# F1 Testing At Silverstone



## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

Most of the teams have been at Silverstone testing this weekand and entry to the circuit has been free!!

So I took a few hours out today and dropped in, a cheeky little VIP pass from a friend and I could hang out at the Midland garage









It was great to hear the sould of a F1 engine at full chat again







even though its slightly different now being V8s.....You just dont get the sensory feeling from the TV, the sights smells and feeling of the cars going through you is great!

Took a few snaps...

DC










Johnny H










Albers


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

I saw on the f1 web site they were at silverstone this week, if I hadn't have been working I'd have popped over.

Used to go quite a bit in the good old days


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## oldfogey (Nov 29, 2005)

Thanks, Jasonm, great pics, very atmospheric. Lucky man, being able to go and get among the teams.

I haven't been to an F1 race in a long time, after going religiously to every British Grand Prix for years, it simply got too expensive. I now go over to Le Mans in June for the car endurance race, the whole four day weekend costs less than one day at Silverstone for F1.


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

Nice









I'm currently trying to blag a tour of the Midland F1 factory


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

If you do please let me know Rich


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

jasonm said:


> If you do please let me know Rich


I'll send you some details when I'm back at work on Tuesday


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## rhaythorne (Jan 12, 2004)

I did the tour of the Midland F1 factory yesterday.

It was an excellent time to visit as they're busy getting things ready for Monaco next weekend so there's a lot going on. Mind you, I'm sure they must get fed up with bunches of gormless looking "suits" wandering about the place getting in the way! I was terrified of accidentally knocking something off a workbench or stepping on something fragile and expensive like someone's front wing for example









Highlights:

The testing facility where they mount the car on computer-controlled hydraulic jacks and then feed in black-box type data gathered from circuit testing so they can simulate the physical forces that go through the car on the real track. It's a bit like an aircraft flight simulator.

The motor homes! We took a look around one of the double-deckers that's kitted out like a garage. It's effectively an extension to the pits replete with workshops and clean rooms. Apparently they cost in the region of 1.3m Euros each









Best of all was taking a close up look at Tiago Monteiro's race car and its Toyota engine that were being prepared for next week's race. This is about as close as you can get to a Formula 1 car short of actually driving one! Up close you really get a feel for just how technologically advanced these cars are - all the subtle aerodynamic features, the complex electrical and data recording systems, the incredible engine with its elaborate cooling and ceramic exhaust systems.

All-in-all a facinating insight into the effort and dedication that goes into making the technological marvel that is a Formula 1 racing car.

Thanks to Chris Leat for showing us around


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