An F1 Race Weekend goes by so quickly. Before we knew it, Sunday was already here! After a long Saturday and next to minimal rest, it was time for an early morning start again on Sunday, to avoid traffic woes to the track.

Good Morning from Graz. En route to the circuit :

The walk to the Paddock Club entrance :

Welcome to the Club Suite :

Coffee and Croissants to kick start the day :

Building up to an eventful Sunday, the F3 Feature Race is the first order of the day :

While I was watching the F3 Race, a friend offered me a Paddock Pass to spend some time downstairs. I took the opportunity without any hesitation. It was an amazing time inside the Paddock :

I was aware that Lewis Hamilton would be visiting the Club Suite around noon for a quick Q&A. I decided to skip the interview and prolong my stay in the Paddock to get a better opportunity to meet him, and it worked!

Seven-Time World Champion, Lewis Hamilton, Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team! A Selfie after almost 9 years!

I also met others from the Motorsports fraternity.

Former F1 Supremo, Bernie Ecclestone :

Former F1 Driver, Le Mans winner & Chairman of GPDA, Alexander Wurz :

Mick Schumacher, Alpine Endurance Racing & son of F1 Legend, Michael Schumacher :

I decided to visit the iconic tunnel that goes under the track. One of the rare upgraded tunnels from old school tracks!

It was soon time for lunch so I decided to head back upstairs for a quick bite before returning to the Paddock to meet more drivers after the Track Parade :

Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team :

Esteban Ocon, Moneygram Haas F1 Team :

Nico Hulkenberg, Stake F1 Team :

With the Track Parade and final pit lane walk complete, it was time to return to the Club Suite and grab a vantage point for the race.

As the race start neared, Aston Martin mechanics had to rush Lance Stroll's car to the FIA Centre for some last-minute approvals.

The Red Bull Air Show :

The Medical and Safety Cars head out for track inspections :

The Pit Lane light turned green, and it was time for some sighting laps for the drivers :

Video Link :

Drivers made it to the grid slots, and the mechanics began their race preparations :

Some more stills from the grid :

The Drivers gather at the front of the grid for the National Anthem :

The drivers climb into their cars for the race start :

The formation lap got underway, but it was an aborted start after Carlos Sainz Jr's car suffered from an engine issue and eventually caught fire inside the pit lane.

1st Formation Lap ( Video Link ) :

Time for the 2nd Formation lap :

Video Link :

Video Link for the Race Start :

The Safety Car got deployed just after the Start ( Video Link ) :

Shots from the Race :

Fernando Alonso Pit Stop ( Video Link ) :

Lando Norris took the race win from Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc. Lewis Hamilton was P4 in the other Ferrari. Since a Ferrari driver finished on the podium, I had the opportunity to attend the podium ceremony. 

Getting a vantage point under the podium :

Stills from the Podium Ceremony :

The Podium finishers posing for the cameras :

Video Link for the Trophy and Podium Celebrations :

The Pit Lane after all the festivities :

As I made my way back to the Paddock Club, I got to meet some more amazing podium personalities!

Randy Singh, Racing Director, McLaren F1 Team. We had a very wholesome discussion about strategies!

A WEC Legend, a descendant of the Austrian Royal Family, Ferdinand Habsburg :

I returned to the Paddock Club, and it was time to say bye to the team hosts :(

A Selfie with the hosts of the Ferrari F1 Club in Austria!

Post the farewells, I made my way down to the paddock again to spend some more time and meet more drivers!

Lance Stroll, Aramco Aston Martin Racing F1 Team :

Paul Aron, Reserve Driver for BWT Alpine F1 Team :

The sun set over the Austrian GP Paddock, and it was time to bid farewell :

It's goodbye from the circuit & goodbye to the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix :

It was an amazing Sunday at the 2025 Austrian GP. More importantly, it was an amazing result for Scuderia Ferrari as the team finished 2nd best, only behind McLaren F1, the runaway favourites to lift the crown at the end of the season.

I have also compiled a Vlog about my Sunday Experience on my YouTube Channel.

Vlog Link :

A big thank you to the Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team and its hosts for a memorable Austrian GP weekend. The Paddock Club Diaries returns with another experience from the Belgium GP, this time with another team!

Saturdays at F1 Races are the busiest days of a race weekend. At European events, feeder series like Formula 2 and Formula 3 have Sprint races to complement FP3 and Qualifying Sessions for F1 ( or Sprint & Qualifying on Sprint weekends ).

Our day began early as we left our hotel in Graz to head to the track. The commute was quite brisk and with minimal traffic, our travel time was a mere 75 minutes!

En route to the circuit :

The view from the Ferrari F1 Club :

The Paddock is getting ready for all the Saturday action :

Kickstarting the day with Coffee and Croissants :

It was then time to enjoy the Formula 3 Sprint Race!

Formation Lap ( Video Link ) :

Sprint Race Start ( Video Link ) :

Post the F3 Sprint, it was time to get some vantage spots for Lando Norris' interview in the Club Suite!

Lando Norris in the Club Suite for a quick Q&A : 

Interview Video Link :

Post Norris' departure, I decided to explore other portions of the Paddock Club!

The F1 Store, Simulators and an Engineering Hub :

Enjoying some Pizza and Ice Cream before FP3 :

After roaming the length of the Paddock Club, I returned to the Club Suite to get prepped for Free Practice 3.

The Pit Walls are getting ready for FP3 :

Shots from FP3 :

During FP3, I had the rare opportunity to be invited to a Photo Safari at Turn 9 of the track. It was honestly one of the most surreal experiences!

Shots of the drivers negotiating the penultimate turn on the track :

Getting some stills and photos with the cars :

Watching the Cars Navigate Turn 9 ( Video Link ) :

Lando Norris was the quickest from Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen at the end of FP3. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were P4 and P5 for Ferrari, respectively.

I returned to the Paddock Club, and it was time for the F2 Sprint Race. The race had to be red-flagged briefly due to an incident on track, and Indian Racer Kush Maini, who was racing for DAMS, was stationed right below our suite!

While I enjoyed the F2 Sprint Race, I indulged myself with some lip-smacking Chocolate mousse!

F2 Sprint Race Formation Lap ( Video Link ) :

F2 Sprint Race Start ( Video Link ) :

Post the F2 Sprint Race, we were then joined by the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team reserve driver, Valtteri Bottas!

After his interview, it was time to get prepped and ready for Qualifying.

The bosses take their places on the pitwall :

Q1 underway :

Lance Stroll, Esteban Ocon, Yuki Tsunoda, Carlos Sainz Jr and Nico Hulkenberg were eliminated at the end of Q1.

Shots from Q2 :

Fernando Alonso, Alexander Albon, Isack Hadjar, Franco Colapinto and Ollie Bearman were eliminated at the end of Q2.

The final top 10 shootout commences, Q3!

Lando Norris bagged pole position from Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri. Lewis Hamilton was P4 in the other Ferrari.

Qualifying brought the on-track activities to a close, but there was still the final pit lane walk of the day remaining for the guests of the Paddock Club.

Shots from the Final Pit Lane walk on Saturday :

Stills with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra :

Post the Pit Lane walk, I decided to spend some time in the Paddock :

Thankfully, I got to meet a few people from the Motorsport Fraternity!

Ayumu Iwasa, Red Bull Racing Reserve Driver :

Four-Time World Champion, Max Verstappen, Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 Team :

Jerome d'Ambrosio, Deputy Team Principal, Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team :

Pierre Gasly, BWT Alpine F1 Team :

Mark Berryman, Lando Norris' Manager :

Carlos Sainz Jr, Williams Racing F1 Team :

Flavio Briatore, Team Principal, BWT Alpine F1 Team :

Lando Norris, McLaren F1 Team :

Andrea Stella, Team Principal, McLaren F1 Team :

Christian Horner, was still the Team Principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 Team back then :

Gabriel Bortoleto, Stake F1 Team :

Hollywood Actor, Eric Bana :

Ex-F1 Racer and WEC Legend, Mark Webber :

Making memories in the Paddock at the Red Bull Ring :

Saying goodbye to the Paddock as I made my way back to the circuit entrance for the trip back to Graz!

The trip back was a lengthy one since a car, unfortunately, caught fire on the highway. We finally arrived back at Graz at 11:30 pm.

I have also compiled a video about the Saturday Experience on my YouTube Channel.

Vlog Link :

A big thank you to the hosts of the Ferrari F1 Club for an amazing experience on Saturday. The Ferrari Drivers fared well in Qualifying and a great result beckoned on Sunday. The Sunday Experience follows shortly!

The 2025 F1 Austrian GP was the first race I attended in the 2025 Season. It felt great to return to the pictueresque and iconic Red Bull Ring for the race weekend. The event was held from 27th to 29th June and I had the privilege to be a guest of the Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team for the weekend! I was accompanied by my dear friend and co-globe trotter from Australia, Yang Fei ( who himself was on a marathon four-races trip in Europe ).

The experience began on Friday morning and this post is about my experience on Day 1 at the 2025 Austrian GP.

The experience was shot with the DJI Osmo Pocket 3, Samsung S25 Ultra and the Sony RX10 IV.

En route to the Red Bull Ring from our hotel in Graz :

The first order of the day was to drive to the Team hotel and pick up our race passes.

The Race Passes are here :

Walking to the Paddock Club entrance :

The views from the Paddock Club :

Welcome to the Ferrari F1 Club!

Coffee & Croissants, anyone? The best way to kick start the day!

Beautiful Friday Morning views of the Paddock :

Walking through the Pit Lane to the Track Tour :

Shots from the Track Tour :

Video Link of the Full Track Tour :

Beautiful Stills from the Scuderia Ferrari garage :

Other stills from the first pit lane walk of the weekend :

As I walked back to the Paddock Club, an American couple walked up to me & recognised me from my YouTube videos. It was a pleasant exchange & such a joy to know that my content is helping people enhance their weekend experience at the races!

Once I returned to the Club Suite, it was time to get ready for Free Practice 1.

The Safety and Medical Cars go out to ensure everything is in order :

Stills from the FP1 :

The drivers return to the Pits :

Mercedes AMG Petronas completing a Pit Stop in FP1 ( Video Link ) :

Practice Starts after FP1 ( Video Link ) :

Drivers returning to the Pit Lane after FP1 ( Video Link ) :

George Russell was the quickest in FP1, ahead of Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri. Lewis Hamilton was P9 while Dino Beganovic, who got the nod to drive in FP1 instead of Charles Leclerc, was P18.

Lunch is served :

Post Lunch, Ferrari's expert host, Oliver York, a former F4 Champion, was kind enough to escort a group downstairs to the paddock for a quick tour of the garage.

Stills from the Paddock :

Making memories in the Ferrari Garage :

Shortly after, it was time for Free Practice 2.

Stills from FP2 :

Max Verstappen Pit Stop during FP2 ( Video Link ) :

Drivers practising grid starts at the end of the FP2 :

Video Link :

Lando Norris was the quickest in FP2 from Oscar Piastri & Max Verstappen. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were P5 and P10 for Ferrari, respectively.

The on-track activities came to an end and I decided to go downstairs to the Paddock to get some autographs and selfies.

Spending some time in the Paddock :

As the drivers came out of the Drivers' meeting on Friday evening, we got to meet several drivers!

Double World Champion, Fernando Alonso, Aramco Aston Martin F1 Team :

Franco Colapinto, BWT Alpine F1 Team :

Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team :

Yuki Tsunoda, Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 Team :

Dino Beganovic, Ferrari Academy Driver :

Ollie Bearman, Moneygram Haas F1 Team :

It's goodbye from the circuit :

I have published a video about the Friday Experience on my YouTube Channel!

Video Link :

A wonderful Friday at the 2025 F1 Austrian GP. A Big Thank you to the hosts at the Ferrari F1 Club and the members of the Scuderia Ferrari F1 team for their hospitality! 

The Saturday and Sunday Experiences follow shortly!