We watched the support race after qualifying and then headed back and ate dinner in the hotel on Saturday - it was way too tiring, after standing in the heat for 7 or 8 hours.
Sunday morning, before the starting grid presentation began, we were treated to a little (HUGE) treat - we were told that the Mercedes
drivers would pay us a VERY quick visit and speak to us for a few minutes. I got Nico's autograph, Michael was a bit too quick for me
.
We got lucky for the starting grid presentation. Where we decided to stand on the balcony happened to be the only entrance on to the grid for the media and celebrities!
Ralf Schumacher commentating on German tv. Funny enough, I saw him at the gym the night before, which was awkward:
Bruno Senna
Bernie
Richard Branson.
Vijay Mallya
Deepika Padukone (popular Indian actress) with Siddharth Mallya (Mallya's son)
Shahrukh Khan (was there promoting his Ra-One film, seen on the FI noses) and Gulshan Grover (old Indian actor, always played the Villain)
Mr. Bean aka Rowan Atkinson aka Mr. Mcrashed-laren
Sachin Tendulkar (no explanation necessary) with Karun Chandhok
Mass exodus after the cars leave for the formation lap
Race/post-race photos
Journalists waiting for Felipe after he crashed out
Parking lot post-race
So, that's the end of my little chronicle. I didn't take many live-action photos - I mostly took videos during the actual race. If I get a chance, I will upload those, too. Hope you guys enjoyed it!
Overall, it was an awesome, awesome experience - definitely a once in a lifetime kind of event. If any of you have the opportunity to make it to the paddock, do not hesitate - DO IT! As a Formula 1 addict, it was absolutely amazing. I am very content knowing that I will probably be relegated to the grandstands in future events.
My only (tiny) complaint was that the majority of the paddock visitors are more concerned about networking and socializing than the actual racing at hand. A few even thought that qualifying was the actual race, etc. Although I guess that if you have enough money or influence to get on the paddock every single grand prix, you wouldn't care about the racing, would you?