[drkakkilaya]

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.

[sudev]

Just one quick point - do the pics have FIA copywrite????
;-0

Lovely pictures and observations.

[drkakkilaya]

Originally Posted by sudev

Just one quick point - do the pics have FIA copywrite????
;-0

Lovely pictures and observations.

I ll ve no commercial rights for them.

[rjstyles69]

harish those are some brilliant pictures to oodle at pal. Lovely captures and yeah thanks for sharing them, I think yours would be the 1st set of pictures here with a pro touch from the Indian GP. Another gentleman by name kpzen has been spending weeks together the track and is yet to come back with the F1 pics.

Just threw in 5 stars man, great work.

[C300]

Harish, lovely pictures. Loved each one of them.
Noob question - given the speed of the cars, any special technique you used to lock the camera focus? I assume its very difficult to lock to focus on these fast moving F1 cars, especially if your camera is perpendicular to the car.

[kvish]

Great pics. Thanks for sharing!
The TV coverage does not really give the real picture of the gradient changes.

[Ardy]

Fantastic pictures, Dr Harish.

You seem to be seated in the same stand as me and my friends. We were on C Block of Star Stand East 2 on the Row L.

Qn: What lens were you using?

Cheers,

[Ace F355]

Fantastic pics, proper wallpaper material for any F1 fan. If you have more (I am sure you do!), please keep them coming. Slight higher resolution pics will be greatly appreciated.

Greetings from another F1 connoisseur.

[zeemmee]

Harish, Excellent Write- up & pics, I was wondering when some one here would post about Delhi Gp.Or are there more write ups with pics? which I missed. Can you please throw some more light on " First noise of F1 in India rang in Hydrabad few years back ".

[ukderebail]

Nice coverage of the Formula I at BIC, Noida. Looking forward for more pictures and your overall experience of the event. Kudos for being first off the block

[jalsa777]

These are really good pictures.

Even my friend was carrying an SLR with a big lens. And we were in the same dilema as you were. We decided to risk it and it payed off.

There was a rule regarding flag poles bring not allowed. I left mine back home :(
There were guys with poles there and it was allowed. I missed the opportunity to wave my Ferrari flag.

I feel the entry restrictions should be looked into.
Not allowing bags on a full day event is pure stupidity.

[kpzen]

Fantastic pics, Harish.

MS magic was clearly felt during the driver's parade.
Vettel came, audience started hooting, whistling and cheering.
Same happened with Webber, Hamilton and Alonso.

Then came Schumi, oh boi.!! the crowd literally exploded. He represents Mercedes now, but there were more Ferrari flags & red stuff out there when he waved out. He has actually made RED, the official color of motorsports.

If you don't mind, i shall post some pics here.

Cheers

[RGK]

Doctor sir, Excellent pictorial representation of F1 with good write up. I think you have a great SLR/lens.

[devil_angel]

@drkakkilaya
Brilliant photography and editing skills. Nicely narrated too, I really missed being at Buddh this year, really regretting it now. Hope to make it next year.

[Lalvaz]

Excellent pics doc, and a very nice writing style. Love the way you've captured the vintage cars.