down to Ferrari to hear from Alonso and Raikkonen, before returning to the media centre to transcribe and complete other news and reaction pieces, which you can see here.
Typically heavy rain arrived a little while after the race and continued for a couple of hours (it was still falling when we left the track at just before 19:00pm).
Overall, it was a very productive second weekend in the F1 paddock and I enjoyed every second. I must admit, however, that I think my first race in Austria was better, writing and content wise. Hopefully that can be replaced with Hungary next weekend.
As I mentioned previously, I will also be attending the Hungarian Grand Prix for Richland F1. Between Monday and Thursday’s media day, I will be visiting the Mercedes museum with Luke as well as Craig and Leanne Boon from Octane Photographic.
We will then be travelling to Austria for a short break before heading to Hungary for the final race before the season’s summer break. I can’t wait. I will continue to keep you updated on my F1 adventure on this blog as well as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, so be sure to follow me on those.
Other German Grand Prix blogs:
Wednesday - http://bit.ly/1mUZjUG
Thursday - http://bit.ly/1mltYGk
Friday - http://bit.ly/1nkal7R
Saturday - http://bit.ly/UiamfM
My race day kicked off with a 6:00am alarm, before arriving at the Hockenheimring just before 8:00. I had a few pieces to get written up and posted - including Pastor Maldonado being retained by Lotus for 2015, Eric Boullier rubbishing claims McLaren pushed for the FRIC ban and a few thoughts on the low attendance figures on Friday and Saturday.
I also returned to the Ferrari motorhome for breakfast (again, it was lovely) and also prepared a few pieces for prior to the start of the race. The time flew by and we also had entertainment from the GP2 and GP3 races.
The weather was quite a bit cooler in comparison to previous days, with rain falling as we left the hotel and more soaking the track just prior to the GP2 race. It was largely overcast throughout but it remained dry for the main event.
Prior to the race, Luke Smith (F1 writer for NBCSN and my boss at Richland F1, and Phillip Horton (F1 Zone) went for a walk up and down the paddock, spotting the likes of Jacques Villeneuve, Daniil Kvyat and Rubens Barrichello.
I always get a bit nervous before the start, but the feeling increases considerably when I am actually at the circuit. I am a bit like Christian Horner when he is on the pit wall, with my feet dancing constantly.
The start was one of the most dramatic we have seen in quite some time, with Nico Rosberg getting away well from pole position but Kevin Magnussen and Felipe Massa colliding at the first corner. Massa’s car was pitched into a barrel-roll. Fortunately he was okay, although he was very angry (despite, in my view, it being largely his fault), but he was unable to continue, unlike Magnussen.
The safety car was immediately deployed. Lewis Hamilton, of course, started from the back of the grid but made up several places in the early stages. He completed some brave and aggressive moves, with a few including contact, and it was great to see him really fighting through the field.
Overall, I just loved all of the battles that we got to see. There was pretty much always a fight to watch and although some of the scraps weren’t the cleanest, it made for an exciting race and had me on the edge of my seat at times.
At the front, Rosberg was faultless and eventually finished 20 seconds clear of Valtteri Bottas. The Finn scored his third consecutive podium and continued to impress. Hamilton amazingly recovered to third, with Sebastian Vettel in fourth.
Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo’s late scrap went right to the flag, with one tenth separating the two. Nico Hulkenberg, Jenson Button, Magnussen and Sergio Perez completed the top 10.
After the race I completed my report, added the results and posted a few story pieces on Hamilton and Bottas. Like Friday, there were very few press sessions post-race that I could attend, with the majority taking place in the media pen.
However, I did head down to Ferrari to hear from Alonso and Raikkonen, before returning to the media centre to transcribe and complete other news and reaction pieces, which you can see here.
Typically heavy rain arrived a little while after the race and continued for a couple of hours (it was still falling when we left the track at just before 19:00pm).
Overall, it was a very productive second weekend in the F1 paddock and I enjoyed every second. I must admit, however, that I think my first race in Austria was better, writing and content wise. Hopefully that can be replaced with Hungary next weekend.
As I mentioned previously, I will also be attending the Hungarian Grand Prix for Richland F1. Between Monday and Thursday’s media day, I will be visiting the Mercedes museum with Luke as well as Craig and Leanne Boon from Octane Photographic.
We will then be travelling to Austria for a short break before heading to Hungary for the final race before the season’s summer break. I can’t wait. I will continue to keep you updated on my F1 adventure on this blog as well as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, so be sure to follow me on those.
Other German Grand Prix blogs:
Wednesday - http://bit.ly/1mUZjUG
Thursday - http://bit.ly/1mltYGk
Friday - http://bit.ly/1nkal7R
Saturday - http://bit.ly/UiamfM
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