24. We then got the drivers parade, in order of worst qualifying position to best, each driver came around on their own individual chauffeured cars. Then it was time to get the show on the road.
Discussion
25. As usual a half hour before the race start the pit lane opened. I tried to keep my emotions in check and much to my amazement I managed to. I was surprised to see several drivers take their car through the pit lane several times prior to forming up on the grid. This, as someone who has only ever watched #F1 on television before, was a surprise, I was anticipating the cars going straight to the grid, not doing several practice laps prior to the race itself.
26. Then as everyone was milling around on the starting grid, in my mind was silence. Not a sound, It had come down to this moment, this starting grid, this circuit. The cars left the grid for the warm up lap.
In what felt like a flash, Vettel was back on the starting grid waiting for everyone to form up behind him, again silence from the crowd.
5 lights went out and 22, 2.4-litre V8 engines were let loose before my eyes. The noise was colossal, unmatched by anything I had ever heard before. That feeling in my bones returned once again as every car came out of turn 2 for the first time.
27. To say I was ecstatic, would have been an understatement of the highest order. The entrance fee was worth experiencing the start alone.
I am not going to go into the detail of the race, because if you are reading this then you know the result. The only thing I will mention is Vettel's dominance. This was not boring, as I have seen reported elsewhere, this was a man on a mission that no one was going to stop him completing. His performance all weekend merited that result and I was happy to see him achieve it. You should also know that, I am a fan of the sport in general, not of any particular driver or team.
28. So we all know the result, Sebastian Vettel took the chequered flag and his twenty ninth race win in Montreal. Immediately after the race some of us decided to attempt to get to the podium to see the top three receive the adulation they deserve. We made it, just as Eddie Jordan was conducting the driver interviews. At the time, I have to admit I really did not hear anybody booing Sebastian, even though I was on the Start/Finish in the middle of the crowd that had appeared for the podium ceremony. As Eddie finished up, the only thing I had in my mind was, The team photo, finding the optimum position for it would be difficult as, I knew it would happen, I just didn't know where.
29. I made a run for the pit lane opening for the timing board, opposite Sebastian's garage. After a little argy bargy, I was there. There I stayed for the next 45mins soaking in the DJ Squire anthems being played over the Red Bull garage tannoy and the atmosphere in general. Whilst I didn't get into the pitlane, It really was amazing to see how choreographed, the BBC and SKY were around not just each other, but also in getting the maximum from the opportunity in the pit lane itself, in terms of interviews and geeing up the crowd.
30. Unfortunately, Red Bull decided on having the team photo just beneath the podium itself.
We moved away from the pit wall and made our way up the starting grid towards the wall of champions, stopping along the way to take the opportunity of photos.
You know the type. The I was there photo's. So we walked the Start / Finish and most of the back straight, actually seeing the distance in real live really puts it all into perspective for you, I mean, I did not realise that the back straight was that long.
We retired back to the RV to pack up and reflect on the weekend. And what a weekend it was, as I said to my wife during a telephone call on the Friday night. As an experience, it was up there with being born, and getting married. What a weekend.
The weekend of the 2013 Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix.
Enjoy my ramblings about #F1? You know what to do ;) ⚡