I have been a fan of Formula 1 since 2007, when Lewis Hamilton was a rookie. I was 14 years old. I had just moved to the USA and I learned to speak English by reading car magazines. The back section of AutoWeek Magazine was dedicated to motorsport. Through this I learned much about Formula 1, including all about the famous race tracks. And in 2019 I found myself with tickets to the crown jewel of Formula 1: The Monaco Grand Prix.

My Story With Formula 1

Growing up in Mexico I knew who Michael Schumacher was. I knew of Juan Pablo Montoya, and I knew of the teams called Ferrari and Jordan. But that was it. When I moved to the USA in 2004 I discovered that I loved cars. Using all my chores money I managed to pay for three subscriptions to different car magazines. I used to gobble those up to learn English and to learn about cars. 

Slowly, by reading magazines and learning, I understood that Mclaren and Ferrari were rivals. I learned that Kimi Raikkonen was a menace for Ferrari, and I learned that a rookie named Lewis Hamilton, who was the first black person to drive a Formula 1 car, and who was driving for Mclaren, was not to be messed with. Such was the scene in 2008. 

Then I learned about Fernando Alonso, about SPA Francorchamps and Silverstone, I learned about qualifying, I learned about DRS, I learned about a team called Red Bull Racing and I also learned about a young German driver named Sebastian Vettel. It was when Vettel was at his peak in 2012 that I really started to pay attention. 

In 2015, Vettel made the switch to Ferrari, which set the scene for an incredible rivalry against Lewis Hamilton, now driving for Mercedes-Benz, and who looked unstoppable. In 2019 an exciting new talent from Monaco, named Charles Leclerc, joined Ferrari and gave us one of the hottest teams in recent history. 

These two seemed like the only ones who could stop Mercedes-Benz save for the upcoming and looming threat of the mighty Max Verstappen. Such was the setup for what was going to be an incredible race weekend.

The Pits Of The Monaco Grand Prix 

In 2019 I ended up doing a Workaway in the South of France. My friend Erica and I had gotten tickets for the race a few months in advance, and after working for two weeks building cabins for my host family, the race weekend was finally here. Erica and I had been to Monaco often during my time off, but as the race drew nearer and, as the excitement built up, we couldn’t avoid being in Monaco. Suddenly there were more people on the streets, and more supercars driving around, and more mega yachts on the bay. 

One of the coolest aspects about the Monaco race is that every part of the track is a public road, which means that one can see so much of the behind the scenes which wouldn’t be available at any other track. We were there on the Thursday evening after the practices were done and we were able to walk right past the pits. We got to see the pit crews doing their warm-up exercises, and practicing their tire changing routine. I never realized how physical it was to have to change a tire in under two seconds. 

I also didn’t realize the scale of such an event until I was there. The whole city transforms. The barriers that are erected along the street circuit, the grand stands, the Porta Potties, the bridges that they build. It was all really impressive. The pits, for example, are not a permanent structure. They arrive and are built specifically for the Monaco Grand Prix, and the teams are able to repair the cars right then and there when needed. Then, after the race, they pack it up and all that’s left behind is a parking lot.

Friday on Race Weekend

Erica and I went back to Monaco on the Friday of race weekend. This time a friend named Timu joined us. At the time, Formula 1 held the tradition that Friday was a day off for the Monaco race. Which meant people could just hang out. And When I say “people” I mean team personnel, team mechanics, and, even, the drivers. 

We were walking around near the track and I saw a familiar face riding a moped. It was a bit difficult to distinguish who he was because he was wearing sunglasses and a helmet, but the branded shirt and the long hair helped to identify him as Antonio Giovinazzi, one of the drivers for Alfa Romeo. Cool! A little later we were walking uphill and a tall man wearing a Haas team polo turned the corner and walked downhill past us. It was Romain Grosjean!

We kept walking, and now we were at some promenade shopping area near the Casino. I remember that it was a cloudy day and the weather was nice and warm. I was distracted by all the cool shops around us, and I started daydreaming about being able to afford the cool clothes and things that would match the Monaco lifestyle when Timu suddenly tapped me on the shoulder and pointed. 

I saw a man wearing chinos, a polo, and gold-rimmed sunglasses holding hands with a woman wearing a light tan dress and sandals. They were walking leisurely and the man was pointing at something as they talked. It took me a second to snap out of my daydream and to take in who I was looking at. It was the Mexican driver Checo Perez! That was so cool!

Race Day

Eventually race day came. From the bit of research we did, Erica and I learned that general admission in Monaco, like in every other race, is first come first serve. So if we wanted to get good seats, we had to get there early. So early, in fact, that we got up at 5:30 AM. We were living with my host family at the top of a hill about 1 km above the nearest train station. That meant that we had to make the trek down, which took about 40 minutes, and then we had to get on the train to take us to Monaco. 

Even at 7 in the morning it was already busy with people who were headed to the race. It was so cool to see everybody so early in the morning be dressed up in their favorite team’s uniform. The whole wagon was an explosion of colorful hats, polos, shirts, bags, and jackets. We arrived at the Monaco train station and made our way to the section of the track assigned to general admission. 

There is only one designated area assigned to general admission at the Monaco race. And, since Monaco is a street circuit, that meant that we had to walk through a whole bunch of cute but tight neighborhoods to get to where we needed to go. The whole city center where the racetrack is was blocked. Even though Monaco is small I remember that we still had to walk so much to get to the GA area. 

I remember that we got to the entrance where we were supposed to be and there was a barricade with personnel checking for tickets. Once we were in, anywhere behind that gate was free game. The beginning of the GA section was blocked by buildings and trees, so we had to go way up the hill of the Avenue de la Porte Neuve to be able to get a good spot that wasn’t already taken even at 8 in the morning. 

General Admission at the Monaco Grand Prix

Eventually, we found a spot on a short fence made of stone that was thick enough for two rows of people to stand on it. There was no possible way we could have sat down. First, because there was no room, and second because we could not see the track if we did. The race didn’t start until 3:30pm, but, because it’s general admission, if we moved, we would certainly lose our spot. So, from about 8:30 in the morning when we actually made it to our “seats”, until after 5pm when the race was over, we were standing. 

We did manage to entertain ourselves though. The view from where we were was incredible. We were above Port Hercule, which means we could see all the yachts parked below. Beyond that we had a view basically of the whole track and the gorgeous Monaco skyline beyond that. There were two Porsche Cup supporting races leading up to the main race, but I did not care about those.

I was more interested in watching the boat traffic in the port. All the super yachts and mega yachts that would not fit in the port were out at sea, and there was all this traffic of small boats and dinghies ferrying people back-and-forth from their gigantic boats to the harbor so they could watch the race. I couldn’t help but notice that these little boats formed traffic lanes and traffic patterns. As a Mexican kid living in Arkansas, I’d never seen that before.

A group of British guys who were all Lewis Hamilton supporters ended up standing next to us for most of the time. When they asked me who my favorite driver was I told them I was a Sebastain Vettel fan. So then we started talking about the race and making jokes, quoting drivers, and all the friendly banter that comes along when sports fans of opposing teams come together. This whole time people were coming and going, hustling and bustling, looking for a good spot. As the race time got near, though, everybody started getting settled. 

Lights Off And Away We Go!

Before the normal procedure of the race start a moment of silence was held in honor of Niki Lauda, who had passed away earlier that week. When that moment ended, the whole crowd started clapping. It was incredible to see almost 200,000 people going completely silent, and then burst into a joyous celebration. The yachts started to use their horns, and one of them even started playing their horn to the beat of Seven Nation Army. 

Soon after we saw the cars pulling out of the pits and doing the formation lap. Finally the race was about to start! The starting line was hidden from us, but we could hear the cars revving up as the lights went off. The Brits in front of me and I made the joke saying “And it’s lights out and away we go!” Instantly we saw the cars flying up the hill towards the casino. Everyone erupted in cheers. The guys in front of me were screaming “GO LEWIS!”

We were too far away to really get a good view of any of the cars, but we had a good view of all of them. If that makes any sense. We watched the cars disappear beyond the casino for a few seconds and then we watched them emerge out of the tunnel. We could see them go around the Nouvelle Chicane, go past Tabac, pass the swimming pool, and then they would disappear again until we could just barely make out the back bit of them at the Rascasse corner. This was our view for 78 laps. 

The 2019 Monaco Grand Prix!

The race ended up being quite an entertaining one. The first lap is always chaotic, but then it turns into a parade. Well, not this race. On the second lap, Charles Leclerc pulled a bold overtake on Lando Norris at the apex of the Hairpin. But then on lap 7 he pulled an even more impressive move on Grosjean at Rascasse. 

In spite of his phenomenal performance, fate was not kind to Charles. While attempting another brave move on a Renault on lap 9, Charles Leclerc tapped the wall at Rascasse resulting in a rear puncture. He drove it madly back to the pits to try to get it repaired, but it was too late. There was too much damage to the car so he had to retire, which was heartbreaking for the hometown hero.

Meanwhile, upfront, Lewis Hamilton took advantage of the safety car and was given medium compound tires. Half way through the race Hamilton was complaining that the tires were dead. He was defending with everything he had as Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel were putting on the pressure. We could see through the giant screens how lap by lap Max was getting closer and closer to overtaking Lewis for the lead. 

By some miracle, though, Lewis managed to go for 67 laps on a tire that should’ve never made it past 50 laps. He crossed the finish line first to secure one of the greatest victories of his career, and one of the greatest victories in Formula 1 history. And I was there to watch!

Going Back Home

After the race we had to start walking down the hill and fighting the crowds. We tried to go back the same way we had come, except now there were what felt like millions of people in our way. So Erica and I decided to take a detour to walk on the track after the race just for a bit. We were sad that we couldn’t stay for the after party since we had to fly to Paris the next day, but we were knackered from standing all day, so we were glad to be going back home. 

Our short train ride, which was stuffed full of people, dropped us off at the bottom of the hill. When we finally got back to the house it was early evening, the sun had set and my host family was having dinner. We were catching up with everyone about what they had done during the day and we saw Timu dressed up in jeans and white button-up shirt, with wayfarers and black and white Converse shoes.

We found out that Timu had also been to the race, except somehow he had found a friend who got him paddock passes. That meant that he got to go backstage and it meant that he got to be around the drivers. So we spent the night talking about his experience, and we got to share our stories of how we stood all day, and about the rest of the race. That night was our last night with my host family, and our host mom brought out a bottle of wine for all of us to enjoy. It was the perfect end to a really good day.

Gratitude

When Erica and I were finding our spot to watch the race we met an older man from Mexico. He told us that his son son had taken him to Monaco and got him a ticket for him to be at the race. He said that it had been a lifelong dream of his, and it was finally happening.

For most of my teenage years, when I discovered that I loved cars and when I was reading those car magazines, I would daydream about these kinds of things. I daydreamed about supercars, and superyachts and I wondered what it might be like to be at an event like the Monaco Grand Prix. Yet, all of these things seemed so distant. So unattainable.

I wrote about how the first time that I went to Iceland I looked out of the airplane window and I saw Iceland from above. That moment was surreal, because suddenly, something that seemed so distant and far away was near. It was within reach. It let me know how connected everything is. It let me know that though that traveling was for me. It let me know that my dreams were for me. That I could have them. 

Being at the Monaco Grand Prix was a similar thing. I got to see this famous race up close. It was something that I wanted and I got it. God fulfilled a desire that I had. All it took was for me to pursue it. I had to decide to go to Europe, and I had to decide to be near Monaco on the right dates, and I had to buy the tickets to the race. It was that simple. The vision that we have is possible, we just have to go out and pursue it. 

• P.S. This is the second part of a two part story. Check out the first part here!

• P. P.S. The real value of the Monaco Grand Prix is the network. The GA tickets are not what I would recommend. You get stuck out on a hill far from the track and from toilets. You can barely see the cars. You have to stand the whole time. Etc. Take the leap, spend an extra $50 or $100 to have a seat at a grandstand and to be near a Porta Potty in case you need it. 

• P.P.S: To this day Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc are my favorite drivers and I hope to meet them some day. Lemme know if you can hook me up!

I hope this story is encouraging to you. If you know somebody that you think this might be encouraging to as well, go ahead and share it with them!