Formula 1

I can't say that I am much of an auto racing fan. However, when the F1 tour came into town here in Shanghai, I was intrigued. My only exposure to auto racing back in the States is the Indy 500 and NASCAR; the exposure was limited at best. NYC was not exactly a hotbed of auto racing. After all, when most of one's driving experience in NYC is being ensnared in bumper to bumper traffic on the LIE or the Grand Central one does not view auto racing as a viable concept.

Being abroad, I started to learn about things that go on which dwarfs the popularity of similar activities in the States. World Cup soccer comes to mind and so does the F1 circuit. It is from that point of view which prompted me to go 20 miles out of the downtown area where I live on a rainy day to see if I can get some tickets from scalpers to witness something that not too many Americans have in person for the a race that only occurs in Shanghai annually. All of this trouble and the only race car driver I know from the F1 circuit was last year's champion, Lewis Hamilton.

Anyhow, me and my friend Kanlin (who is not even a sports fan never mind F1) made our way to the race track. We secured a pair of standing room tickets for 250RMB (face value 600RMB) after the race had already commenced.

The conditions were far from perfect as a steady rain accompanied by brisk wind gusts made not only the driving treacherous but viewing quite uncomfortable even with rain gear on. The first thing that struck me as we arrived at our viewing area was the noise from these engines. Instead of a roar as one might expect, the sound was a relatively high pitch whirring noise that was incessant. As I would find out later after I left the track the exposure to this noise continually for nearly 2 hours would leave me with a temporarily hearing deficiency.

Other things that struck me was the speed of these cars and just how surreal the entire spectacle was. Here I was, watching vehicles that one never sees on the road traveling at breathtaking speeds on straightaways and turns alike. It was a very different experience than watching it on television where we are use to viewing the fantastic.

Overall, I must say that despite the weather conditions, I really enjoyed my first experience at F1. It might not be my last.