2012 Formula One Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix, part 1

Working in Sepang, I felt that it would be a shame if I missed the biggest event at Sepang International Circuit: the Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix. I only knew a bit about F1 because my brother is a big fan, but I don't think you need to be into cars or racing to enjoy the Grand Prix. You just need to root for a team put on sunblock, get ready for a hot and humid day out, and you're all set. I'm going to narrate what I remember, but apologies for not knowing the technical terms.

Our trip started at KLCC just outside Petronas Twin Towers, where a bus ferried us to SIC for RM 16 (P224) one-way. For perspective, you can get to LCC Terminal, which is even farther, from KL Sentral for RM8 or 9. But for the convenience, the fare is fine for a one-hour trip out of Kuala Lumpur.

How do you get past that crowd?

My hope was to get to F1 Village at the Welcome Centre early enough to catch the drivers' autograph session. I was targetting Michael Schumacher or Sebastian Vettel, my brother's heroes. But you had to be quite a fan for the kind of queue they had, so these are all I got. I really didn't know the drivers then. I just snapped what I could without actually seeing what I was shooting. The men in the crowd are just too tall!

Talikodgenic: Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso

Mercedes' Nico Rosberg

HRT's Narathi Karthikeyan (I think)

Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo

I believe this is Sauber's Sergio Perez, with Kamui Kobayashi at the back

Marussia's Charles Pic with his cabbie

Most likely Jean-Eric Vergne

If I were an F1 driver, it would be taxing to meet and greet the fans when you have an important race ahead. I would rather hole up in a room. Then again, it's good to soak up the energy of the spectators, assuming you're popular to begin with.

We got covered hillstand (C2) tickets, the second cheapest ones at RM123 (1722) because the grandstand tickets were too steep for us non-fans. We just took a spot on the grass and sat on discarded cartons.

Tilt-shift of the track

The view is quite wide. It's a good vista that will give you a few seconds to catch some of the action. There's a screen on the track, but you can't make out the standings.

Love the way they snake around the curves

We were early enough to catch GP2, which was a good warmup to the big race with only 22 laps versus the latter's 56. There was an interesting moment when one car went off the track and had to be towed away.

More in tomorrow's post.