U.S. GP 2018: On Location!

Our first live race!!

Over the year we have narrowed our list to 5 top destinations to see F1 races: Canada, Singapore, Belgium, Japan, or the U.S.

Each for their own distinct reasons. Canada because Montreal seems like such a lively and fun city, and the food culture sounds to die for. We would absolutely find our way to Joe Beef and eat so many bagels in and around the city. Singapore because of the absolutely gorgeous track, the beautiful man-made trees in the Botanic Garden and the intersection of so many of my favorite cuisines. Belgium is the home of my husband’s extended family, and his father tells stories of seeing races at Spa as a child before they moved to the United States. It is also home to the best beer in the world which is always worth a trip to experience. Japan would be a great race to attend primarily because of the fans, it seems like so much fun just to be in the presence of so many people supporting F1, and the track also has great history. The U.S. GP of course is in our home country and is located in the fantastically fun city of Austin. The BBQ, craft beer, funky vibes, and live music all seem like great reasons to visit Austin and the Circuit of the Americas track always has great racing, so that is definitely a win-win.

We looked into each race, and weighed the pros and cons of travel, cost, language, etc. deciding that the U.S. GP would be a great place to start. Turned out we were right. The race was so exciting, the atmosphere was fun, the food was great, Austin was a kick, and we got to see Kimi win it!

COTA is a well designed circuit with plenty of overtaking opportunities, a super exciting up hill start, plenty of esses and curves to keep things interesting, and always results in a great race. This year did not disappoint. We went for General Admission tickets, which was a great option, they provided flexibility in being able to explore the track, get multiple vantage points, and wander around to find the best food and views.

Exploring Austin was also a ton of fun. BBQ food trucks, a visit to the capitol, killer taco places, bats under Congress bridge, hunting for street art, and pizza on our way to live music rounded out the Austin experience. We even found some places which immediately felt like home. Cosmic Coffee was a favorite, they had beer, cocktails, coffee, and food trucks all in one spot with a great atmosphere. Surprising to us was the breakfast taco spot we found on our last day in Austin: Tacodeli. They were so good we ordered seconds and have been dreaming about them ever since.

This was a dangerous experiment because the moment we heard the F1 cars careen around the track we were hooked. I officially want to go to a race every year now. Forget our top 5, I want to go to ALL of them. I want to experience the race, explore the cities, eat all the food, drink all the beer, and soak in the fandom, the atmosphere, and the excitement of an F1 weekend. We’re hooked.