Dear F1 Gearheads,

After a few preliminary discussions, we are finally announcing our intention to organize a group trip to the US Grand Prix next year. In this message, we will present the intended format and budget, to help you decide whether you would like to join.

We have two options for the next year, and I will present a few pros and cons, to the extent of the available information:

1. Austin - The established host for the US GP, some of us have been there already, some of us multiple times. The circuit is placed outside the city, and there is organized transportation to take the fans from downtown to the circuit and back. The tickets have been increasingly expensive, which may be a challenge for some. Last year, $750 would buy you a reasonably good ticket, on the main straight but relatively far from the start/finish line. Most of the grandstands are far from the track, and the visibility is average in some places. GA is imho not worth the cost, as the high fences obstruct the view to a significant degree. Still, there are a few grandstands from where the visibility is good, without necessarily breaking the bank, and that's what we will look for when we buy the tickets. I personally have been there 3 times, so I know the circuit quite well.

2. Miami - A new venue, within the city, so, a street circuit. It has 3 sections that qualify as straight lines, so there seem to be opportunities for overtaking, however it's difficult to say anything accurate. The same goes for the grandstands and, notably, the ticket prices. The transportation is presumably going to be left entirely to us, which means that there is a real possibility of needing to drive whatever rental cars we have all the way to the track.

Before going into further detail, there is an important aspect that needs to be mentioned. The COVID-19 - of course - is a major cause for concern in both venues. Pictures from this year's event showed a crowd with no masks and, most importantly, no distancing whatsoever. The event may qualify as a super spreader, so, please take that into account. I myself am still on the fence a bit, and all I can recommend is caution on the safe side. Still, considering that we have one full year ahead, in the case of Austin, there are reasons to be optimistic that, by that time, the risk of infection has receded. Miami is riskier imho, and an event I personally don't plan to attend, but there is no reason why we shouldn't consider it, for those who are willing to go in these conditions.

On to the format for Austin. Miami would presumably similar, and I will note the differences where necessary.

The plan is to fly as a group from Seattle to the venue on Friday afternoon, rent a minivan from the airport and drive to the hotel. We go to the circuit Saturday morning around 10 AM to see Free Practice 3 and the Qualifyings, then maybe stay for some of the extra races in the schedule, and return to the hotel late afternoon, probably after 5 PM. Same goes for Sunday, we would need to be at the track around 11 AM to make sure we catch the pilots' parade and maybe an early extra race, then take back to the hotel after the F1 race, presumably around 3-4 PM. This includes the time reserved for the track walk ;) Finally, we fly back to Seattle on Monday.

You can see now that the size of the group is dictated mainly by the available accommodation and the ground transportation means. A minivan should be enough for 7, maybe 8 people. 10 people would require 2 cars. Also, we'd like to keep the number even so that the hotel room occupancy is uniformly distributed. The intent is to book hotel rooms with 2 separate beds, so each of us has enough space.

The budget: We can expect it to be in the region of $1200 for the whole weekend, given the following specifics:

1. The race ticket - the larger part of the budget, expected to be over $500 for a seat in a section with good visibility and opportunities for photography. The end goal is to sit together in the same section. I put a hard limit for myself at $600. Now, the race organizers decided to front load, and started accepting ticket deposits. Seated tickets account for $250. I will come back to this subject when describing the payment plan.

2. The hotel.

- Austin has hotel accommodation of all categories, and even though a large part of it is already booked, reasonably priced locations can still be found. The highest rated location with a good price that I was able to find is Drury Inn & Suites Austin North, at ~$200/person for the whole 3 nights. Hilton Garden Inn is also available, though at ~$500. There is no need to pay anything upfront, all we need is to know the number of participants so we can book enough rooms.

- Miami has plenty of accommodation too, and the minimum price hovers around  $270/person for the weekend, at Hilton Garden Inn Miami Dolphin Mall.

3. The plane ticket. We can expect it to be around $[masked]/person. We can book the tickets as a group or separately, all the we need is to be at the airport in Austin in full formation when we proceed to the car rental.

4. The car rental. As mentioned, 7 (or even 8) participants would fit in a minivan. 10 persons would require 2 cars. The cost is spread across the whole group, so, it is not something significant. We can reserve $50/person for starters.

5. The parking costs. These can be expected to be around $50 per car for the whole weekend ($25/day). I would refrain from driving all the way to the track, as getting in and out of there is a nightmare unless you're in a shuttle.

In these conditions, the total budget per person accounts to $1200-$1500, depending on the accommodation. We will need a $250 deposit from each participant, to cover for the grandstand ticket deposit. You can send the money at my Paypal address, [address removed]. Be sure that I will refund every penny in case the race gets cancelled and the organizers return us the money. We respectfully ask for your consideration when you decide to participate, as cancellations are detrimental for the status of the bookings, especially after we have purchased the race and plane tickets.

As far as the rest of the budget is concerned, we will only need the rest of the money when we proceed with the remaining items on the list. We will happily accept paying in installments, and since we expect to use credit cards we can cover the late payments to some extent - though we hope to not need to get into that kind of situation.

I will be at Three Lions for the race this weekend, and it's probably the best opportunity for Q&A. Otherwise, I will monitor my inbox for replies.

Cheers,

Florian