Silverstone F1 ADVICE

Next week I'll be attending the Grand Prix for the first time ever, I am so excited as I've been a huge fan all of my life. I was wondering is it really worth it taking my DSLR or will it just mean I'll be carrying a huge 150-500 all day long? Can you actually get decent shots or is it just chain link fences and loads of hustle and bustle? I would like to try and get some F1 shots but not at the expense of ruining the day. I was thing about just taking my point and shoot canon with a 20x zoom and just get some images to remember the day.

What you guys think? Any personal experiences? What lens would be good for Silverstone if I was to take the DSLR?

Thanks for reading!

I attended the WEC Endurance Race in April at Silverstone. Reasonable crowd but nothing like F1 weekend. There are some place around the circuit where you can get a view of the track without the fence. Unfortunately everyone knew where they were, so most of the crowd concentrated on those spots. The grandstands have a clear view but you are too high then.
Personally i found it a waste of time taking the camera. Wish i had taken the Panasonic for a few keep sake photos and just enjoyed the racing on the day. Instead of running around trying to find good spots for photo. And with the Panny i could have got away with a tiny bag and no weight.
Hopefully someone else will have a better knowledge of the track and where to go. And i'll get some tip offs for next year.

Paul, are you just going for the Sunday or will you be there for the Friday and Saturday ?

Also what type of ticket do you have, if general admission and only there for the Sunday then your priority will be to claim your space for watching the race as early in the morning as possible. Its packed on the Sunday so get your spot early.

I've been the last few years and most of my photos are taken on the Friday and Saturday, I tend to watch and enjoy the racing more on the Sunday with the occasional picture.

I personally don't like shooting through fencing unless you can get the lens right up against the fence for head on shots of the cars.

If there for the Friday and/or Saturday as well and have a roving grandstand ticket, then Luffield and Club corner are the best I've managed for pictures, pretty good for the race too. (I think Woodcote is still reserved seating but that will show the cars coming down the wellington straight, round Luffielfd). I like Club corner as there are no large areas of run off / general admission spectators in front of you, there is also a lowish fence to the right of the grandstand that looks popular for pictures and one I may have a look at this year if I manage to take something to stand on.

Some threads from previous visits

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Don't forget the red arrows link

My car shots tend to be with the Sigma 100-300, bit of cropping required for some so bear this in mind. Wider lens would be needed for more artistic shots including some background objects. If on the roving grandstand I try and get a seat as low as possible that just looks over the fence as I prefer the look of these than from high up.

Silverstone is not the easiest of places to get good pictures for the general public, lots of run off areas and fencing. If you are there just for the Sunday I would concentrate on enjoying the day (take a few memory shots, I tend to have a small headphone radio to follow commentary on Radio Silverstone which helped a lot in the past, although the cars are quieter now so the tanoy may be audible.


Regards

George

Beg or blag a track/paddock pass

Failing that, there are some high banks where you can zoom over fences/crowds but that will mean lugging lots of kit and potentially a tripod. Things used to be far more relaxed, but since H&S and all the media rights became so sewn up, it's really no fun any more.