Italian GP 2011

damianmcr

Im booking tickets for this at the weekend.

Im thinking either 6b or 8a. 6c is a good bit more expensive but is it worth it?

Thanks

Map btw
http://www.monzanet.it/en/tickets/8

G-Money

damianmcr wrote: »

Im booking tickets for this at the weekend.

Im thinking either 6b or 8a. 6c is a good bit more expensive but is it worth it?

Thanks

Map btw
http://www.monzanet.it/en/tickets/8

I was sitting on 8b in 2009. The view was good but I ended up 1 row from the very back, and again surprisingly this year even though I was in a different stand.

One thing to be aware of is that you will probably have a lot of walking to do on race day. We took the free train from Milan to the Lesmo corners and it still took us about 1hr and 30 minutes to get from the station to our seats. It probably didn't help that the signs were very bad and we basically ended up on the inside of the circuit, walking all the way down the back, underneath the track, and back down the outside of the circuit to get to stand 8b.

There is another Monza thread on here, I think I posted pictures of my seats from 2009 if you want to take a look, as well as a video of the start.

damianmcr

Ill have a look for it now.

Did you do the pit walk on Thursday?

Btw we are staying in Bresso.

G-Money

damianmcr wrote: »

Ill have a look for it now.

Did you do the pit walk on Thursday?

Btw we are staying in Bresso.

I went to Monza in 2009 and 2010 and I didn't do the pitwalk either time. The first year we didn't arrive until Friday morning so missed the pitwalk. This year I went to the race by myself and arrived on Wednesday night but I gave the pitwalk a miss on Thursday.

I did the pitwalk at Spa and it was grand, but the only issue is that they don't have the free shuttles on to the track at Monza on the Thursday so you're depending solely on public transport, walking or whatever. Also the pitwalk in Spa was grand but there was a s***load of waiting around until they let us into the circuit. I think it was about 3 or 4pm before they let us is. Then the drivers came out at different times. I was waiting outside McLaren and Jenson and Lewis didn't come out until about 5.45pm.

It was worth the wait as Lewis Hamilton signed my cap but there really was a load of waiting around. For that reason I didn't bother doing the pitwalk at Monza, also with the hassle of trying to get to the track. At Spa, I was staying a short walk from the circuit so it was easy.

At Monza last year I stayed in Bergamo which is about 45 mins from Monza on the train. It was a nice change as it was a smaller town and the airport is very close to the centre of town, about a 10 minute spin on the bus. I did this as I felt it would be easier to get a train back after race day and it was. In 2009, the train back to Milan was packed and it was roasting hot but this time I was able to get a seat and sit and relax.

I stayed a bit too long though in Bergamo, arriving on Wednesday night and not coming back until Monday night. Ryanair had a flight back at 10pm on Sunday night and I wasn't sure if I'd definitely make it so I took the 8pm flight on the Monday, but it meant sitting around for about 10 hours in the airport in Bergamo which did my head in. Never again. I left Monza as soon as the race was over (didn't want to see Alonso celebrating) and I was back into Bergamo a few minutes after 5pm so I could easily have made the flight that night.

I just checked Ryanair yesterday and they have flights back about 8pm on race day so all being well, I would be able to make it back in time. However I don't know if I'm going to Monza this year. I'm more tempted to go to Spa again and Aer Lingus currently have a very cheap return flight to Brussells.

damianmcr

Do you know a good website preferably in English for train timetables in Milan.

I think I we are sacking the pitwalk since we might not be there on time but I would love to meet some of the drivers.

I read about your tour around the McLaren garages. Sounds brilliant.

Ex McLaren fan due to Hakkinen and Raikonnen but I have went over to the darkside since Raikonnen moved and have never went back:eek:

Sorry one more question. Should I book from F1.com or Monzanet. I like the fact that with Monzanet they send the tickets out instead of having to collect them. Where did I read about a special lanyard for booking early?

G-Money

damianmcr wrote: »

Do you know a good website preferably in English for train timetables in Milan.

I think I we are sacking the pitwalk since we might not be there on time but I would love to meet some of the drivers.

I read about your tour around the McLaren garages. Sounds brilliant.

Ex McLaren fan due to Hakkinen and Raikonnen but I have went over to the darkside since Raikonnen moved and have never went back:eek:

Sorry one more question. Should I book from F1.com or Monzanet. I like the fact that with Monzanet they send the tickets out instead of having to collect them. Where did I read about a special lanyard for booking early?

TrenItalia have an English version of their website - http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=ad1ce14114bc9110VgnVCM10000080a3e90aRCRD

That should help you work out which trains to get.


I booked my tickets direct from Monzanet myself. The first year I had some difficulty with it and had to get my friend to use his card. I ran into issues again last year trying to book with my Visa card but after several attempts it went through.

As for the lanyard, I think you only get that from Formula1.com but the downside being that you have to pick up your tickets from a booth somewhere when you get there. I believe it's somewhere at the track but I don't know if you can just go to any of the ticket collection points or if you have to go to a specific one, which could be a f*****r if it's far from where you want to sit/stand.

Monzanet will send the tickets out directly sometime next summer. I think they usually arrive sometime in July. If I was going again, I'd book through Monzanet. They are cheaper than Formula1.com as well!

Also on the Friday at Monza, you can sit anywhere, they don't have reserved seats. However on Saturday and Sunday, it is reserved seating in the stands.

damianmcr

Ive just booked Bergamo for 5 nights. Hotel is right beside the train station.

Flying Dublin to Bergamo on Thursday night and back Tuesday night. Its a pity the flight out isnt earlier but ah well.

Booked tickets in 6b of Monzanet.

Im sure I will be asking lots more questions the closer it comes.

One more question. That McLaren tour you got on the Friday. If I join up to their premium membership could I also get that you think?

G-Money

damianmcr wrote: »

Ive just booked Bergamo for 5 nights. Hotel is right beside the train station.

Flying Dublin to Bergamo on Thursday night and back Tuesday night. Its a pity the flight out isnt earlier but ah well.

Booked tickets in 6b of Monzanet.

Im sure I will be asking lots more questions the closer it comes.

One more question. That McLaren tour you got on the Friday. If I join up to their premium membership could I also get that you think?

Well done. Bergamo is a nice spot. It's a lot smaller than Milan but less hectic, I liked it.

I got on the McLaren tour as I'm part of their member programme. I don't think it's guaranteed that you'd get on the pit-tour, but it's worth taking a chance anyway if you join. For example I applied for their pit-tour at Spa but they changed it and had a tour and a meet the drivers thing too so the number of people who applied was a lot greater. And unfortunately I didn't get on it.

I applied for the Monza one and was lucky enough to get onto it. I think they might have had more capacity to bring people on it, I'm not sure everyone showed up. As for Korea, reading between the lines it was obvious they had quite a few free places as they were sending out updates in the few days before the race saying they still had slots available.

I don't remember what the premium membership costs but it won't break the bank and you get the chance to apply for other things that they have throughout the year. The pit-tour was fantastic. They took us inside the Brand Centre too and it was amazing just walking around the paddock seeing drivers and team principles everywhere.

damianmcr

I joined up today;)

Cant wait, would love a tour of an F1 garage.