Start your engines....

...and fasten your seat belts as today The Italian and I slowly made our way to the Formula 1 Airtel Indian Grand Prix held just outside of the Delhi CBD. Seems a little ironic to arrive slowly to a Grand Prix...Delhi traffic well and truly lived up to its reputation of sheer chaos. 

The Buddh International Circuit, part of the Jaypee Sports City, the location for this high octane petrol sniffing opportunity, is a sight to behold. Acres beyond acres of vacant dusty land, a few high rise awaiting their new owners and then boom, an international standard race track appears like a mirage in the desert.  Quite extraordinary. 

The Italian was in his absolute element.  Honestly he was jumping out of skin with anticipation.  He was eagerly watching every move the taxi driver made on the way to the track to ensure not a single wrong turn was made. Me on the other hand was feeling sickie thanks to my Indian cold and a little apprehensive about watching, actually rephrase that, attempting to watch carbon fibre cocoons zoom past at approximately 330km/hour.  On reflection the afternoon was somewhat hilarious really.  

We had amazing seats in the main grandstand right in front of the starting podium, four rows from the front. The stand was full of F1 enthusiasts wearing their team colours and capturing every moment on their phones.  The countdown to the start is somewhat of a blur, there was so much happening from the first high-pitched roar...to the cherry red pit girls, to the Bollywood celebrity doing his "thang" on the straight, to the cars doing their warm up lap and lining up on the grid.  Onto national anthem time, media galore, officials and mechanics galore, sponsors, the big names of F1 racing, the peeps in "the paddock"...honestly it was sensory overload for the F1 bunny Emma B.

And then the moment we've all been waiting for...the most unexpectedly loud roar of F1 cars starting and their engines being revved all at once in preparation for the start.  I think my mouth was a gasp with shock and belief.  The vibration could be felt through every part of my body. It was at this point I fully understood why people are addicted to F1 racing and everything that goes with it. However the full force of the noise wasn't felt until start time.  I was stunned and left with not just my ear plugs in my ears but fingers as well to block the noise.  

60 laps later, mishaps, engine failure etc etc and upteen unsuccessful photo attempts to capture a race leading Mark Webber passing us each 1minute, 30 odd seconds... the German superstar Vettel won not only the race but the Championship for 2013.  He celebrated in F1, petrol head style...with a few burnouts/doughnuts right in front of our seats. The noise, smoke and smell of burning rubber was enough to have everyone in the grandstand up standing and cheering their hearts out for this spectacle.  Who would have thought burnouts/doughnuts were now deemed "classy" and worth approx 21,000 pounds...the fine which Red Bull was required to pay as a consequence of Vettel's actions. 

Namaste x