The world as we knew it got turned upside down in 2020 when the pandemic COVID-19 caused havoc across the globe. Little did I know that I wouldn't have the opportunity to travel again after the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix, and it would be a three year wait before the international borders would fully open to welcome travellers without any restrictions!

In the interim, I had to say goodbye to my hero Kimi Raikkonen, who retired from the sport at the end of 2021, from the comfort of my home.

Thanks be to God for helping my family and me survive the onslaught of this pandemic and kudos to the government and local authorities for weathering one of the toughest times known to mankind. As the world recovered and people tried to return to normalcy, the gates finally opened to welcome guests to sporting events and Formula 1 was no such exception. Such was the demand for race passes and tickets that several races were sold out early in the year.

I was privileged to get myself races passes for the 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix, as a guest of the Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team. It wasn't smooth sailing as I fell ill on the Sunday of my departure week and after a series of cancellations and rebookings, I got declared fit for travel on the Thursday before the Grand Prix weekend. PHEW!

After a three-year hiatus, The Paddock Club Diaries make a return to my blog, and it is the Friday experience from Hungaroring that will kickstart this series again!

The race was held on the final weekend of July, before the summer break in the F1 calendar. 

Photos clicked with the Sony RX10 IV and Samsung S22 Ultra.

Time to revisit 29th July, 2022!

The Race Passes for the weekend, picked up on Thursday evening from the team hotel :

Enroute to the circuit on Friday morning:

Home! Welcome to the F1 Paddock Club, after a hiatus of 3 years :

The views from the Ferrari F1 Club Suite :

The Ferrari F1 Club, a private hospitality space for the guests of the Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team :

The schedule had changed drastically from the pre-Covid era, with the sessions happening later in the day.

Shots from the first Pit Lane walk of the weekend :

Some more stills, shot with the Samsung S22 Ultra :

Getting up close and personal with the Ferrari F1-75, in the Scuderia Ferrari garage :

McLaren F1 Team mechanics practising Pit Stops :

Williams F1 Racing Team Pit Stop Practice :

Former Honda F1 Boss and now Consultant to Red Bull Racing, Masashi Yamamoto :

The menu for Friday in the Paddock Club :

Lunch is served, from live food counters to buffet stations. The Desserts are to die for!

Free Practice 1 gets underway :

Cars leaving the garage at the start of FP1 ( Video Link ) :

I had the opportunity of visiting the garage during FP1 and it felt so good to be back!

With FP1 done, it was time to welcome Marc Gene, Scuderia Ferrari's brand ambassador, test and development driver to the suite for a quick interview. The Italian decided to do a feature on the 2021 Steering wheel!

Marc Gene explains the role of the buttons on the 2021 Steering wheel :

Video Link from Marc Gene's crash course!

Beholding the wheel, in the flesh:

It was then time for some Formula 3 action on the track!

The F3 cars make their way into the pit lane before the start of their Qualifying session :

It was pure coincidence that the Ferrari F1 Club overlooked Kush Maini's pit box! What an encouragement to see Indian representation in the feeder series again.

Some shots from the Paddock Club Track Truck Tour :

Video of the Paddock Club Track Truck Tour :

As I made my way back to the Paddock Club, I came across a familiar looking face walking back with the guests from the Track Truck Tour. She was W Series and Le Mans Racer Beitske Visser. One of the best women racers of our era! More Power to her!

Back to the club and I bumped into Nicolas Longuet, F1 Esports Driver for Alfa Romeo :

Gelato, a saviour on warm European days and the Gelato station in the Paddock Club serves up some delicious flavours :

Time for Free Practice 2 :

Scuderia Ferrari running its program in FP2 :

Drivers practising Race Starts at the end of FP2 ( Video Link ) :

Norris is trying to assess his performance on Friday, in the paddock interviews :

It was time for the Paddock Club to shut and while exiting the club, I bumped into Pietro Fittipaldi, Reserve driver for Haas F1 Team :

I then made my way down through the support race paddock and met Red Bull Junior and F2 Driver for Carlin, Liam Lawson :

Time to head back to the hotel after a hectic day at Hungaroring :

It was an eventful and action-packed Friday at Hungaroring. The Paddock Club felt different than it used to be before COVID-19. Nevertheless, it felt great to be back, meet familiar faces, catch up on life and experiences and just enjoy the sport that I love, live!

To add more appeal to Paddock Club Diaries, I have also kickstarted a Vlog Series on my Youtube Channel that documents my experience on each day of the Race Weekend. I have tried to cover and show you the fans and supporters things that I am not usually able to cover in this blog series. 

The Video Link to my Friday Experience on my Youtube Channel :

A big thank you to Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team for hosting me over the weekend. Saturday and Sunday experiences to follow soon!