I watched Red Bull's home race at their HQ!

About a month ago I found out from one of Red Bull's Instagram stories that they hold race screenings at their headquarters in Milton Keynes. I was in the fortunate position that the Austrian race coincided with my vacation in London, so I took it as a sign and promptly booked myself a ticket.

I didn't really know what to expect, even though Red Bull started dripping information two weeks before the event: where to arrive, what the dress code was, the exact program, and so on - I arrived without expectations and waited to see what would happen.

I learned from my first trip to Milton Keynes, so I immediately took a taxi from the station, which took me to the campus in 10 minutes. I arrived just at the opening time, and a few people were already there, being let in. They scanned my ticket, and I received a visitor card on a yellow lanyard, which meant that my group's trophy tour would start at 12. It was 11 o'clock, so I had an hour to look around.

The screening was held in the MK7 building (MK7 are actually the first 3 characters of the area's postal code), which you might have seen elsewhere, with the historical wall featuring their major milestones, and then the central hall with cars arranged in a semicircle. I was in complete ecstasy after passing through the hallway. I'm not really a Red Bull fan (pssst!!), but the room felt like the team's soul, a kind of sanctuary, and I was so overwhelmed that I might have even wiped a few tears.

The hour flew by quickly – I looked at everything, read everything, took photos, then repeated. I also checked out the merch shop but didn't buy anything (I already have more Red Bull merch than I ever thought I would). There was also sim racing, but I didn't feel inspired to do it (I'm really bad at slow corners, and honestly, I'm not great with the simulator in general). The trophy tour took place in another building, so while we were being led over, the tour guide briefly told us about the history of Red Bull Racing.

The trophy room itself was incredible: they have over three hundred trophies, I don't remember the exact number, but among all of them, the Hungarian trophies from last year's Hungarian Grand Prix were a highlight for me. They kept the one broken by Lando and had a new one made, so the tour guide joked that they were probably the only team to leave a single race with four trophies. Another highlight was the constructors' and drivers' trophies, which I stood in awe of for about 3 minutes, taking more photos of them than anything else. And only for 3 minutes because we were then rushed back.

Before the race, there was a 15-minute Q&A session with Red Bull's principal strategy engineer, Hanna Schmitz, who was there in person and talked about her work: experiences, favorite tracks, the differences between Max and Checo, what to expect from the race, and then we could ask questions!

After that, lunch followed, and of course, they brought in the Austrian theme, so they served Wiener schnitzel, and for dessert, apfelstrudel (and I don't know where they got it from, but it was the best apple strudel I've ever eaten in my life).

The setup was very homely, with armchairs, bean bags, and sofas ensuring comfort, and after a quick count, I concluded that there were no more than 50 of us. This was ideal, so there was no need to queue or push (not that such a danger would threaten anywhere in England), and you could see and hear everything.

I took a seat on a three-person sofa because I wanted to be as close to the screen as possible, and I had sofa mates, one of whom turned out to be there incognito like me, as he was actually a Ferrari fan. So we agreed that if Verstappen had any misfortune, we would try not to celebrate too visibly.

Actually, I'll confess, I'm primarily a Sainz and McLaren fan, but I got a Red Bull shirt for the event and made bracelets because they said the dress code was smart casual or merch. And anyway, I'm just such a team-hopper, I have nothing against Red Bull, and I like Verstappen too.

We started watching the pre-race shows quite early, and then came the race itself. I was very happy that it was exciting because during the Norris-Verstappen overtakes and then the crash, the tension in the room was palpable, and you could hear the suppressed frustration too. My sofa mate and I held our heads at Leclerc's repeated misfortune, and at the end of the race, Russel received the joy and applause he deserved – after all, we were in England.

During the podium ceremony, some waiters walked around handing out champagne (which would have been more fitting if Red Bull had won, but you couldn't predict this result!), and then they handed out prizes to those who guessed correctly in the quiz (fastest lap, Red Bull's fastest pit stop, and who would pit first). After that, we were sent on our way, but everyone got a Red Bull baseball cap as a souvenir, and we could also take driver cards.

Overall, it was a WONDERFUL day, and the time flew by quickly. The entrance fee wasn't cheap (especially if I add the travel costs), but I think it was a great opportunity and quite a unique experience to watch a race surrounded by F1 cars!

Red Bull isn't the only team offering this – Williams also hosts similar events (I will visit them next Sunday), I don't think other teams have screening events, but if you know about any other, please correct me! Has anyone been to something similar? What were your experiences like?