F1 autograph search TIPS for people with little money. (Legal matters only) If you don’t have money to pay for paddock club access, how the heck would you get close enough to F1 drivers to get them to sign your merchandise/autograph/photo? You are not even related to any F1 team. That was my question ever since I first attended my first Formula 1 race. So what did I do to address this issue? How did I manage to get autographs and photos with F1 celebrities not to mention some world champions (Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Niki Lauda, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikonnen) from the past and current lineup? Here I share my tips ->
Tip 1 – Identify your goal.
Meet the family members of the drivers, the bride and groom, the race engineers, the technical team, the team principals, the owners and the whole team if possible. It’s always good to know who’s who. Reason? not many people know about them, so +1 point since the competition to take pictures with them is lower. You can even ask them where and when the F1 drivers will arrive at the circuit. Don’t focus on just 1 famous F1 driver. You may not know that a young rookie would be famous one day. My circle of F1 friends took photos with Sebastian Vettel when he was still the third driver for BMW Sauber. Picture it now and you know what I mean. So the keyword here would be identified and not picky.
Tips 2 – Always carry a marker + merchandise
Carry autograph stuff in your backpack at all times during Grand Prix weekend. You will never know who you run into. A friend of mine ran into Sebastian Vettel at a local Puma store and there was no publicity about it!
Tips 3 – Sign in and hang out at the drivers/crew Hotel.
As? – You must be good with hotel personals before F1. You can even go and ask the receptionist and pretend you are staying at the hotel. It may not be that ethical, but the important thing is that it is legal. You will be surprised how easy it is to get photos or even autographs from some drivers. You can also check your local forums and ask where the drivers are staying. Someone out there might know!
Tip 4 – Wait in front of the paddock access gate.
On some circuits, the drivers walk to the paddock. Example (Singapore GP). This is a great opportunity for them to take a photo or sign autographs.
Tip 5: If the paddock lane is open, move closer to the front of the garage.
On the day of the race, normally the teams that win P1 will have a team photo session. The smaller teams will celebrate P2 and P3. But you’ll never know, so be sure to ask yourself about the teams that made it to the podiums. I have personally taken photos of Ferrari, McLaren Mercedes 09 and RedBull team photos. The drivers were very close to me and I managed to take photos with them too! The best time is after the race when the teams are packing up, but you have to be sensitive enough, some teams that didn’t do well may ignore you, but don’t stop and just go to the next garages/teams.
Tips 6 – Marvel at your local airport the day after the F1 race ends.
You will be surprised how few followers there are at airports! You never know who you may run into. Seriously, I’m talking from experience. Some friends and I have met Fernando Alonso once at Changi airport.