F1nale

After 19 long years, yesterday officially marked the last F1 race for Malaysia. Personally, we've been taking the F1 race for granted; always assuming that it would be a yearly event for Malaysia, hence we never made the time to the circuit to watch it live. (Also, the horrific stories about extreme heat and massive traffic jams definitely turned me off.)

So when Hubby told me that this year was going to be the last F1 race for Malaysia, we decided that we had to make it a point to watch it live this once! Buying tickets was a headache too. We both wanted good seats but didn't want to spend unnecessarily. In the end we both took the plunge and splurged on main grandstand tickets. (Serious tak tipu, when he said he wanted to buy those tickets, I told him to go for solat jumaat dulu and doa lebih sikit at the end so that we would make the right decision!)

Boy, was I glad that we decided to buy those tickets. Because we had the time of our lives!

What a quirky tagline - F1nale!

Learning from our prior experience from last year's MotoGP, we went on the day of qualifiers so that we could purchase parking coupons in advance and be able to scout for strategic seats for the actual race.

Race day, we left the house super early. Arrived at the Sepang F1 circuit at 845am and there was already a long queue to enter. Quite unnerving really! Parking was a breeze (cos we had the said parking coupon). The queue flow was quick as soon as they opened their gates at 9am. Security wasn't so tight; they didn't allow snacks purchased externally but allowed us to bring in our home cooked meehoon! *chuckles* Sorted out our seats (we had to move once because the seats we chose upstairs were reserved) and Alhamdulillah it was definitely the best seats in the house, for our ticket price lah. (Gila tak best seats, pukul 930am dah terpacak at main grandstand, padahal race start pukul 3pm!) On the left we had a view of the pit stops and on the right we had a view of the starting grid/finish line. Awesome!

Can you see the pit stops in the background?

Our wing was absolutely packed! By the end of the race, we had people standing behind us and even on the stairs. 

Although those seats were right smack in front of all the action, it didn't have a screen anywhere close to it. And without a screen nor earphones, we missed some key pivotal moments and lost track of the number of laps after a while. But I certainly appreciated being able to watch the opening/closing ceremony up close, and most notably - witness a pit stop by Hamilton. Laju gila!!! Anyway, I won't go on and on about the race, I'm sure you know how Verstappen went past Hamilton on the 4th lap and ended up winning the race. So I'll share some photos which we took instead:

Slight drizzle at the start of the match, hence the Petronas grid girls had to walk into the track using umbrellas. Attire designed by Rizman Ruzaini!

Vintage cars were used to parade the drivers around the track for the Driver Track Parade. Of course, Hamilton was given the biggest cheer as he went by.

And Hamilton was also the only driver to step outside his car and walk towards the fans. Everyone went berserk!

Opening ceremony. Our national anthem was sung by Ning Baizura, while kids in traditional attires stood in front of the drivers. Ian excitedly pointed to the kids in baju melayu and said, "Hari Raya, Mummy!!!"

The starting grid ceremony behind us.

I was so disappointed when they wheeled Kimi Raikkonen's machine out of the track. Dah la Vettel was last on the grid! Such a sad day for team Ferrari.

The starting grid, seconds before flag off. Notice the missing #2 front grid slot? *cries*

We allowed Aiden to bring his phone out for the day. He had a field time, taking photos and videos of the race.

The winner - Verstappen's #33.

Hubby and I cracked our heads to figure out what those figures meant. Finally Hubby deduced that it was the timing of the racer in front and behind him.

Mid-way through the race.

My jaw dropped when I witnessed this pit stop. I posted a video of it on my IG. Seriously, memang laju gila.

The Red Bull crew climbed the fence to welcome and celebrate their winner. And the fans raced out onto the tracks right after every driver crossed the finish line.

The crowd in front of the podium.

Can you see the crowd behind us??? It was packed!

Us at the Petronas FanZone, before we bid the Sepang Circuit goodbye.

Farewell F1, you will be sorely missed. Thanks for putting Malaysia on the map, and I hope the race returns to our country in the future.