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Scott Woodwiss

PUMA UK fan reports from Silverstone

Saturday

It’s 10am and we’ve just rocked up at Silverstone. Exiting our car, I can hear the wail of 2.4 litre V8s thundering by in the distance, signalling the start of the morning’s practice session. It’s a sound that brings a smile to my face.

I met Bruno from PUMA for my tour of the Renault garage. Walking over the bridge that crossed the pit straight, free practice was still going on so it was a case of fingers in ears as many cars screamed past below me. I was given a VIP paddock pass and swipe through the turnstiles like the F1 drivers do when they enter the paddock themselves. A little trivial I know, but it is things like that I think are cool.

Waiting outside the Renault motorhome as practice finished, I spotted various famous faces from F1 including Mike Gascoyne, Renault boss Flavio Briatore and his test driver Romain Grosjean. But then, my attention was drawn to a VERY famous face: walking out of the garage, race suit still on, was none other than double world champion Fernando Alonso! I shook his hand and got a picture with him, I was so star struck I was laughing.

Going into the ING Renault garage, we had to navigate a maze of makeshift walls to meet Luca who showed me round. We met the engineers in the back of the pits who look after the computers reading out tonnes of telemetry and data. There were TV feeds, live timing and screens showing a multitude of coloured line graphs. This was also to show things like acceleration, braking, speed, cornering forces and loads as well as data on pretty much every component on the car. Luca was in the middle of informing us that each car has 1000 sensors monitoring a variety of different parts, when the engines on the R29 F1 cars were fired up, presumably to check everything was OK. It was fingers in ears for a minute before everything was back to normal! I was shown Alonso and Piquet’s helmets and also given a Renault steering wheel to hold. It was amazing that not only how many buttons and switches were on there, but also the fact that both drivers need to memorise exactly what each one does and where it is, all so he can use it while out on track. Cost of one of these wheels - £20,000.

Moving further into the garage, I was given a headset to wear so I could watch the mechanics at work on Piquet’s car. It looked like there were focusing on the engine and sidepods at that point. Luca told me that they could change an engine in about an hour, which is significantly faster than doing so on a normal car I should imagine! We caught the mechanics taking the bottom of the car off, which meant the undertray, plank and rear diffuser, a double decker one thanks to the FIA court ruling which deemed them legal. The diffuser was especially important because there was a story to go with it. For Malaysia, team boss Briatore had a double decker diffuser made in double quick time, before getting his private jet flown down to the factory in Enstone, stripping it of its seats, loading the new parts inside and then flying all the way back to the Sepang circuit where the mechanics stayed up until 5am fitting it! Such is the commitment of people in this sport that they will work all the hours god sends just to get one of these F1 cars ready and on the track. Also, according to Luca, the diffuser is already in its 5th evolution since Malaysia, something which I found truly amazing.

Moving to the front of the garage, it was a chance to see the front wing and main bodywork including the shark fin. Apparently however much the wing costs depends on how many people worked on it and for how long. I was intrigued to find out about why they kept the shark fin on their car when I assumed it wasn’t allowed. According to the regulations, there was nothing that said they couldn’t run it and so decided to keep it on. It aids with stability in the corners by minimising the effect factors like crosswinds and such have while cornering.

Leaving the garage and walking through the paddock once more, I took pictures while all the while spotting more famous faces – James Allen, Ted Kravitz, Louise Goodman, Norbert Haug and Felipe Massa’s race engineer Rob Smedley. Eventually it was time to make myself scarce and cross back over the bridge to find a spot to view qualifying, I chose the beginning of the Hangar Straight so I could see the cars at a relatively high speed.

After qualifying, I headed back over the bridge and into the BMW Sauber Motorhome, which was immaculately laid out. Looking all around me, I was suddenly taken aback, for who should be standing next to me observing the TV screens above than none other than Robert Kubica. I was amazed that one of the best drivers in the world was just a couple of feet away. Directed to the upper floor of the motorhome, I spied Nick Heidfeld walking through as well. Both BMW drivers were just below me and I was about to interview both. I was excited and nervous at the same time. This really was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

We then switched paddocks and passes, and I ventured out of the F1 world and into the support series world A.K.A. GP2, Porsche Supercup and Formula BMW. Over in the FBMW hospitality, there would be a barbecue/ buffet with special guests on stage. Turning up, I watched the FBMW race via a few large widescreen TVs, which saw a brilliant battle between the first 4 cars.

Soon after came a press conference with the top 3 drivers from that race and straight afterwards the food was available. There was steak, chicken, pork, sausages, baked potatoes and wedges to name a few things. While finishing my food, the special guests arrived - Kubica, Klien and Thiessen. They were there for a Q&A session, and it was a great insight into what their thoughts were on the weekend and other topics like the in-season testing ban, KERS and the ongoing row between the FIA and FOTA about next year’s championship. I got pictures with all 3 and Kubica and Mario’s autographs. I already had Klien’s from when he was at Red Bull.

Saturday had been a pretty special day with all the people I’d met and things I’d seen, and Sunday would hopefully be just as good.

Sunday

We decided to arrive early on race day morning. The atmosphere on the morning of race day was amazing, the circuit heaving with fans going about various activities and watching the programme of support races in the build up to the GP later in the afternoon.

I made my main port of call for the day the Santander stand which featured a pit stop challenge, large Scalextric track and, my personal favourite, an F1 simulator which I was really keen to try my luck at. It was rather impressive – the whole front half of an F1 car hooked up to a PC racing game with a mock up of a proper F1 steering wheel to use. A fictional track, an F1 car and 2 laps – one practice and one flyer. I was able to keep the car pointing in the right direction – until the last corner. Because of this, I wasn’t as fast over the line to start my flying lap as I would have liked, which hurt my lap time a little but at least I was able to prevent it from spinning and did a 1’15 lap. The top time of the day was 1’14 and my time was good enough to put me 3rd on the board.

Before and after the activities at Santander, I did my all important fan interviews. This was where we’d find ordinary people here for the GP and ask them some general questions about how their weekend was, who they were supporting and who they thought was going to win. We found some Ferrari fans, a couple of ladies who were there for Kubica, two guys supporting Renault and Red Bull and two girls with British flags draped around them. Each interview had a different feel to it since they were different people with different views and opinions. It was a lot of fun finding these personalities and generally having a great time doing it.

So, eventually the time came to grab our seats for the race. We were seated in Luffield B, on the exit of the corner which gave us a great view of the cars coming through Bridge, Priory and Brooklands before rounding the long right hander and setting off round Woodcote and down the pit straight. The excitement was building as the cars set on their parade lap, with the British fans hoping for something special from Jenson and Lewis, while the Red Bull guys aimed to spoil the party. There was a mass of cheering and airhorns all around us.

Throughout the race, there were a few interesting moments, mainly involving the McLarens. Kovalainen got hit by Bourdais resulting in a puncture for Heikki and a missing front wing for “Le Seb”. Also putting on a good show was Hamilton, who enjoyed a brilliant fight with the two Renaults of Alonso and Piquet. As Lewis and Fernando duelled out of Luffield, everyone in the stands around us were cheering and clapping as they went side-by-side out of the corner and all the way round Woodcote and over the start/finish line. Lewis got past and there was a great “WAHEY!” from the crowd!

The race resulted in a crushing 1-2 for Red Bull with Vettel dominating and leading teammate Webber over the line with Barrichello 3rd followed by the closely knit trio of Massa, Rosberg and Button who, despite being 6th still got a rapturous round of cheers and applause as did the Red Bulls, Rubens and even Lewis. Even Sebastien picked up on the fact the despite there not being a British winner, the fans were still courteous enough to show their support and congratulate a job well done. It was a brilliant drive by the young German, and really it’s a question of when rather than if he’ll be world champion. The kid is definitely destined for great things.

For me this experience has been one of a lifetime. Silverstone always has a special place in the list of circuits around the world which I adore, and being able to experience it as intimately as I did that weekend was something I’ll never forget. What I saw, who I met, what I did will all be remembered. All I can say is a massive thanks to PUMA for making this all possible.

If you’ve never experienced a GP before, do go at least once in your life time. Watching Unless you’re there to experience the atmosphere, the noise, the colour, the passion, the glamour, the prestige and the excitement the sport brings in droves, it’s difficult to get a feeling for what it’s all about. Formula 1 is a special event. It’s a racing experience that can be cherished. I adore it with a true passion and I hope it’s still burning for years to come.

Images from Silverstone

Scott was selected as the winner of the PUMA Motorsport Fan Report programme for the UK. If you’d love the chance to become a PUMA Fan Reporter and experience the behind-the-scenes action first-hand then please click here to enter