Which European GP to visit?

[maxter]

I'm thinking that I'd really like to visit a GP in 2013. I don't have a lot of money, so I'd buy a sunday pass for one of the European races, try to find cheap travel and acommodation on my own and spend the weekend (using friday for travel and saturday for touristy stuff).

I want to know as much as possible about everything except the actual tracks that would influence my experience. Like how close to the track I can live, how much accomodation would cost, how I get there (for example, Silverstone is somewhat difficult in this regard I've gathered?), what the stands/spots are like and how they compare to similarily priced stands/spots on other tracks.

I'm looking to spend about €400 for a sunday pass and everything else as cheap as possible really (though I'd prefer a roof over my head, so let's assume camping is not an option for now).

Hopefully I will get atleast one friend to join me in case that makes a difference.

Thanks.

[driveace]

Think my choice,and I am thinking about it this year ,would be Hungary.So my choice would be the Hungaroring !

[maxter]

If I look at the countries themselves as destination rather than race tracks then Hungary probably wins, hands down! I prefer Silverstone and Spa as races, but the likelihood of rain makes me hesitant. The Hungaroring is also just 20km outside of Budapest and there seems to be a bus line stopping just outside the track which honestly is a big plus. Tempting.

Anyone else?

[Mark]

I'm thinking that I'd really like to visit a GP in 2013. I don't have a lot of money, so I'd buy a sunday pass for one of the European races, try to find cheap travel and acommodation on my own and spend the weekend (using friday for travel and saturday for touristy stuff).

I want to know as much as possible about everything except the actual tracks that would influence my experience. Like how close to the track I can live, how much accomodation would cost, how I get there (for example, Silverstone is somewhat difficult in this regard I've gathered?), what the stands/spots are like and how they compare to similarily priced stands/spots on other tracks.

I'm looking to spend about €400 for a sunday pass and everything else as cheap as possible really (though I'd prefer a roof over my head, so let's assume camping is not an option for now).

Hopefully I will get atleast one friend to join me in case that makes a difference.

Thanks.

It would help to know where you are starting from!

[maxter]

Sorry, I assumed that location showed up under my username for some reason! I'm in Sweden, though the cost of travel in and out of country shouldn't differ too much within Europe. I'm planning on flying either way.

[schmenke]

Is a single-day Sunday pass available in a grandstand?
I thought a Sunday only race day pass is available for general admission only?

[fandango]

Barcelona
Advantages: Weather, Nice city, Can be cheap (if you're careful), Train from city centre to circuit (+ a 20 minute walk), Gen Admission tickets can still be excellent (although you might get a stand for that money),

Disadvantages: The race itself can be processional (althought the last two years were excellent), you might meet me!

[maxter]

Should have mentioned that Barcelona is actually the only host city I've been to before, so I might avoid it purely because of that. You do make a good point though and I'm not going to completely disregard it just yet.

schmenke, they are available as Sunday passes for the races I've looked at (Silverstone, Spa and Hungaroring). Looking at Spa right now and the weekend part is actually cheaper than equivalent Sunday pass though, and not much more expensive for Hungaroring, so for sure I'd consider that and watch the qualifying as well.

[Knock-on]

OK, that leaves 6 other GP.

UK, Monza, Spa, Hungary, Germany, Monaco.

Monaco doesn't fit your criteria. UK can work out quite expensive and be a bit of a ballache getting in, out and accomodation. Spa is great for the GP but is a bit out of the way and weather unpredictable, Germany I've never actually done for some reason so can't comment.

All in all, I would go for Budapest. Cheap, normally good weather, sightseeing and with DRS and KERS, it's losing the reputation of being the Boringoring

(whoops, Forgot Italy. Good food, reasonable if you shop about and can be a good option too)

[maxter]

Yeah, Hungary is starting to look like a winner. Italy would be nice as well, but I suspect travel and accomodation will be more expensive - I'll have to look that up before setting the date obviously. Speaking of dates, that might also influence the decision in the end, so keeping a few options open isn't bad at all I reckon.

Thank you!

Specific comments and tips about where to stay and what grand stand to choose (Monza or Hungaroring) would be greatly appreciated as well. I'm thinking a fairly high speed corner would be the coolest (so pretty much anywhere except turn 1 on both those tracks).

[IceWizard]

As others have said it all depends what you're looking for. If you want a bustling city nearby and more chance of sunshine then Budapest, but for the best chance of seeing a good race and the biggest wow factor then it would have to be Spa. Although the track itself is in the middle of nowhere it isn't that far from Liege or Maastricht and its only 100 miles or so from Brussels. Another great thing about Spa is that the Nurburgring is only 60 miles away so its possible to explore the Eiffel mountains and get a few laps of the Nordschlieffe in on the same visit.

[maxter]

Distance to track from the city isn't really a problem as long as it's relatively easy to get there (which is not the case with for example Silverstone, or so I've heard). Bus lines would obviously be the nicest, apart from that I don't really mind if it takes 15 or 120 minutes to get there from wherever we'll be staying (within reason, as the schedule might be pretty tight). Spa would be really nice indeed so I'll look into that as well.

[truefan72]

don't book that german GP ticket yet

seems the race might not happen
Formula 1 - German GP 'hanging in the balance' - Yahoo! Eurosport UK (http://eurosport.yahoo.com/news/german-grand-prix-german-gp-hanging-balance-132652557.html)

shame if we are down to 18 races because of greedy Bernie

[Rollo]

The Italian GP is a very nice place to soak up the atmosphere of the tifosi but utterly rubbish if you want to see lots of the race.
I saw an Italian GP from one of the Curves di Lesmo and cars would appear from the forest, roar past us and then disappear again under the bridge and that's all you saw.

I imagine that the German GP at Nürburgring would be a good place to see a lot of the track as would the Hungaroring.

[F1fanru]

I'm thinking that I'd really like to visit a GP in 2013. I don't have a lot of money, so I'd buy a sunday pass for one of the European races, try to find cheap travel and acommodation on my own and spend the weekend (using friday for travel and saturday for touristy stuff).

I want to know as much as possible about everything except the actual tracks that would influence my experience. Like how close to the track I can live, how much accomodation would cost, how I get there (for example, Silverstone is somewhat difficult in this regard I've gathered?), what the stands/spots are like and how they compare to similarily priced stands/spots on other tracks.

I'm looking to spend about €400 for a sunday pass and everything else as cheap as possible really (though I'd prefer a roof over my head, so let's assume camping is not an option for now).

Hopefully I will get atleast one friend to join me in case that makes a difference.

Thanks.

Hungry, bring a radio and get as close to the track as possible, standing along the fence in hard braking zones is something you soon won't forget.

[gloomyDAY]

I've never been to a GP, but I'd say go to Spa.

[schmenke]

Hungry ....

Me too :( . I could use a bagel.