We set out to get to the track well ahead of the noon start time. We were shooting to get off the metro at 10 am and beat that by half an hour. It’s a good half hour or so walk from the metro stop to our grandstand. We got there and camped out by our favorite shady tree. Since it was a sunny day we figured we should manage our sun exposure as much as the drivers would have to manage their tires. So we bopped up to the stands to watch the drivers parade and then bounced back for another 25 minutes of shade before the pit lane opened at 11:30. It was a nice touch having the drivers ride on the decks of vintage Austin Healys and the like, rather than the flatbed truck we’ve seen in pictures from some races.

When the pit lanes opened the cars were quickly fired up and taken to the grid. Mechanics had lots of gear on the starting grid. It seems even busier than when you see it on TV since on TV you typically see a car or two at a time, but we could see the packed field of 24 cars and all their attendants.

Just as the teams and drivers were doing their final prep, the crowd was too. Potty runs, hydration, camera checks: the crowd was happy and excited and the whine of the engines revved us up, too.

The first ten laps of the race were a wonderful collaborative chaos as we all tried to sort out the position changes, staring at the big TV, waiting to see who was in front as they came back around and watching the challenges on turn one. We called out questions and status changes and clapped for each pass, no matter who was doing the overtaking, though Webber, Alonso and Schumacher seemed to be crowd favorites.

Other memories: Hamilton and Alonso drag racing out of the pits right in front of us, Richard Branson enjoying a pit walk, Massa’s Ferrari chasing two Force India cars to no avail, Michael being Michael and pressing Massa into the wall, McLaren running to the wall to great Lewis, the podium, the champagne spray, the drop, and the Polish fans outside the Renault pit chanting for “Robert,Robert” long after the race was over.

You must go to an F1 race.

Got into the stands just in time to finish qualification for the spec 1600 series. Now a brief wait until F1 qualification. We find a place in the shade to rest.

30 minutes to qualification:  The crowd is moving to the stands, a few engines start and rev only to be shutdown as the mechanics finish their checks.

Qualifying:  Lotus Racing doesn’t make it out of Q1. No matter. Kanga keeps us updated on the split. Q2 gets more exciting as Michael Schumacher struggles and misses Q3 to start 13th. Nadya is happy that Rubens beats both Michael and his teammate, barely missing Q3 to start 11th. She squees when the Videotron shows him leaving the garage to cross to the timing booth, giving a resigned thumbs up to the crowd. Damn these great start/finish seats that keep us well away from the Williams pit halfway down the field!

Q3:  Nothing happens. The teams wait. And wait. Suddenly everyone is out. Tires are the theme of the day. Some warm, others don’t. Hamilton sets a fast time, Alonso is 4 seconds off, Vettel is close and Webber is challenging. We lose track of who is on top. The ten minutes of Q3 seem more urgent here than they do on TV. You can see who’s putting cars out, who’s getting ready for a fresh set of tires, and the cars are coming across you at top speed, probably the fastest they’ll go all weekend. Especially for pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton who ran out of fuel half way through his triumphant in-lap and gracefully got out to push the car himself. The crowd roared. A man behind us said, “I don’t like him, but that’s cool.”

With the metal, the sun and the people the stands seem 10 degrees warmer than the 21 Celsius official temp. Next time we’l bring a floppy hat and those neck coolers

We had a late lunch after quali, by a little pond. Nadya’s view on her first poutine: “I like the cheese”

As we left people were working the crowd,  trying to buy tickets for tomorrow. Our favorite scalper started with,
“Who’s selling tickets? It’s going to be thunder and lighting tomorrow.” Nice reverse marketing, but if it’s going to be that bad why is he buying?

Metro to the track. Jim’s bright idea for the day is to walk around the track the long way. We have almost 2 hours until second practice so it shouldn’t be a problem. There are people everywhere. We first agree on a meeting place in case we get separated in the crowd. There are a lot more people than we expected for practice: more than we remember seeing on TV. We suspect it has to do with Canadian enthusiasm for F1.

We get around to turn 22 and hit a wall. There’s a security blockade and we, along with many others, are sent to retrack our steps. We got to our seats with 10 minutes to spare. It’s a long track.

We run across the Kangaroo.tv stand and rent a device for the weekend. More on kanga later.

We are delighted to see that our seats have a rare Tequila stand at one end and an even rarer set of real restrooms at the other. It’s like Bernie knew we were coming.

Free practice 2:  Oh my it’s loud. Earplugs in and it’s still loud. Not painful but loud. I heard someone say, “It made my jaw shake”

Sights, sounds and smells that are overwhelming. We end up in the wrong seats, move, try to talk yelling towards each other, hand signs are all that work, can barely hear the commentator on kanga.  Need to bring water, Trulli isn’t out of the pits because of a bad gearbox, pit action, look at the helicopter, we must tell everyone we are at start finish about half way up, there goes three world champions in the same flash, Trulli is out and 90 minutes of free practice is over.

Nadya gave her camera to one of the guys at the Lotus Racing pit and he walked throughout the garage snapping pictures. What great hospitality.

Ferrari started their car first. The sound is surprisingly like you hear on TV only turned up to 11.

We spotted a pallet of live lobsters being brought in for the paddock club. The rich like lobsters.

An afternoon stop at a wonderful noodle shop for some food followed by a well needed nap. I think I was asleep before we go to the room.

Awake, we we headed out for coffee and found cupcakes. Oh wonderful cupcakes.

Walking by a posh hotel we spotted three Ferraris with New Jersey manufacturer plates. Loaners for Ferrari drivers?

Rogue Spruce Gin martini + Coffee People double espresso = perfect Portland buzz

We ended up in a coffee shop, following the race via Twitter and talking to people all over the world. Is this the new radio?

Nadya said I needed another hobby.