It was an early morning start to the Saturday at the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix. Although the circuit is close to the city of Barcelona, the access roads to the circuit suffered from massive traffic jams. Eventually, I had to ditch my cab and walk more than a mile to make it to the Paddock Club entrance.
Enroute to the Circuit :
The Views on Saturday morning :
The decision to walk turned out to be the right one as I made it in time for the Charles Leclerc interview in the Ferrari F1 Club.
Video Link to the Interview :
A Selfie with Charles Leclerc!
Post the interview, I went downstairs to spend some time in the F1 Paddock :
I got the opportunity to meet some icons from the motorsport world!
2016 F1 World Champion and now a presenter, Nico Rosberg!
Ex-F1 Driver and Dakar Legend, Carlos Sainz Sr :
Mr Peter Sauber, the man who was instrumental in bringing some iconic drivers into the sport with his team Sauber F1 :
Spanish Racer Carmen Jorda :
I spent most of my time in the Scuderia Ferrari Garage during FP3 but witnessed Sargeant suffer a retirement in the session.
Verstappen was the quickest in FP3, from Perez and Hamilton. Sainz and Leclerc were P4 and P7 for Ferrari, respectively.
Lunch! Again, an amazing spread and the desserts give one a sugar rush!
Post-lunch, it was time for the Formula 2 Sprint Race. Jack Doohan's car had to go through some urgent repairs on the starting grid.
The drivers and cars are ready for the F2 Sprint :
F2 Sprint Race Formation Lap ( Video Link ) :
F2 Sprint Race Start ( Video Link ) :
Shots from the Sprint Race :
The track dried and the drivers switched to the Dry Tyres for the remainder of the Sprint.
Isack Hadjar Pit Stop ( Video Link ) :
Safety Car Period ( Video Link ) :
Race Restart after Safety Car ( Video Link ) :
Frederik Vesti won the F2 Sprint from Theo Pourchaire and Victor Martins. Jack Doohan finished in P5.
Chequered Flag ( Video Link ) :
The Sprint Race ended and it was time for the Formula 1 Qualifying session.
The teams and drivers inspecting track conditions before the start of Qualifying :
The cars line up at the end of the Pit Lane as the light goes green for Qualifying :
Shots from Q1 :
The session got red-flagged due to an excursion across the gravel for Albon, but soon enough, the track was fit for racing again. The Drivers lined up at the end of the Pit Lane to wait for the lights to go green :
Shots from the final attempts in Q1 :
The Scuderia Ferrari Drivers return to the garage :
Hamilton was the quickest in Q1 from Norris and Russell. Sainz was P4 but Leclerc got eliminated, which was a shock for everyone at Scuderia Ferrari.
Some Stills from Q2 :
Chequered Flag to signal the end of Q2 :
Verstappen topped Q2 from Norris and Sainz. Perez and Russell were the two shock eliminations in that session. The Mercedes duo also had a coming together, which resulted in some damage to Hamilton's car.
Shots from Q3 :
Verstappen bagged pole position from Carlos Sainz Jr and Lando Norris.
Cars coming into Parc-Ferme post Qualifying :
The Top 3 Drivers giving Interviews post Qualifying :
The Paddock Club closed shortly after Qualifying but like Friday evening, the guests had the option of doing another Pit Lane Walk or being a part of the Paddock Club Track Truck Tour. I chose the latter as the expert hosts of the Paddock Club took us around for a lap of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Some stills from the Paddock Club Track Truck Tour :
Video of the Tour of the Circuit :
F1 Academy Driver and an Expert Host in the Paddock Club, Nerea Marti :
Shots from the 2nd Pit Lane Walk of the day :
Met some more stars, from Motorsports and beyond!
Latvian Basketball Players - Kristaps Porzingis, Zanis Peiners and Rihards Ozolnieks :
Portuguese and Barcelona FC Footballer, Joao Felix!
Manchester United and English Footballer, Mason Mount :
Portuguese and Benfica FC Footballer Hugo Felix :
Logan Sargeant, Williams Racing F1 Team :
World Number 3 in Tennis, Daniil Medvedev :
Serge Gnabry, Bayern Munich FC and German Footballer :
Kevin Magnussen, Moneygram Haas F1 Team :
Mick Schumacher, Reserve Driver for Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team :
Chelsea FC and England Footballer Ben Chilwell :
Martin Whitmarsh, Aston Martin Group CEO & a man who accomplished so much in the 2000s with McLaren Mercedes :
Ex-F1 Driver and 2012 Spanish GP Winner Pastor Maldonado :
George Russell, Mercedes Petronas AMG F1 Team :
Arthur Leclerc, F2 Driver for DAMS Racing and Charles Leclerc's brother :
I bid goodbye to the Circuit but it was time to head for dinner with some friends, who would be joined by some mechanics from the Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team.
En route to a dinner with friends, both new and old!
An evening to remember, La Familia! It was great catching up with the ones who actually worked so hard to bring success to drivers and teams over the years. The mechanics are the true heartbeat of any team and it was amazing to interact and share a meal with the trust legends of F1.
It had been a long but memorable Saturday. My day began in the early hours of the morning but ended equally late at night. I also did a Vlog on my YouTube channel documenting my experience on Saturday.
Video Link :
Thank you to the Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team and the Hosts at the Ferrari F1 Club for an action-packed, memories-filled Saturday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. There was joy in seeing Carlos Sainz Jr end up on the front row of the grid for the race but also sadness about the mechanical issues that Charles Leclerc suffered, which hampered his progress in Qualifying.
However, Sunday was a new day and the day that mattered! The Sunday Experience follows soon!