It’s finally the time to dissect about how my life changed when I travelled to Texas to attend my first ever Formula 1 Grand Prix. I quickly followed it up by attending the Mexican Grand Prix just one week later in my beloved CDMX. Halfway there, might as well.

I would not have been able to do this if not for a little bit of scrappiness and spontaneity since I’m not in the place where I can just get up and go at my leisure. It was tiring, at times inconvenient, and I believe that part of the ridiculousness of it all changed my brain chemistry. However, the heart wants what it wants and I figured I needed to experience a grand prix this year, especially before a lot of change took place with grid changes, new regulations, and of course the popularity of F1 driving up prices. I needed to see if I liked the live race experience or if being a fan from home was better suited to me. If I hated it, I would never have to do it again and could continue my subscription to F1 TV… Pro. If I loved it, I would work my ass off to get as close to the race world as possible. To spoil the ending, I really enjoyed myself and am working on withdrawing so I can stop thinking about it every single day. It’s been a couple weeks since the season ended, so I figured this would be a good time to recount my experience and dwell on the past.

Earlier this year, I went back and forth about booking the trip, but blacked out for a couple hours as my hands robotically navigated my computer to purchase 3-Day General Admission ticket for the race at COTA which happens in late October. With just enough time to spare, I returned to my body and realized that hotels in Austin would have been the death of me, especially going solo, so I opted to fly into San Antonio, pair it with a car rental, and daily shuttle. I flew Delta and was sat near other race fans, two of my favorite being the SpaceX guys in my row and the Alonso Diehards to the front.

Any time I travel to a city that isn’t my own, I go back in the deepest depths of my memory to see if I know anyone there, and was pleased to recall a handful of friends, a couple of whom who were available to meet me for a meal, a ride, a favor, or a chat. I got into SAT late, got my Dodge Journey through Turo, and checked into the Hyatt in North San Antonio / Stone Oak. My friend Ricky whom I met on a very strenuous hike through Havasupai, picked me up for a trip to Whataburger and to let borrow a camping chair from his parents for the race.

I had a lovely experience with my rental from Turo, but I would not do that commute ever again. Driving in LA for an hour and a half is doable, but in Texas, with backroads, long distances, and nothing to look at, it felt like three. COTA offers offsite parking options from Downtown Austin and the Expo Center, but I quickly found out that congested traffic makes things take a really long time. A few weeks prior, I chose to use the Travis County Expo Center shuttle which is a parking pass for the weekend and shuttles that run to and from COTA continuously. As I was packing for the first day of Practice Sessions and Sprint Qualifying, I already was dreading carrying everything. Multiple cameras, a chair, blanket, and things to keep me hydrated and happy. Upon arriving at the Expo Center, I quickly made a friend, Trey, who was a fellow photography aficionado and offered to help carry my blanket which we shared the whole day as we ate, walked around the track, and camped out to shoot the cars on various turns.

Upon arriving, Practice had already begun so the closest place to observe was Turn 19, where George and Lewis would later in the weekend take unfortunate spins. The sound of the V6 turbo engines are more soothing than I expected and automatically put me in a different state of mind. The cars are of course faster in-person and COTA was a great place to observe many vantage points of the track.

With lots of free time between events, there is a lot of eat, see, and do. You can shop for merch, ride a coaster, try out the simulators, or simply tire yourself by walking. Thankfully, the weather was perfect and not death-inducing. Austin is a great race to go to since a practice session is replaced with a sprint. I was also able to watch the Porsche Carrera Cup. Food and drink were fairly priced and the stand-out item I indulged in was a “caribbean” hot dog that was topped with red onion, shoestring potatoes, corn, and cilantro mayo from the Meat Your Heart truck. Trey and I finished the day watching the qualifying event from Turn 11.

After the formalities, I opted to take a long walk around the track starting from Turn 11, all the way back to the Grand Plaza. Along the way, you could see the other grandstands, the pitlane, the paddock, and of course sweeping views of the hazy, Texas sky. I tried to get a photo of myself at this spot but I really hated my outfit and sweaty hair and face and honestly, I need to work on just being more presentable and photogenic.

Waiting for the Travis County shuttle to come was the worst part of the weekend. I estimate I waited over an hour to get on the bus back to my car. It was this moment I knew not staying in Austin was a mistake. By the time I got back to the hotel, yup, in San Antonio, I was super hungry and it was late. I finished the day by going to a vibey, late-night chicken wing spot. I felt like a cold bev and for how tiny that frozen margarita was, it sure packed a punch. The wings were spicy and huge. I wish I could have eaten more or shared.

Not quite ready for Day 2 yet, brb.