[Omkar]

It was around the mid-season break of last year when most of the fans knew that things would get interesting towards the end (and they did!). But it was around this time that my plan for attending the F1 2025 season started to brew. The last chance we had to attend an F1 GP in India ended in 2013. In fact that year, my college had arranged for a trip to the 2013 Formula One Grand Prix at Buddh International Circuit, but unfortunately, I couldn’t make it. The closest thing that we got to a Formula race in India was the Formula E race that was held in Hyderabad in 2023 (Report). Coming back to 2024, decided to take the leap and attend a Formula 1 Grand Prix race in 2025.



Thankfully, a friend of mine from the gym was just as excited as I was to attend and as if the stars had aligned, he had family members in Bahrain. It was decided then that we’d be attending the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix 2025! Booked the grandstand tickets and the flight tickets and we were set. Sometime in March applied for an e-visa which got approved the next day.

I’ve just realized that in so many years of being a member of the forum, I’ve never written a travelogue. I usually like to disconnect entirely on trips and barely even check my phone. This is my first attempt at a full-fledged travelogue! So, please excuse me if some of the details are missing.

Our onward flight was Oman Air with a stopover at Muscat. The flight experience was very average, very much like a domestic Indigo flight. Had the window seat, so clicked some pictures before landing:


Have been seeing a lot of travel reels for Oman recently on Instagram. Landed in Muscat and then after a couple of hours got on the flight to Bahrain and landed around 9 PM in Bahrain. Overall process of immigration in India and Bahrain was pretty smooth since the visit was for F1:


In terms of accommodation in Bahrain, we booked a hotel which was quite affordable. The circuit also had free transportation shuttles from selected hotels spread across Bahrain. Anyone staying anywhere could reach the hotel pickup points and take these shuttles that would drop you directly to the circuit. There were also shuttles from the airport to the hotels directly. The frequency of the shuttles was ~45 minutes:


My friend’s cousin who was in Bahrain was generous enough to lend us his car for pickup and drop. So, after a good night’s rest on Thursday, we set off for the circuit on Friday. We reached the circuit and we were told that we’d have to get a car pass if we wanted to go into the parking area near the circuit:


The car passes would be given at this massive building called Exhibition World Bahrain (EWB). As the name suggests, this is more like a convention centre. If you think this building is big, there are a total of 10 exhibition halls in EWB spanning across an area of 95,000 square metres:


It was lit up beautifully at night:


The main entrance to EWB:


Some merchandise on display:


Inside, there were different counters. Unfortunately, this year they have started a system where if you have 3 F1 tickets, you’re allowed a free car pass. Otherwise, you had to apply for a car pass separately which we hadn’t. So, for people without a car pass, there were 2 options –

1. You get dropped off at Rashid Equestrian & Horseracing Club, which is about 10 km from the circuit and they have shuttles from there to the circuit. The frequency of shuttles was higher from this point.
2. You get dropped off at EWB and take a shuttle from there to the circuit. The frequency of shuttles was lower.

Thankfully, there was one shuttle at EWB when we reached:


People from around the world crammed in a small bus (Very much Ambani wedding vibes ):


We were dropped off at the parking lot and they had a pedestrian walkover bridge to get to the circuit:


I personally like this tagline:


This was the entry gate. The security didn’t allow any outside food or single-use plastic water bottles:


Had to scan your ticket QR code at the turnstile:


Once past the turnstile, there was a big open area with canopies and seating area:


This was the main stage area where all the activities and the end-of-the-day entertainment events were happening:


The drivers and team principals were coming on the stage to say a quick hello to the fans. This was the schedule:


Things started off with the Red Bull junior team – The Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula One Team:


Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson chatting a bit about the heat and racing conditions:


Next up was the Williams Racing team with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon. Alex was pleasantly surprised to see some Thai fans in the front row:


They were followed by the crowd favourites, the McLaren team:


Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are clearly the favourites this year:


There was a quick quiz which all the teams had to participate in. It was quite fun:



The Kick Sauber F1 team and the Aston Martin F1 team were on the stage together next:



Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto were good in their game of guessing which track from the picture of the kerb:


Fernando Alonso bringing in the SWAG alongside Lance Stroll:


Very important announcement on the screen. The temperatures were high and the dry heat was killer during the day. The stage area was not covered, so caps were a lifesaver along with sunscreen and lots of water:


On Saturday, the Red Bull team was clubbed with the Haas team:


Yuki and Max were playing around with the 360-degree action camera and sharing some laughs with Esteban and Oliver Bearman. Oliver was there but got cut off in the picture. Sorry, it was very bright and I could barely see what I was clicking:


Some more fun with the quiz:


The crowd went crazy when Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc walked in. They even shared a very funny story where they both were playing online chess and both ended up cheating using an online bot:


Fun and games:


Pierre Gasly attracts a lot of fans from his country and so does Jack Doohan:


Kimi Antonelli was wearing that jacket to keep himself cool while George Russel was pretty cool just being himself:


They had a fun quiz where they had to guess which driver’s faces had been morphed into one face:


A lot of Mercedes fans were in the crowd:



This is the area from which all the stage activities like the images, lights, music, etc. were being controlled:

[Omkar]

After some research, I found that 2 grandstands provided the best view of on-track action.

1. University stand / Turn 1 stand – You get to see the cars coming from the main straight DRS, fight it into the braking zone and through turns 1, 2 & 3 and then go onto another DRS straight. This is where a lot of overtaking happens.

2. The Batelco Grandstand – You get to see a lot of the track from this grandstand. All the way to the corner from turn 4 downhill to turn 8 leading to turns 9 and 10. Then you have the back straight which is a short DRS at the end of which you have the uphill section.

I was considering one of these stands, but then my friend suggested that since it’s our first grand prix, it's best to take the main grandstand. We can see the pre-race buildup and also the post-race podium celebration along with all the other activities. That made a lot of sense and we finalized the main grandstand. The next part was choosing the section and the higher section was filling up fast, so we decided to choose the section closer to the track (lower E 1). This is pretty close to the track and all the action. The higher seats provide a slightly better view because the fence isn’t in the way, so better for photography.

The E1 section that we chose was also where the race start would happen:


This was the entrance to the main grandstand:


View from the higher section E 5 / E 6:


The seats were pretty empty on Friday practice:


Another advantage of the main grandstand is that you can see into the pits:


The Haas team:


We were seated across the Alpine team and had a very good view of their pits:


Aston Martin pits were a bit to the right:


Next to them was the Mercedes garage:


Followed by Red Bull:


Then Ferrari:


And the 2024 Constructor’s Champions – McLaren:


The first time I saw the F1 cars coming out of the pit lane and start doing their practice laps, it was nothing like I’d expected. It was way better! I’m not exaggerating, but that feeling was surreal for me. You see these cars on the TV, but watching them in person, the sense of scale is something that you don’t expect. This was the moment that I felt that it was all worth it.

FP1 saw a lot of rookies doing the testing. Ayumu Iwasa was driving Max Verstappen’s Red Bull:


Frederik Vesti drove George Russell’s car:


Dino Beganovic in Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari:


Ryo Hirakawa in Oliver Bearman’s Haas:


Felipe Drugovich drove Fernando Alonso’s car. Another rookie driver who took part in FP1 was Luke Browning in Carlos Sainz’s Williams:


Gabriel Bortoleto in his Kick Sauber:


Jack Doohan in the Alpine:


One of the best things about Free Practice sessions is the practice starts that drivers do at the end:

https://youtu.be/SHWt_z22CSQ

FP1 was followed by qualifying sessions for Formula 3 and Formula 2. Haven’t followed the F3 and F2 seasons much, so I was very much lost here. The F2 cars lined up ahead of the F1 car pits:


The F2 cars were properly loud and it was fun watching them as well:


The only driver that I knew was Kush Maini who was I believe in this car:


Some photographs of the F2 cars:










There was also the Formula 3 Sprint Race on Saturday. The race saw a lot of action moments like this three cars abreast on the main straight:








With the sun setting, the floodlights were switched on:



And it was time for Free Practice 2. This was the more important practice session as the qualifying and the race would be around the same time. Here’s Yuki Tsunoda in the Red Bull:


Alex Albon (#23) doing a practice start at the end of FP2:


Isack Hadjar in his #6 Racing Bulls Honda:


Oliver Bearman in his #87 Haas:


Kimi Antonelli in the #12 Mercedes:


Lando Norris in the #4 McLaren:


The 2 Alpines - Gasly in the front and Doohan behind him:


Oscar Piastri, George Russel and Max Verstappen:


Charles Leclerc in his #16 Ferrari:


Scenes from the Qualifying on Saturday:




Qualifying highlights: https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=acaFJ9g_Teg

[Omkar]

Post the feature races of F3 and F2, the track was cleaned:


There were blowers towards the edges to clear off the marbles:


Here’s the Aston Martin Vantage safety car:


That’s the Infiniti Q50 Race Control car:


The Aston Martin DBX707 medical car:


And the stage was set for the Sunday race! Oscar Piastri was on pole, followed by Charles Leclerc who got promoted to #2 after George Russell’s penalty. Pierre Gasly in #4 followed by Kimi Antonelli who was also demoted to #5 after the penalty. The atmosphere in the stands was unlike anything I’ve seen. So much excitement among people and a pure love for racing. The guy that you see in the bottom with the Ferrari jersey had come with his family (wife and 2 daughters) from Venezuela and was a die-hard Ferrari fan:


The cars were on the grid along with the mechanics and all the celebrities and media:


One of the reasons to chose these seats was the pre-race buildup, and it was worth it:




Since this was the main event, the grandstand was packed!


Everyone was just taking it all in. With the cars and the celebs and the drivers, all of a sudden we saw this massive aeroplane flying above us! It was pretty close to the grandstand huge! Gulf Air was one of the sponsors of the Bahrain GP and they were celebrating their 75th anniversary this year. Hence they had this flypast of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner:


Everyone was preparing for the National Anthem:


Bernd Mayländer or Bert who’s the official driver of the Safety car chatting up with a former Red Bull driver in a black T-shirt. Can you guess who is he talking to?


Here’s another hint - He's Australian:


The grey-haired gentleman in a blue blazer shaking hands with someone is Luca Cordero di Montezemolo who is a former chairperson of Ferrari. Post the Bahrain GP, he made a statement saying, “This is a team that at certain times lacks a leader, lacks leadership in the broader sense,” - Source


Drivers on the podium for the National Anthem:


Karun Chandok and Naomi Schiff along with one more presenter for Sky F1:


Drivers dispersing after National Anthem to get into their cars:


Fréd Vasseur was chatting with all the team principals:


We were seated closest to George Russell:


Oscar Piastri was in the car and his crew making sure the car was perfect:


Charles Leclerc and his crew:


Here’s a look at the race start from the Main Grandstand:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKYH08SzSUs

There was a screen above the pit area for the crowd. The display was pretty clear:


The race was pretty exciting. Didn’t click a lot of pictures as I was focused on just enjoying the experience. Also, the cars were VERY fast (duh!), so it was difficult to capture them in a single frame:



The podium celebration happens near the finish line (behind the #20 grid position). It’s towards the far end of the Main Grandstand. We’d inquired on the previous day about the gate that opens to the track when the race is over. So with about 5 laps to go, we decided to go towards the podium and people were already lining up. Unfortunately, there was no screen that we could see from here to follow the race. So, we resorted to watching the last few laps on my phone (F1 TV app). Once the gates opened, everyone rushed towards the podium:


Oscar clinched the victory with a flawless drive. Also, I believe that makes him the first Australian driver to win the Bahrain GP:


The post-race fireworks. My camera was still set to high shutter speed, so pretty bad pics of the fireworks:



The 2025 Bahrain Grand Prix had a weekend attendance of 105,000 which is the largest so far:


All the dignitaries chatting while the drivers were in the cool-down room. From left to right - Khalid Hussain Taqi - Gulf Air Group Chairman, His Excellency Shaikh Abdulla Bin Isa Al Khalifa, His Highness Shaikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa and His Royal Highness Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa – The Crown Prince & Minister. Post-race, the Crown Prince invited all the drivers, team principals and their partners to his palace close to the circuit for an extravagant post-race party which has become a yearly tradition (source):


Lando Norris on the podium:


The podium finishers:


Here’s a look at the Race highlights: https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=bFXLP487kXo

[Omkar]

Let’s talk about some of the stuff other than the F1 race. The circuit is massive and all the way in the desert. Quite far from the main city area. There was plenty of parking near the circuit and everything was well managed. Here’s an overview of the circuit. Look closely and you’ll see some interesting stuff:

Image source

Here’s the venue guide. Given the vastness, I believe we only covered about 60% of the whole bunch of things that were happening – Bahrain International Circuit Event Guide.pdf

This was the main stage area where all the drivers came and said hello. Every evening there was a concert. On Friday it was R3hab, on Saturday it was Peggy Gou and on Sunday it was Axwell:


There was plenty of area to sit and relax on the beds, but during the day the temperatures were pretty high and people were just looking for some shade. The main grandstand was quite a relief during the day as the canopy on top provided good shade and there was always a cool breeze:


You would regularly see different types of entertainers around the main area:


In terms of handling the money matters, things were straightforward. The stores wouldn’t accept cash. You could use your credit card or debit card to pay directly. Or if you had some cash, you could opt for the BIC Pay card. There were multiple stalls where they would accept cash (all major currencies) and give you a card in which you could add money and spend it at the circuit. I had Bahraini Dinars, so opted for the BIC Pay card. They charged 500 fils (1000 fils make 1 Bahraini Dinar which is approximately 227 Indian Rupees) for the card:


Plenty of food and beverage options. As mentioned earlier, single-use plastic bottles were not allowed. Hence if you bought water from one of these stalls, they’d give you in a paper cup!


More food and dessert options:


Among the stalls, spotted our own Kailash Parbat as well:


On Friday, there was only one water refilling station on the left and one all the way on the right. There was a long queue to fill the water and the worst part is that out of the 4 taps in this station, only 1 was working. On Saturday, they fixed this and added many water refilling stations:


There were plenty of merchandise stores everywhere:


There was a separate tent for the Bahrain International Circuit merchandise:


You also had simulators, but the queue for this was always very long, so never got a chance:


A full-sized F1 show car:


One of the best ideas of the circuit. They had a couple of these sprinklers from which you could walk and be sprayed with cold water. With the temperatures soaring at about 34 degrees, these sprinklers were refreshing:


The Bahrain Ministry of the Interior which is responsible for law enforcement and public safety also had its stall showcasing some of its vehicles and technology:


For me, the highlight was this badass Ford F550 of the fire department. I’m 5’10” tall and my shoulders were still a bit lower than the bonnet!


There was also a Ferris wheel, but just like the simulators, the queue for this was super long:


There was a dome experience for people who’d opted for it. It was essentially a premium experience:


There was also a dedicated area called the Bahraini Village to showcase the culture and heritage along with Bahraini cuisine:


Various traditional activities such as dhow making, henna artistry, mat making, basket weaving, oyster net making, and pottery making were on display here. I don't know much about any of these so, here are some pictures:











Post 4 PM, the climate changed drastically and it was very pleasant. Took a quick nap here:


Did some car spotting in Bahrain as well. Plenty of these Toyota FJ Cruisers all around in Bahrain. I loved watching this car on the roads. It’s the perfect size, has the super cool neo-retro look and a lot of character:


Big American trucks are pretty common all over Bahrain:


While you have a lot of traditional big SUVs like the Ford Expedition and Nissan Patrol, the demand for Chinese cars is also on the rise. You’ll spot plenty of Chinese manufacturer cars like Jetour, GWM, BYD, GAC, Changan, etc:


This looks like the McLaren 540c:


This McLaren had an amazing dual-tone shade. This is the 720s?


The Aston Martin Vantage:


The Jetour T2 is surprisingly very common. It has 2WD and 4WD options and comes with a 1.5-litre and a 2.0-litre petrol engine:


Always good to see a 3-door Jeep Wrangler:

Closing Thoughts

About the circuit

• Having done a lot of laps in F1 games through the years, I like the track. It's technical and very enjoyable.

• If I’m not wrong, I think this is the most affordable F1 GP on the calendar. Given that it’s a proper track and not a street circuit it's worth the trip.

• There was an F1 village in the main city area to let people know about the race over the weekend. They had simulators and other F1 games free for everyone. If you’re planning to stay back after the race weekend for sightseeing, I’d suggest you come early instead, do some sightseeing, enjoy the city and then attend the race.

• The pit lane walk for grandstand ticket holders was scheduled for Thursday. Unfortunately, we didn’t know about this, and we landed on Thursday night and missed it. Something to remember next time around.

• They’ve been hosting the F1 race since 2004 and they know how to handle the crowd. There was a lot of stuff to do apart from just watching the race, so if you’re visiting with your family, there’s always something to do for everyone.

• Another advantage of the Bahrain GP is that it’s not just F1. You have the Porsche Carrera Cup, Formula 3 and Formula 2 as well. There’s always some action on the track!

• Locals say that the crowd and popularity have shot up since last year. Till 2023, the locals used to get tickets easily last minute as well. Most of the locals come only for the race and the post-race entertainment.

• There was no restriction on bringing your camera gear to the grandstand. I saw people with massive lenses in our grandstand.

• The dry heat is a killer during the day, so make sure you have your cap or umbrella along with a refillable water bottle (non-glass). Also, carry some electrolytes as well. Sunscreen is compulsory. If your seats are close to the track, and have some issues with loud noises, best to carry earplugs.

• Be prepared to walk a lot! You'll feel it a lot more due to the heat. Get the comfiest pair of shoes.

• The commentary in the grandstand was in Arabic which was a bummer. While doing some research for this report, I found that there was live commentary happening on FM radio. So, a proper face-palm moment. Another option is that you can stream on your F1 TV app if you have enough data.

• Shuttles are readily available from select hotels. Even if you don’t stay at one of the hotels on the list, it’s okay. You can go to a more affordable hotel close by and take the shuttle from the hotel on the list.

• Avoid taxis. Given the distance and the crowd during F1, the cab drivers will charge you 2-2.5x the usual fare.

About the Race

Image source

• Bahrain is a circuit that has always produced some very exciting races and this year’s race was also quite exciting. Especially compared to the Japanese GP we had a week before. There was a lot of overtaking and multiple tyre strategies which kept things interesting.

• Oscar Piastri controlled the pace throughout and drove flawlessly taking full advantage of clean air.

• Have to give it to George Russell for keeping Lando Norris at bay, especially towards the end.

• Ferraris had good pace, but clearly, the others were faster. Lewis said that he doesn't fully understand the car yet, but a great drive for him after starting from P9.

• Kimi Antonelli was brilliant in some areas. He has shown maturity in driving that Mercedes.

• Sad day for Red Bull. I was rooting for Max to make some moves and maybe salvage a 4th place, given the bad qualifying. But things went from bad to worse during the race. Good to see Yuki making it to the points though.

About Bahrain

• The Kingdom of Bahrain is an island country with Manama as its capital city.

• You’ll find all the major hotels and offices here. The airport is closer to Manama.

• The circuit is in Sakhir which is far away from Manama. There’s not much around the circuit. The major eating joints and shopping malls are in and around Manama.

• The country has a lot of immigrants. In fact, the majority of the population in this country is made up of non-Bahrainis. You will see a lot of Indians and in most places, people will understand Hindi as well. I even saw a couple of 'Pure Veg' Indian restaurants.

• The hotel in which we were staying belonged to the Ramee group which is an Indian group. So, the breakfast buffet had all the usual stuff that you see in Indian hotels.

• If you're a meat eater, you'll love the variety of food. And it's pretty affordable as well.

• In general, the quality of life is good. There's discipline on the road and in general among the residents as well.

• Everyone prefers cars over bikes unless you're an enthusiast. During the entire trip, I saw only 3 bikes - a Honda Goldwing, a Suzuki GSX 1000R and a big Kawasaki bike fly past us. Other than these, there were a few Hero bikes that I saw being used by delivery people within the city.

• Get this, the building in which my friend’s cousin stays has roughly 200 flats out of which 90 are occupied by Gujarati families (owned or rented)!

• More importantly, locals are happy with having people from different countries around.

• Formula One race is a big deal for Bahrain and it’s a big boost for the country’s economy. The whole country is lit up with F1 boards and banners and you’ll even see buildings that are promoting the race.

[Omkar]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line.

[Dippy]

What a wonderful writeup Omkar. Almost felt like I was right there on track soaking in all those experiences with you. And I can relate to everything you said. I went through the same emotions when I saw my first Grand Prix in Sepang in 2004. Nothing comes close to watching an F1 race live.

I also had an opportunity to watch the first Indian GP in 2011. Unfortunate that we lost the race and it never returned.

So Ive watched a V10 and a V8 race. Still waiting to watch my first race of the hybrid V6 era. Contemplating Abu Dhabi this year since my brother is based in Dubai.

Sharing a couple of pics from 2004 Sepang. Fun thing is I actually won this trip as first prize in the Autocar India F1 fantasy game 2003. Since it was an all expenses trip paid for two, my and my dad went together:

[Pancham]

Super write up and I was there too. I was in the Batelco stand.

For everyone planning to go next year - something to keep in mind and an added bonus for choosing Batelco stand (in addition to the amazing view of the track). To get to Batelco, you need to (or allowed to) go past the Paddock Club and the area where all drivers get down from their cars to enter the Paddock. Result? On Sunday, we got to see all major drivers (except Max and Hamilton) and had photographs clicked with them (also with Toto Wolff and cousin Carlos). Also, met Kush Maini who was walking towards Batelco and recognized us from Friday practice (Batelco is where the F2 teams set up their garage and his garage was write beneath the area where we were sitting - we kept cheering for him and he saw us). We met him thrice over the course of three days (once at the City Center mall too on Monday).

[lamborghini]

Brilliant write up and some amazing photos!!

I happened to be there for the race weekend as well, and there's no denying the grandstand had the best views for the buck!
Since I was part of a larger group, everyone had booked the dome lounge keeping in mind the various ages of members attending - while it wasn't as thrilling as the grand stand, it was still a surreal experience!

The Dome Lounge helped us beat the heat and stay indoors during a few sessions / in between sessions and they had a few entertainers and options to keep us busy - like the F1 Pit Simulator where we could experience changing the tyre, and the Racing Simulator. Food was by and large decent but limited veg options.

Interestingly I found the Porsche Carrera Cup to be louder than these V6 F1 cars (Day 2 end) and that too was a great race! I remember the V10 days as nearly going deaf!

This was also the first time they had music concerts on all three days - all 3 days were well organized and it was a vibe with R3hab, Peggy Gou, and Axwell performing.

Lastly - there is a brilliant go-karting track that is walking distance from the F1 Arena (behind the Bahraini village between the dome lounge and ferris wheel). Highly recommended! We went there on friday and saturday both - with the option of a 13hp and a 22hp kart (13hp first, then second round can do 22hp).

[GP3601]

Amazing travelogue and nice photos, did you capture using a DSLR?

Reminds me of the 2023 Singapore GP that I had the chance to go to with a friend which started as a casual conversation and we ended up being there for the race weekend.

Also, is there a better website to buy tickets to the Bahrain/Qatar/Abu Dhabi GPs apart from the official F1 tickets website? Because most of these UAE races don't get listed or I tend to miss them on the official F1 tickets website.


Some pictures to show our excited faces!

[Omkar]

Originally Posted by Pancham

Super write up and I was there too. I was in the Batelco stand.

For everyone planning to go next year - something to keep in mind and an added bonus for choosing Batelco stand (in addition to the amazing view of the track). To get to Batelco, you need to (or allowed to) go past the Paddock Club and the area where all drivers get down from their cars to enter the Paddock.

That's a great bonus! Must've been quite an experience seeing all the drivers up close. Was curious, where was the entry to the Balteco stand from? Didn't see it in the main area.

Originally Posted by lamborghini

Brilliant write up and some amazing photos!!

Since I was part of a larger group, everyone had booked the dome lounge keeping in mind the various ages of members attending - while it wasn't as thrilling as the grand stand, it was still a surreal experience!

Thank you! Was the dome access on invite basis?

Originally Posted by lamborghini

Interestingly I found the Porsche Carrera Cup to be louder than these V6 F1 cars (Day 2 end) and that too was a great race! I remember the V10 days as nearly going deaf!

I missed watching the Porsche race, but you're right! Those cars were loud. I could hear them outside the grandstand, in the main area!

Originally Posted by GP3601

Amazing travelogue and nice photos, did you capture using a DSLR?

I was using a Sony a5100 mirrorless camera with a f4, 18-105mm lens. The report has a mix of phone pics and camera pics though.

Originally Posted by GP3601

Also, is there a better website to buy tickets to the Bahrain/Qatar/Abu Dhabi GPs apart from the official F1 tickets website? Because most of these UAE races don't get listed or I tend to miss them on the official F1 tickets website.

Booked my tickets from the Bahrain International Circuit's official website - https://www.bahraingp.com/

[Pancham]

Originally Posted by Omkar

That's a great bonus! Must've been quite an experience seeing all the drivers up close. Was curious, where was the entry to the Balteco stand from? Didn't see it in the main area.

So for the Batelco stand you need to take the tunnel which goes under the track (end of main grandstand) and to the other side near the Paddock.

Originally Posted by Omkar

I missed watching the Porsche race, but you're right! Those cars were loud. I could hear them outside the grandstand, in the main area!

Funnily, I found the F3 cars way more loud than F1 and F2. I measured the sound on my Apple watch too and it was at least 10DB louder.

[klgiridhar]

Great write-up and this race was the best amongst all the ones happened till now. Your journey through the F1 weekend brought back memories of me and my buddies attending the Japanese GP in 2023.

Will be attending the Qatar GP this year, can't wait. Hope the championship fight stays alive till then - the McLaren boys fighting hard for it and also hoping Mercedes, RedBull and Ferrari to throw in some surprises as well.

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by Omkar

Thank you! Was the dome access on invite basis?

No, I dont believe so.
I think one can buy the dome lounge passes online as well.