Indian GP through my eyes

Indian GP I ve been following formula 1 now for 14 years. The only reason for following it is because of one man who did magic on track. Pulled out lap times other drivers at times could only think of , and that man is Michael Schumacher. First noise of F1 in India rang in Hydrabad few years back. Then it ran around Bangalore , Mumbai etc. Finally in Noida. That was a dream come true. Wait for ticket was quite long . If I am not mistaken 2 months after they announced , tickets went on sale. Did not waste much time and booked two tickets for myself and my cousin. By now I had enough idea about the location where lot of overtakings would take place. For me it was not just about the overtakings but also I needed right light for photography. I would want the light to be coming from the sides and did not want light hitting the lens directly. And hence star stand two at East zone was my first choice considering the light and overtakings. Went ahead and got the tickets booked. There was a lot of confusion regarding wheather camera would be allowed into the circuit or not. Called the help line of Jaypee and the promptly told no cameras will be allowed. What was confusing was at one end of spectrum they say digital still cameras are not allowed. Also they said photography is allowed as long as the copyright is with the FIA. Since I missed booking a parking permit I could not take a car and so I would be left with no place to keep the camera if they did not allow the camera. With all the dilemma I decided to carry the camera to Delhi atleast and then decide from there. Had booked BIC bus tickets from Gurgaon . There were buses to each zone ( north , west , east , south ) . I guess as less people were starting from this area people going to all the zones were put into one bus. Traffic was quite smooth on the way though the driver was taking his own sweet time. First practice had already started when we arrived at the circuit . Buddh international circuit is 5.141 kms in length. Now theres a road running parallel to the circuit which has 29 gates which opens into the stands. On these roads were shuttle buses which keep circulating picking and dropping people where they want. A feature I really appreciated. Each zone having a separate parking areas for cars and buses. I was at star stand two East zone. This is at the end of the back straight , which gradually elevates and at the peak of it is where we sat , giving a panoramic view of the circuit. Surprisingly a pleasant weather but dust was very revolting. Every step people take a ton of dust raised. This is something the management will have to look into. I had sketched a portrait of Michael Schumacher and dreamed of getting his autograph over it. I had guessed public would have an access to autograph session but in the end was extremely disappointed to know that only ones with a paddock pass would ve access to drivers for autographs . as if this were not enough , to find out this simple fact we took a walk around the circuit looking for help desk. And the Help desk was the only useless thing Jaypee group had ever set up. Not one of the individuals had a clue about the paddock pass. Forget that ,they did not even know where the team merchandise were being sold. One man was arrogant enough to say that he can only give lip service and nothing more. Felt like wacking him , decided to ignore him. It was not just him not one help desk were able to give basic information about anything. That kept aside , everything else was 9 out of 10. Best part came when Drivers came out for parade , a I got see the genius I has been following for years now. Watching the race was spectacular . the earth shattering noise of the engines , locking the wheels and leaving a trail of smoke, Michael s racing line, Massa and Hamilton duel , force india etc. it was fantastic. Towards the end of the race sun was getting low and giving a yellowish hue to the circuit which looked beautiful. Without dragging it too much I ll share the pictures which im sure you ll enjoy. Attached Thumbnails

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