16th March 2008 - The day I watched Formula One live at a circuit for the first time. I've been an ardent fan of F1 since early 2000 with Ferrari being my favourite team and Michael Schumacher my hero. I seldom ever miss a race that's shown on tv. Pity I never got to see Michael racing in real life. Now that Schumi (or "tar-shu-ma-ke" like the way the Chinese say it) has retired, I don't follow the F1 as closely anymore.
There have been rumours of Bernie Ecclestone not wanting to renew the contract with Melbourne when it expires in 2010 unless we hold a night race. So while it's still in Albert Park, Melbourne I thought I'd make the most of it and experience race day. We caught a train from Geelong and took a tram from Spencer St station right to St Kilda Gate 2. We arrived at 1pm fully decked in our Ferrari gear and bought the general admission ticket for $99 per person. It was sweltering hot, 39 degrees C was the forecast. It felt much hotter than that on track. We slathered sunscreen on our exposed skin. The race didn't start till 3:30pm so we wandered around the park. They had air shows, V8 racing and drivers parade before the race started.
Anyway 3:30pm finally came and we got to see a handful of cars crashing out in front of us on the first lap. How interesting! The roaring sounds of the F1 cars were just exhilarating. I bought a pair of ear plugs to drown out some of the sound. Lewis Hamilton, driver for McLaren Mercedes was in a class of his own and won the race. Ferrari with Kimi and Massa had a rather rough time. They both didn't finish the race but Kimi managed to score 1 point by coming in 8th. As you can imagine, only a total of 7 cars finished the entire race.
Surprise, surprise, we didn't stay to the end. We left after about 20 laps as we couldn't stand the heat and dust, plus we knew that Ferrari wasn't going to get a good finish so it was home time for us. We were so dehydrated and flustered that we had to stop at Gloria Jeans to cool down. The mango chiller I had was such a welcome! When I got home, my face, legs and arms were covered in so much dust and soot. I had to shampoo my hair twice and scrub my skin clean. I reckon I won't go to the circuit to watch another race unless the weather is nice and cool. I don't think Sepang and Bahrain would be very welcoming either in the searing heat. I much prefer the nice cool comfort and big screen of our own home. Plus you get to see the whole track on tv and not just one particular section.
My F1 receipt and ticket
Me in the sun
Ferrari trying to catch up to Red Bull 
The crowd
View of the grandstand and happy snappers/filmers 
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