Motorsport memory: 2013 British GP

First off, a confession: the 2013 British Grand Prix was my first experience of live motorsport. I can feel my editor’s inevitable crushing disappointment as I write this (I think I can cope! – ed), but a lack of interest from my friends and family, cash and wheels meant there wasn’t a lot I could do about it until getting my first proper job after leaving university (and I still had to get there by public transport). So, after saving up for a seat in the Becketts grandstand, making it through a journey comprising two tubes, a train and an eye-wateringly-expensive bus, I arrived at Silverstone. In a way, the journey is continuing – since that joyful weekend I have been lucky enough to cover many excellent events around the UK and the world. But back on that first weekend at Silverstone (a track I don’t think I’ll ever truly love, having seen its flatness and lack of geographic atmosphere), it was all new.

I spent Friday making my way around the track during the two Formula 1 free practice sessions and the warm-up acts of the support series. I tried to sit in as many different grandstands as possible (an excellent addition to a weekend ticket) and see the cars in action on a wet-to-dry day.

Saturday was a scorcher. Having decided during FP3 that the grandstand overlooking Village would be the best place to see the cars attacking during qualifying, I settled down to burn (unknowingly in the breeze) and witness Lewis Hamilton take his second pole in front of his home crowd. The spot was excellent, with the difference in the drivers attacking and backing off on approach to the right-hander accentuated by explosive gearshifts and that V8 howl.

Sunday brought a third different element into play – wind, which the Becketts grandstand was perfectly placed to catch. On one of the hottest days of the year, I shivered in a jacket while Felipe Massa, Hamilton and others had tyres suddenly let go from under them. To make matters worse, a suncream-in-eye situation caused a repeat of my figurative problems from two days earlier.

And so it must have looked like I took Sebastian Vettel’s gearbox-induced retirement well and truly to heart (the glee of many fans at this development stood out above the noise), was deeply upset by the tyre failures and moved beyond belief by Nico Rosberg’s victory.

But it was undoubtedly a magnificent weekend, made all the better knowing I was surrounded by fellow fans, full of passion for motorsport.