I have gone to the F1 Exhibition in Vienna, and just because the exhibition moved to London and I also happened to be in London, well, I decided to check it out one more time. Especially because I knew that some of the featured cars are different.
In Vienna, it took me 3 hours (even though the official recommendation is 1,5 hours), because I wanted to read and understand everything, and some people might not realize that the short films on the screens are switching, most of them showing 2 different ones on loop – and I obviously had to check out both of them!! So yes, the second time also took 3 hours. I also attribute this to the fact that even though now I know a lot of things, I still don’t know a lot of other things, and my learning is kind of like a puzzle, so even if most of the material was the same, going through it the second time was like having additional pieces, because now I have a lot more to connect them to.
The layout was mostly the same, starting with a historical introduction, then the ladder of how to get to F1, the helmets and suits, the famous rivalries, the hall of fame with the busts, the room with the technical developments and the Grojean monocoque. BUT!! While in Vienna the addition was about the Red Bull ring (there was a statue of a bull, and some facts about its history and relevance.) Here in England, they added Silverstone – and I’ll be honest, Silverstone is one of my favorites, because I love history and traditions (and I think this is also at the heart of why “everyone is a Ferrari fan, even if they say they are not Ferrari fans”, it might be somewhat similar with Silverstone). There was a lot of extra information and trophies!!!
What I also loved (especially after visiting the Spa Racetrack museum, this hits even stronger) was that it was very much updated up to the present day. I noticed it when they mentioned Hamilton’s Silverstone win this year (it being his 9th win at a single circuit, a feat that no other driver can match), but even in the pictures of the drivers, there was Franco Colapinto and Liam Lawson. I don’t know when this latter switch happened, but the exhibition here is open from 23 August, so at some point I’m sure they had Daniel Ricciardo that they had to replace with Lawson. But really, this is just another example of how it should work.
Even though this time, I knew what to expect, I got emotional once again, upon entering as all my love for F1 bubbled up to the surface and I almost cried. And I might have actually cried at the short film about F1 Academy when Susie Wolff explained how “seeing is believing”, because damn, she is so right – I know she is because when I told my mom about F1 Academy, I could literally saw the stars in her eyes after she asked back 3 times if the drivers are really women and if they really drive those cars.
Grojean’s car also hit differently this time, I opened the floodgates with Susie Wolff and there was no closing them – thank God, it is a dark room, so nobody saw how I tried to swallow my tears.
Anyway, I learnt a lot again. There were parts that I couldn’t even remember from last time, even though I’m sure they were there and I probably read/saw them, but it was just a lot and also as I said at the beginning, I hadn’t had the connections before to tie them to something.
To the question, if it’s worth visiting for a second time, my clear answer is yes. If they will move to another city in Europe, I will probably visit it again (and I am kind of sorry, I missed it in Barcelona), but if you haven’t seen it in Vienna, then it is a must, they have just extended it to be open until 2 March!
Have you seen the exhibition in Vienna? What did you think of it?
Leave a Reply