F1 Photography Advice

[abirkill]

Some fantastic shots here!

I haven't been fortunate enough to be able to photograph F1 cars for a long time. Last time was in 2008 at Silverstone, where I got these (amongst others):





Back then I was shooting with a Canon 350D/Rebel XT and 70-300mm IS.

 

[IMG_0001]

Here's some advice for you that you won't appreciate until after the event: leave your kit at home and enjoy the race. Leave the photography to the pro's.

That is probably one of the best advice the internet has ever hosted! After all, why would anybody want to do something that he likes just for the fun of it while pros can do it much better and are paid for it. And that is also a reminder that pros are born pros and never gained from experience.

Also forget about family pictures, portraits of your kids, travel photography and all. I mean, enjoy the moment instead...

And it is so all encompassing if you think about it. Do not cook since professional cooks are better and you certainly won't enjoy a home cooked meal, be driven to work, leave your child to the daycare and most of all, GET BACK TO WORK cause that is what you do professionally don't you.

I just hope there ain't such a thing as a professional moment-life enjoyer otherwise we are screwed.

 

[celltech]

Just finished processing my COTA F1 pics from the weekend. We went all 3 days scoping the place out. Our plan was to camp out at turn 11 thinking a lot of cars would overcook their brakes/tires and get some good action in the turn. We saw some doing it in practice, but on game day nobody slid off!

At the start of the race I was at the hill edge sharing space with a lot of big lenses. Everything I shot was with a 5D3 and a rented 400 f/5.6 Turned out to be a great combo and I can highly recommend it. So I took a few frames and then went to join the family on the hill. Bad idea... The heat and lack of breeze down there, combined with the crowd just made it...boring. So me and the woman ended up packing our stuff and walking around to turns 9 and 10. The race is truly different at every turn and if I go back next year I will just walk as many of the corners as I can in the 2 hours.

The worst part of the weekend was the heat and harsh sun. There were a lot of sick looking euros out there about to pass out. Good thing I am a native Texan. I am not a pro but spent some time trying to get rid of the washed out look of the raw photos.

 

[Lloyd]

One other thing that I noticed when processing my photos was that at certain angles the sun caused a lot of glare and reflections from some of the helmets, face shields and other reflective surfaces of the cars. I had polarizer on my 800, but forgot it for my 24-105. I think one of the things people may want to add to their check list is to bring a polarizing filter. I don't remember if this has been mentioned yet on this thread, but it is something you may want to consider having in your bag for one of these events.

 

[V8Beast]

One thing that is both a plus and a minus (you may know this already): 2014 sees all new smaller V6 engines and chassis, with state of the art turbo charging that is all combined with electric motor assist/batteries (I don't like this part)...but it's possible the cars might be a bit quieter than the current V8's. Obviously they won't be as quiet as normal "turbo" cars can be.

I just got back from the USGP, and I feel very fortunate that I got to hear the 2.4L naturally aspirated V-8s screaming away at 18,000 rpm one last time. While I appreciate the technology involved with next's year's turbo V-6s, the sound is much more subdued. Mercedes recently posted a sound clip of the 2014 V-6 running a simulated lap at Monza on the dyno:

2014: A lap with the new Mercedes-Benz V6!

Still a nice sound, but not nearly as visceral at the naturally aspirated V-8s.

 

[V8Beast]

Some great advice in this thread, as well as some great shots taken by people modestly labeling themselves as amateurs

I took my 5D3, 24-105, and 70-300L to this year's USGP, but honestly I didn't take many images at all. Since this was the first F1 race I attending, I wanted to enjoy the event instead watching bits and pieces of the race through a viewfinder.

A few observations from COTA:

- I scoped out all the general admissions area, and you're either too far away from the track and/or shooting through the fence to get a good shot.
- At the sections of the track (Turns 7, 8, 11) that offers good vantage point that aren't obstructed by the fence, a 300mm lens isn't nearly long enough.
- If the fence if brightly lit, and you're several hundreds of feet away from it, the AF will focus on the fence no matter what. That was the situation from the general admissions area, half way up the hill in Turn 1, which is where I watched the race from. A good work around was opening up the aperture, manually focusing near the apex of the turn, and shooting the cars as they passed through that point. An even better work around is to just put the camera down and enjoy the race I saw lots of spectators so fixated on shooting that they had no idea what was going on during the race.
- As others suggested, do most of the shooting during practice and qualifying. Slaving away through a viewfinder is no way to enjoy the spectacle of F1 racing.

As an American, a Texan, and an Austinite, it's great to hear all the positive comments from the drivers regarding COTA, but I still think Spa is the best track on earth. Does anyone have pics from Spa they want to share ? If I can only attend one other F1 race, I want to go to Spa!

 

[Arctic Photo]

Some great advice in this thread, as well as some great shots taken by people modestly labeling themselves as amateurs

I took my 5D3, 24-105, and 70-300L to this year's USGP, but honestly I didn't take many images at all. Since this was the first F1 race I attending, I wanted to enjoy the event instead watching bits and pieces of the race through a viewfinder.

A few observations from COTA:

- I scoped out all the general admissions area, and you're either too far away from the track and/or shooting through the fence to get a good shot.
- At the sections of the track (Turns 7, 8, 11) that offers good vantage point that aren't obstructed by the fence, a 300mm lens isn't nearly long enough.
- If the fence if brightly lit, and you're several hundreds of feet away from it, the AF will focus on the fence no matter what. That was the situation from the general admissions area, half way up the hill in Turn 1, which is where I watched the race from. A good work around was opening up the aperture, manually focusing near the apex of the turn, and shooting the cars as they passed through that point. An even better work around is to just put the camera down and enjoy the race I saw lots of spectators so fixated on shooting that they had no idea what was going on during the race.
- As others suggested, do most of the shooting during practice and qualifying. Slaving away through a viewfinder is no way to enjoy the spectacle of F1 racing.

As an American, a Texan, and an Austinite, it's great to hear all the positive comments from the drivers regarding COTA, but I still think Spa is the best track on earth. Does anyone have pics from Spa they want to share ? If I can only attend one other F1 race, I want to go to Spa!

I'm sorry, I don't have any pictures from Spa, but I agree with you it's the finest track of them all. It's the mother of all race tracks. Only really good drivers win here, remember Hakkinen's overtake on Schumi. He flew over the left cerb at Eau Rouge to set up the greatest overtake in F1 history.

 

[V8Beast]

I'm sorry, I don't have any pictures from Spa, but I agree with you it's the finest track of them all. It's the mother of all race tracks. Only really good drivers win here, remember Hakkinen's overtake on Schumi. He flew over the left cerb at Eau Rouge to set up the greatest overtake in F1 history.

How can any F1 fan forget that pass? I still get goosebumps watching it on YouTube. Not only is Spa the greatest track on earth, Eau Rouge is the greatest complex of corners on earth. I must go there someday !

The esses on the 130R at Suzuka are pretty cool, but Eau Rouge tops them all.

 

[Arctic Photo]

I'm sorry, I don't have any pictures from Spa, but I agree with you it's the finest track of them all. It's the mother of all race tracks. Only really good drivers win here, remember Hakkinen's overtake on Schumi. He flew over the left cerb at Eau Rouge to set up the greatest overtake in F1 history.

How can any F1 fan forget that pass? I still get goosebumps watching it on YouTube. Not only is Spa the greatest track on earth, Eau Rouge is the greatest complex of corners on earth. I must go there someday !

The esses on the 130R at Suzuka are pretty cool, but Eau Rouge tops them all.

Suzuka is also up there, I'm glad you mentioned it. I'm likely going to Netherlands by car next summer and if the family allows, possibly pop over to Belgium to visit Spa. I'd like to walk up there to see it with my own eyes. Another great driver, Jacques Villeneuve was one of the few that kept the throttle down through that left corner at the exit in those days.

I've been go Austin several times through my job, but that was before they built the track. I've heard good things about it, but the new tracks will have a difficult time trying to measure up to the classics.

 

[V8Beast]

Meh, you should have heard them when they did around 20,000rpm.

You had to rub it in, didn't you

The naturally aspirated V-12s and V-10s certainly had a invigorating, tenor shrill to them.

 

[V8Beast]

I've been go Austin several times through my job, but that was before they built the track. I've heard good things about it, but the new tracks will have a difficult time trying to measure up to the classics.

COTA looks much more interesting in person than it does on TV, that's for sure. The elevation change is much more noticeable when you're there:

Turn 1

Turn 2

Turns 10 and 11

Turns 7 and 8

 

[IMG_0001]

Here's some advice for you that you won't appreciate until after the event: leave your kit at home and enjoy the race. Leave the photography to the pro's.

That is probably one of the best advice the internet has ever hosted! After all, why would anybody want to do something that he likes just for the fun of it while pros can do it much better and are paid for it. And that is also a reminder that pros are born pros and never gained from experience.

Obviously you have never been to a F1 race.

Obviously, you did not read my previous posts...

I may have been a bit rude with my reply to your post, but if you go back to the beginning of the thread, you will see that I also recommended the OP to make sure he would not focus so much on photography that he would not actually "see" the race. I would add that amateur photographer like me should make sure they don't get in the way of the other members of the public.

Nonetheless, I am sure that as demonstrated by other posters and by my own experience, enjoying both the race and the race photography while getting a few decent shots is possible.

For the record, I have been to three Montreal F1 grand prix and posted a few pics from this year that I totally enjoyed taking. Actually I enjoyed taking the 50GB of pictures I took over three days, even if only a handfull are actually just good enough.

Best regards.

 

[IMG_0001]

...
Actually I enjoyed taking the 50GB of pictures I took over three days, even if only a handfull are actually just good enough.

Exactly.

Having been there, done that, it is better to just go and watch the cars to around.

As I see there is a world between what we feel is worthwhile or enjoyable in photography and as you have made a strong demonstration of your constructive approach, I suggest we agree to disagree.

 

[celltech]

Guess I can throw in my own $0.02 worth... I am an engineer by trade and I still don't get why soooo many people around the world LOVE F1. I appreciate and love the tech, but I have to think that 99% of the world does not.

Once Vettel took pole position it might as well have been over. He easily led the race and even set fast lap right at the end, as if to say he could have won it by more. I personally found the practice laps more exciting than the actual race.

For me, taking pictures at multiple corners actually helped make the race more interesting. Sitting at one spot waiting for the long train of cars just got old. They all did the same thing and drove by. I think I got a better sense of the driving by watching how they setup for the different corners.

In the end the weekend itself was fun. Austin is a GREAT town to hang out in and check out the scene. The track is immense and offers a lot of visual activities. But the actual race? Maybe I just don't get it...

But I don't feel like I lost anything by taking pictures...

 

[V8Beast]

Guess I can throw in my own $0.02 worth... I am an engineer by trade and I still don't get why soooo many people around the world LOVE F1. I appreciate and love the tech, but I have to think that 99% of the world does not.

I'll throw out some theories, most of which are probably wrong Traction control, stability control, launch control, active suspension dampers, carbon brakes, anti-block brakes, sequential transmissions, electronic differentials, and drive-by-wire throttle (just to name a few) were all pioneered in Formula One 10 or more years before they ever saw the light of day in a passenger car. When you see an F1 car zoom by, you're literally looking at the future. Surely any engineer can appreciate that

For the 99% percent of the world you mention (probably more like 90% of the world, since F1's 600 million viewership represents almost 10% of the world population), I think a lot of it has to do with mystique. Here in America, cars are commodities more than they are luxuries. Plus, the average Joe can watch or participate in all kinds of motorsports ranging from drag racing to road racing to autocross to short-track racing to rallying to drifting to karting. If you live in a country where most people take public transportation, and very few people have the luxury of watching or participating in motor racing, watching F1 on TV is as good as it gets.

Once Vettel took pole position it might as well have been over. He easily led the race and even set fast lap right at the end, as if to say he could have won it by more.

Very true. Any time one team or one driver dominates like Red Bull and Vettel have this season, the racing can become very boring. That said, many seasons are dog fights right down to the very last race, and these are the memories F1 fans live for, whether it's Schumacher barely edging out Hakkinen for the championship in 2000 at Indy, or a 24-year-old Fernando Alonso beating the 7-time World Champion in Schumacher at the second to last race of the season in 2006. Going into the last race of 2007, no one expected Raikkonen to win the championship, but he did. The same goes for Vettel in 2010.

Sitting at one spot waiting for the long train of cars just got old. They all did the same thing and drove by. I think I got a better sense of the driving by watching how they setup for the different corners.

In the end the weekend itself was fun. Austin is a GREAT town to hang out in and check out the scene. The track is immense and offers a lot of visual activities. But the actual race? Maybe I just don't get it...

For an F1 nut, there's plenty to enjoy even in a not-so-interesting race in which Vettel dominated. As an amateur racer, I marveled at how late the cars hit the brakes approaching Turn 1. They're going nearly 200 mph at the end of the straight, and they don't hit the brakes until after the 100 meter marker. Incredible. I then marvel at the physical fitness required to endure 5 g's under braking for 1.5 hours without passing out. I race a 125cc shifter kart, which pulls 2.5 - 3 g's, and my neck muscles and ribs are sore after 30 minutes!

Despite the fact that Turn 1 has a blind entry, the drivers hit the apex of the corner perfectly- down to an inch or two - lap after lap. As an amateur who'd be lucky to hit the apex 1 out of 20 laps, I was awestruck to see that caliber of driving skill and precision.

I also witnessesed firsthand one of the reasons why the Red Bulls are so much faster than the rest of the field. I was very surprised how much earlier the Red Bulls were able to hit the gas and put the power down coming out of Turn 1 compared to every other car in the field. In fact, Webber seemed to get back on throttle even earlier than Vettel. Multiply that advantage over a dozen-plus corners, and it really adds up at the end of a lap and at the end of a race.

I'm hoping that the major rules changes in 2014 will help end the Red Bull domination, and make for some more interesting racing. The last big rules change was in 2009, and all that happened that season was an unknown, under-funded team (Brawn GP), with an underachieving driver (Jenson Button) went on to topple the Ferrari and McLaren empires. Great stuff

Plus, there's the fact that you're watching the world's greatest drivers racing on the world's greatest tracks in the world's fastest, most technologically advanced cars.

That's why I love F1 ;D

 

[Arctic Photo]

Guess I can throw in my own $0.02 worth... I am an engineer by trade and I still don't get why soooo many people around the world LOVE F1. I appreciate and love the tech, but I have to think that 99% of the world does not.

I'll throw out some theories, most of which are probably wrong Traction control, stability control, launch control, active suspension dampers, carbon brakes, anti-block brakes, sequential transmissions, electronic differentials, and drive-by-wire throttle (just to name a few) were all pioneered in Formula One 10 or more years before they ever saw the light of day in a passenger car. When you see an F1 car zoom by, you're literally looking at the future. Surely any engineer can appreciate that

For the 99% percent of the world you mention (probably more like 90% of the world, since F1's 600 million viewership represents almost 10% of the world population), I think a lot of it has to do with mystique. Here in America, cars are commodities more than they are luxuries. Plus, the average Joe can watch or participate in all kinds of motorsports ranging from drag racing to road racing to autocross to short-track racing to rallying to drifting to karting. If you live in a country where most people take public transportation, and very few people have the luxury of watching or participating in motor racing, watching F1 on TV is as good as it gets.

Once Vettel took pole position it might as well have been over. He easily led the race and even set fast lap right at the end, as if to say he could have won it by more.

Very true. Any time one team or one driver dominates like Red Bull and Vettel have this season, the racing can become very boring. That said, many seasons are dog fights right down to the very last race, and these are the memories F1 fans live for, whether it's Schumacher barely edging out Hakkinen for the championship in 2000 at Indy, or a 24-year-old Fernando Alonso beating the 7-time World Champion in Schumacher at the second to last race of the season in 2006. Going into the last race of 2007, no one expected Raikkonen to win the championship, but he did. The same goes for Vettel in 2010.

Sitting at one spot waiting for the long train of cars just got old. They all did the same thing and drove by. I think I got a better sense of the driving by watching how they setup for the different corners.

In the end the weekend itself was fun. Austin is a GREAT town to hang out in and check out the scene. The track is immense and offers a lot of visual activities. But the actual race? Maybe I just don't get it...

For an F1 nut, there's plenty to enjoy even in a not-so-interesting race in which Vettel dominated. As an amateur racer, I marveled at how late the cars hit the brakes approaching Turn 1. They're going nearly 200 mph at the end of the straight, and they don't hit the brakes until after the 100 meter marker. Incredible. I then marvel at the physical fitness required to endure 5 g's under braking for 1.5 hours without passing out. I race a 125cc shifter kart, which pulls 2.5 - 3 g's, and my neck muscles and ribs are sore after 30 minutes!

Despite the fact that Turn 1 has a blind entry, the drivers hit the apex of the corner perfectly- down to an inch or two - lap after lap. As an amateur who'd be lucky to hit the apex 1 out of 20 laps, I was awestruck to see that caliber of driving skill and precision.

I also witnessesed firsthand one of the reasons why the Red Bulls are so much faster than the rest of the field. I was very surprised how much earlier the Red Bulls were able to hit the gas and put the power down coming out of Turn 1 compared to every other car in the field. In fact, Webber seemed to get back on throttle even earlier than Vettel. Multiply that advantage over a dozen-plus corners, and it really adds up at the end of a lap and at the end of a race.

I'm hoping that the major rules changes in 2014 will help end the Red Bull domination, and make for some more interesting racing. The last big rules change was in 2009, and all that happened that season was an unknown, under-funded team (Brawn GP), with an underachieving driver (Jenson Button) went on to topple the Ferrari and McLaren empires. Great stuff

Plus, there's the fact that you're watching the world's greatest drivers racing on the world's greatest tracks in the world's fastest, most technologically advanced cars.

That's why I love F1 ;D

Well sadi. Did you mention the sound also?

 

[TheJock]

Guess I can throw in my own $0.02 worth... I am an engineer by trade and I still don't get why soooo many people around the world LOVE F1. I appreciate and love the tech, but I have to think that 99% of the world does not.

When you see an F1 car zoom by, you're literally looking at the future. Surely any engineer can appreciate that

watching F1 on TV is as good as it gets.

Once Vettel took pole position it might as well have been over. He easily led the race and even set fast lap right at the end, as if to say he could have won it by more.

All cars get faster as they use more fuel, thats a fact of life, theres nothing really special about this.

Sitting at one spot waiting for the long train of cars just got old. They all did the same thing and drove by. I think I got a better sense of the driving by watching how they setup for the different corners.
In the end the weekend itself was fun. Austin is a GREAT town to hang out in and check out the scene. The track is immense and offers a lot of visual activities. But the actual race? Maybe I just don't get it...

For an F1 nut, there's plenty to enjoy even in a not-so-interesting race in which Vettel dominated. As an amateur racer, I marveled at how late the cars hit the brakes approaching Turn 1. They're going nearly 200 mph at the end of the straight, and they don't hit the brakes until after the 100 meter marker. Incredible. I then marvel at the physical fitness required to endure 5 g's under braking for 1.5 hours without passing out. I race a 125cc shifter kart, which pulls 2.5 - 3 g's, and my neck muscles and ribs are sore after 30 minutes!
Despite the fact that Turn 1 has a blind entry, the drivers hit the apex of the corner perfectly- down to an inch or two - lap after lap. As an amateur who'd be lucky to hit the apex 1 out of 20 laps, I was awestruck to see that caliber of driving skill and precision.
I'm hoping that the major rules changes in 2014 will help end the Red Bull domination, and make for some more interesting racing. The last big rules change was in 2009, and all that happened that season was an unknown, under-funded team (Brawn GP), with an underachieving driver (Jenson Button) went on to topple the Ferrari and McLaren empires. Great stuff

Plus, there's the fact that you're watching the world's greatest drivers racing on the world's greatest tracks in the world's fastest, most technologically advanced cars.

That's why I love F1 ;D

Sir, I applaud you!!

This is a fantastic commentary V8Beast, I’m also an F1 fanatic, how can anyone say that the Austin race was boring!! Did anyone actually WATCH the race?? The Bottas/Guttierrez overtake manoeuvre on the outside exit at turn 2???? It was (in my opinion) one of thee defining passes of the season; it was truly edge of the seat stuff! There was so many other small battles going on that it made for great entertainment, Maldonado sending Sutil in to the wall in lap 2, Button taking 10th with 4 laps to go & Perez holding 7th (yeah I’m a McLaren fanatic) and Alonso taking 5th from his bad start in 7th while not 100% match fit!! Webber “hunting” Grosjean down all the way to the chequered flag! I’m exhausted just re-living it from memory!!

Let’s not forget that these guys are true athletes, they reckon that a 2 hour race is the equivalent of completing a full 26 mile marathon, and these guys do it 20 times a year.....plus 3 practice sessions and 1 qualifying session per race, so that’s 20 races, 60 practice sessions and potentially 60 qualifying sessions per 8 month season!!!!

I do, however; appreciate what Celltech said with regards to how much people actually know about the techy stuff (perhaps the figures quoted may not be perfectly accurate ), as I have sat in the stands for years and people have no clue what’s usually going on, I base this on the fact that I have always been surrounded by people asking basic questions and who cannot identify any of the drivers or even the teams, you’d be surprised how many “Tifosi” jump up waving their gigantic Ferrari flags when a Marussia goes whizzing by, it makes me chuckle every time.

The statistics (for me) are what it’s all about, where else in sport does it cost $125 million to kit out 1 single garage with custom made spanners, tools and the like....now remember that each team has 2 cars!!!
I also love it at the end of the season when the media go into overdrive with rumours and stories of bad blood and un-sportsman like attitudes from the drivers/managers, the stories of corruption and personnel swapping sides to the enemy, I love it all.

Let’s hope that your right and the Red Bull domination does not continue, as it appears to send the less fanatical in to hibernation!

Additionally I’d like to add to my earlier comment in this thread by giving some further useful strategies, remember to take your own ear defenders, Monaco charged my wife 15 Euros as she left them in the hotel on the first day, they generally cost $1 in Ace hardware! Buy the full three day pass, this way you can attend the pitlane walk on Fridays, and scout various locations and take as many photos as you wish without upsetting the fair weather fans view’s, they can get quite pissy!! This way you’ll have loads of images, considerably less stress from shouting at twats and you can relax during the race and concentrate on what’s going on.....plus you can grab some snaps if major drama happens in your location (as per my earlier photo of Maldonado in the wall at Tabac from Monaco this year), above all you’ll enjoy the whole experience more following these simple tips.

Overall, you’re either a fair weather fan, or an obsessive, there’s very little in between! I’ll let you guess which one I am

 

[Roo]

...
Actually I enjoyed taking the 50GB of pictures I took over three days, even if only a handfull are actually just good enough.

Exactly.

Having been there, done that, it is better to just go and watch the cars to around.

As I see there is a world between what we feel is worthwhile or enjoyable in photography and as you have made a strong demonstration of your constructive approach, I suggest we agree to disagree.

I'm with you on this one. Those comments are less than constructive. I've been to every F1 event in Melbourne since the first in 1996 and a few in Adelaide before that. I've done grandstands and general admission, gone with and without a camera but these days I always prefer to take my own shots.

If we left it to the pros we would learn nothing ourselves. There's another reason we shouldn't always leave it to the pros - while they generally have access to the best locations, they don't shoot from our vantage points so we get a different perspective.

I shoot most of my track shots between Thursday and Saturday (Melbourne is a 4 day event) when there are less people around. Sundays are better for crowd shots as quite a few go all out and dress up for the occasion. I only take the occasional shot during the race itself.

The OP may wish to check out the Sepang circuit seat viewer to assist with his advance scouting for shooting locations. http://www.sepangcircuit.com.my/story/sepang-circuits-seat-viewer

One other thing for the OP that I don't think has been suggested yet - get an over ear headset radio and tune into the track coverage if they have it.

A pit lane walk is also a must early in the season as you should be able to get good shots of the different front wing elements the teams are evaluating.

 

[IMG_0001]

Good calls V8Beast and TheJock, and I would need to add that quite a bit of nationalist rivalry goes on in the public minds, at least those minds who come from drivers and/or team home-places!

However, if there is nothing in between fairweather fans and obsessive fans, well I wonder where I stand. Although I deeply enjoy F1 both from a technical (all aspects were they cars, strategy or drivers) and a social standpoint, I find I struggle in keeping pace with the season... I often end up catching up on race recaps instead of being able to see the whole thing.

...
As I see there is a world between what we feel is worthwhile or enjoyable in photography and as you have made a strong demonstration of your constructive approach, I suggest we agree to disagree.

I'm with you on this one. Those comments are less than constructive. I've been to every F1 event in Melbourne since the first in 1996 and a few in Adelaide before that. I've done grandstands and general admission, gone with and without a camera but these days I always prefer to take my own shots.

If we left it to the pros we would learn nothing ourselves. There's another reason we shouldn't always leave it to the pros - while they generally have access to the best locations, they don't shoot from our vantage points so we get a different perspective.

I shoot most of my track shots between Thursday and Saturday (Melbourne is a 4 day event) when there are less people around. Sundays are better for crowd shots as quite a few go all out and dress up for the occasion. I only take the occasional shot during the race itself.

The OP may wish to check out the Sepang circuit seat viewer to assist with his advance scouting for shooting locations. http://www.sepangcircuit.com.my/story/sepang-circuits-seat-viewer

One other thing for the OP that I don't think has been suggested yet - get an over ear headset radio and tune into the track coverage if they have it.

A pit lane walk is also a must early in the season as you should be able to get good shots of the different front wing elements the teams are evaluating.

Thanks and very good advices to the OP. Those noise-cancelling over ear headset radios are great. I was loaned a pair for a few minutes and they make following the race much easier. As for the seat-viewer, wow that is a nice tool also! Never saw one of those.

Here in Montreal, the pits are only open to the public on Thursday, but I have never been able to free myself and go there. That is a shame since there surely are some fun to have and great pics opportunity.

 

[V8Beast]

I do, however; appreciate what Celltech said with regards to how much people actually know about the techy stuff (perhaps the figures quoted may not be perfectly accurate ), as I have sat in the stands for years and people have no clue what’s usually going on, I base this on the fact that I have always been surrounded by people asking basic questions and who cannot identify any of the drivers or even the teams, you’d be surprised how many “Tifosi” jump up waving their gigantic Ferrari flags when a Marussia goes whizzing by, it makes me chuckle every time.

That's both funny and sad at the same time! Granted my experience attending races is very limited, but I was very surprised how knowledgeable the fans were at this year's USGP. Probably not so much regarding the technical aspect of the sport, but factoids like which driver won which race, how the constructor's points are tallied, who carries the broadcasting rights for F1 races in the U.K., which driver said what in interviews leading up to the race, etc. Perhaps the less knowledgeable fans just kept their mouths shut ;D?

It's also possible that my standards are quite low. If you want to experience low-functioning fans, all you have to do is talk to a NASCAR or a drag racing fan.