This is the story of how I met James Vowles and some other shannanigans… As I am vacationing in London this week, I obviously had to check out the Williams fan zone that is at Piccadilly from the 2nd of July and will be there and open until lights out on Sunday.

Naturally, I checked out the program, and decided to go on Wednesday and on Thursday, because on Wednesday, it was not only Logan Sargeant to show up for a Q&A but also Alex Albon AND Jenson Button at a later time, while Thursday was the time for James Vowles. 

There was a lot of information on the Williams website and in their emails, yet, to me it was still unclear how it is supposed to work at all, so here is my recollection, so next time, you can do it smarter and better than I did. 

Logan Sargeant was scheduled to appear at 12:45, so I went there at around 11. This was a rookie mistake, as I should have been there an hour before the opening. I just lined up, like all the other people there, and fortunately I was able to get in, but it was tight. The system was that in the morning, the first people in the line got a wristband, with which they could even leave and come back, as it was kind of a ticket for the Q&A. 

Anyway, I was in, but I was so confused about what was going on, if I will be asked to leave or if I can stay. So anxiously I looked around what to do and first, I got myself registered with Kraken, one of the main sponsors, because if you do that you get some benefits. So second tip, register yourself BEFORE going there! I got a sticker (but could have chosen some other fun stuff), and a lanyard with my grid pass. 

After some waiting in the crowd and taking pictures of the cars (one from the 80’s, one from the 90’s and of course the current one), Logan showed up on the mezzanine, which was actually a great solution as everyone was able to see him. I could finally relax. There were some questions from the presenter, then anyone could ask him. It was fun, though Logan is not my favorite, but he was the first (and at this moment the only) driver that I saw in person, so still happy.

The Q&A lasted for about 25 minutes, then he left and we were all asked to leave, but before that, I managed to buy a baseball cap, and here came my Kraken registration handy, because I got 15% off, which was nice.

Then I made a mistake: I had to go find a bathroom, and unfortunately, I left for such a long time that when I came back the line was impossibly long again and even after waiting for 2,5 hours, I was still like 40 people away from getting in. So this is also the story of how I missed seeing Jenson Button and Alex Albon.

I went home pretty disappointed, but at least I learnt how this whole thing works, so next day I went there one hour before the opening. Only two other people were there at that time, but I’m sure that if it had been a driver doing the Q&A, I would have had to be there even two hours in advance. But anyway, I was really keen to see James Vowles, I think he is doing really good work at Williams.

We waited there for the one hour, and the line slowly and steadily started forming behind us, and when the time came, a woman let us know that she would have the wristbands for the James Vowles Q&A, so just find her for one, which is what I did immediately. I was finally safe, so I actually had time to look around and do the things – which there are a lot!! 

On Wednesday, the crowd was a bit too much for me, so I didn’t really check out anything besides the store and the cars. But there was a game where you had to scan NFCs all over the place to win something. I expected nothing, I just did it because I love games like this, but one of them popped up saying I won, so I walked to a member of staff, who told me that I just won a Meet & Greet with James Vowles. I don’t think this fully registered at that point, because I got a yellow wristband and simply I went on my way.

First, I tried the simulators – the regular F1 rig with the F1 24 game, and did Silverstone, and wow, it was fun! Now I understand what the drivers mean that it is flowing and very fast. I hate slow corners, but Silverstone is not famous for those, so almost no braking. I did my race, and I got a complement that it was actually a pretty good time, I felt very proud.

Then I tried the Komatsu mining machine simulator, which was a completely different experience, less speed, more maneuvering, but also very entertaining. I decided to skip the 360 ring light thingy, just because I was interested in other stuff. So instead, using my gridpass from Kraken, I was allowed to go upstairs to check out the heritage section with the helmets and trophies, which were pretty cool. 

When I was done, it was almost time for James, so I went downstairs and tried to avoid the presenter interviewing me, while also getting some nice place to see well. Thankfully, I succeeded in both, so I had a prime spot. 

James said a few things, then the actual questions could come. For me, some of his most interesting answers were that in a driver he mostly looks for someone who is not only able to perform under pressure, but also kind of strives on it, and yes, Carlos would look good in Williams blue, but at the moment, Carlos is not sure what he wants, and James would rather have someone who is committed and wants to be there. (I guess we’ll see what this means for Alex’s future teammate.) 

After this section, I was invited up to the mezzanine, and had to wait in line, with 8 other people. I think it was then, when it finally registered what’s happening, because a 16-year-old girl started crying in front of me (it was her 16th birthday, and she not only got to meet James, but also won a weekend ticket to the race, so I don’t blame her). I was not, but I didn’t even know what I was supposed to say or ask James, my mind went completely blank, but he is a very charismatic person, who helped me out. 

He asked my name, then he tried to pronounce it and we went on a bit about it. He also asked about how I got there from Hungary, what I was doing there, and he complimented on my English. This is pretty much it, I got two hand signed cards, and left.

I am not one to cry when I meet people that I look up to. No, I am one that cries afterwards. Emotions ran really high, I think I just understood what had happened, and I was over the moon. Originally, I just planned to be a regular fan, but apparently, this is how I ended up.

But again, I recommend visiting the Williams fanzone (even if there are no guest appearances). In London, it will be open until the race start on Sunday. They will also open one before the race in Singapore, Austin and Las Vegas, but also they’ve been doing these since 2022, so it is quite likely that if you’re missing all these this year, you’ll have another chance next year.