I went behind the scenes at an F1 weekend and it was the experience of a lifetime
From arriving by yacht to spending time in the McLaren garage, I recently spent the weekend in Monte Carlo for the iconic Monaco Grand Prix with official F1 and McLaren partner, Allwyn - and it was everything you’d expect and more.
The Monaco GP is unquestionably one of the bucket list sporting events. Like Wimbledon or the Grand National, it’s an event that well and truly transcends its usual audience, leading to guests as disparate as Kim Kardashian and Holly Willoughby, as we amusingly all witnessed earlier this month.
So when I was invited by multi-national lottery and gaming company Allwyn to spend three days experiencing the anticipation of the race and taking in the sights and sounds - wow, the sounds! - it’s fair to say I didn’t need much convincing. Out Of Office. On.
After a flight out of Manchester, my Monaco experience truly began when I got picked up in Nice by a private yacht that, it turns out, was my route to the track. I even had time for a quick dip in the sea along the way before arriving into the legendary Monte Carlo port. As Friday mornings go, this wasn’t a bad one.
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I then spent the afternoon enjoying unbelievable food and drink in the exclusive F1 Paddock Club where I got to listen to race engineers talking us through pit stops and race strategy before a walk down the pit lane, which was just an incredible, surreal, possibly once-in-a-lifetime experience.
And things got even better when I was taken inside the McLaren garage, seeing Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and the cars up close before heading to the balcony, directly above the pit box, to watch practice - complete with a headset to hear the live audio of Piastri and his engineer during the session. Yep, this was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime day.
Qualifying drama and track takeover
Saturday morning was spent making my predictions in the The Allwyn League on the F1 app - more on those later - before I headed to the track.
The Allwyn League is a newly launched fan engagement competition that allows fans to predict the outcome of key moments during a Grand Prix weekend to win prizes like tickets to races and one-of-a-kind memorabilia. There’s even a special end-of-season prize for Paddock Club access up for grabs. I can confirm, that is a prize worth winning.
Once my predictions were in, it was off to the grandstand for qualifying - and what a view and what a buzz it was, directly opposite the famous Swimming Pool Chicane and harbour, to see Kimi Antonelli claim another pole position of this remarkable season of his.
Perhaps even more thrilling, though, was walking the track that evening as it was opened to the public. Arriving at Casino Square and going through the tunnel in particular felt like real ‘pinch me’ moments and ones I’ll never forget.
I was equally surprised by what was to come at the end of the track. I have absolutely no idea what we were to find. Just after the Swimming Pool Chicane I had been watching cars speed through earlier, here I was on the track watching a DJ in his booth, cage dancers, lights shining and drinks flowing, this was an experience I never even realised took place yet alone expected to have myself.
Race day chaos
It was back to the paddock on Sunday morning for some more close-ups of the drivers mingling before the action got started.
Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Fernando Alonso were among the heavyweights I got to see, but the football fan in me was nearly as excited bumping into Mats Hunmels and, erm, Alan Pardew. All the great and good get to Monaco.
I didn’t, unlike Michael McIntyre, bump into - or get bumped into - by Kim Kardashian, but as she was strolling around getting a bit of camera attention on the big screen, I was in my seat for the Allwyn Formation Lap, the ultimate moment of anticipation before lights out and go, go, go.
Honestly, the whole weekend was one of anticipation for what would come next. From the car to the yacht, to pulling into the port, to the McLaren garage and the pit lane, it was just one big weekend of excitement and butterflies. And not just for me - it was palpable among the drivers, the technical staff and the fans in the stand too.
But the excitement during the formation lap was something else. Allwyn partners with this moment because it recognises it represents the ultimate moment of anticipation and the connection between F1 and the world of lottery - maybe not to quite the same scale, but anyone who’s held a lottery ticket in their hand as a draw is about to be made has at least some small insight into how a driver must feel before those lights turn green.
Everyone knows anything can happen at that moment, but for Max Verstappen it was more of a case of what didn’t happen as he stalled on the grid and was forced to retire at the end of the very first lap. Drama immediately!
There was not, of course, any drama in terms of the race winner as Antonelli held his lead off the line for the first time this year and ultimately held on to first position too for a fifth consecutive win - but that certainly is not to say the 19-year-old had it easy, having to contend with two safety cars and a red flag to see off the resurgent Hamilton and extend his lead at the top of the championship.
The boat horns as Antonelli brought it home were a particular highlight - only in Monaco! - before the trophy ceremony and a few more shots of Kardashian on the big screen to wrap up a truly sensational weekend.
Oh, and my predictions? Well, my heart may have ruled my head with my pick for Hamilton to win - embarrassingly, I didn’t even have Antonelli in my top three - but his second-place finish still earned me 18 points.
Predicting one red flag earned me another 10 and somehow, despite not proclaiming to be the world’s biggest or most knowledgeable F1 fan, my total haul was worth 48 points that apparently put me in the top 5% of players. And there's still plenty of time to increase my Allwyn League position this season.
I barely needed it, but watching the race on Sunday hoping for a Lewis win - sorry, Kimi - just added that final bit of excitement and anticipation on what was genuinely the experience of a lifetime.
The SPORTbible Team