Formula 1: The Italian Grand Prix experience, from the eyes of a fan

Saturday

Formula 3’s sprint race was quite early in the morning, and I was not really in the mood to wake up very early for it, so I decided to skip it and get some extra hours of sleep, with Formula 1's FP3 only starting at 12:30 p.m. FP3 was such a joy to watch, and all I wanted to see were the Mercedes drivers being quick. Thankfully, my wish came true, as it was a 1-2 for the Silver Arrow drivers, with Lewis Hamilton being the quicker of the pair.

The temperature was a little better than it was on Friday, but it was still hot. Between FP3 and Formula 2’s sprint race, I bought an ice-cold beer and sat on a beanbag underneath some tents set up for the fans. I thought it was a very thoughtful touch to the fan zone, as I had not seen them in Zandvoort or Miami.

With Formula 2’s sprint race set to begin, the fans flowed into the grandstands, and the energy only built on itself from there. Kimi Antonelli took some damage early on in the race, and his hopes of finishing near the top were ruined.

Oliver Bearman, on the other hand, was on a very impressive drive to secure the win. Some of the overtakes he made resulted in lots of cheers from the crowd. In my head, I was thinking that he will fit in well with Haas next season. Whether he does well with Esteban Ocon as his teammate is another conversation. Isack Hadjar’s struggles continued, and his championship lead was slowly slipping away.

There was about an hour until Formula 1’s qualifying session began, so I decided to walk around the fan zone. Due to the large amount of space, several cars were put on show, including the ones driving Formula 1 Hot Laps and Formula 1 show cars from prior generations. I found it really cool to see one of Max Verstappen’s first Formula 1 cars, with the 2016 Toro Rosso being on display. Several cars from the 1980s and 1990s were there, including Minardi, Renault, and BMW-Sauber, among others.

I made my way back to the Parabolica grandstands with qualifying set to begin. Judging by how well FP3 went for Mercedes, all of my hopes were set on a pole position and perhaps a start on the second row. All of those hopes were quickly diminished by Lando Norris, who was insanely quick the whole session.

Q1 saw the British driver as the only driver with a lap under 1:20:00. Q2 gave me some more hope for Mercedes, as Hamilton was the quickest, putting in a lap at 1:19:641. My heart was racing for Q3, as I said to myself, “Am I going to witness a Mercedes driver get pole position?”

Unfortunately, we Mercedes fans were left disappointed, with Russell in P3 and Hamilton in P6. The Tifosi were not particularly happy to see Charles Leclerc in P4 and Carlos Sainz Jr. in P5. McLaren getting a front row lockout blew everyone’s mind, as they continued to be stunningly quick. To the surprise of many, Red Bull had a fourth row lockout, with Verstappen in P7 and Sergio Perez in P8. All fans except those supporting Red Bull cheered with the three-time world champion starting lower than usual.