With the race over, I followed the others to parc ferme. They tried to cross over to the Perdana Suite side of the roof (where the Prime Minister and King are located) but was denied by FIA security. I only managed to snap shots from the furthest point they allowed me to go.
#140.Not an ideal shot of the three winners. Part of the building was obscuring Nico Rosberg's Mercedes, but that was the only angle I could find.
#141. Mark Webber congratulating his team mate. He was on pole but lost out at Turn 1 when Vettel got the better of him. From then on Vettel just stormed all the way to the finish line.
#142. Vettel climbed onto his car after getting the congrats from Mark Webber and celebrated his first win of the season.
With that I went down to the Petronas Paddock suite and sat down. I could not cross over to the Perdana Suite side to catch the podium celebration. For that, the TV in the suite will have to do.
Took a whole bottle of mineral water and finished the 1.5 litres of ice cold water in record flat. I was up there without a sip of water from 4pm to about 6pm. By the time I got back down, I was parched as hell.
The guests were starting to leave and they announced that the suite will be closed at 7pm. I slowly gathered all my stuff, pack them up in the bags (my camera bag and the Petronas bag) and slowly walked out. On the way, I saw the traffic was already getting horrendous.
What to do now? Brave the traffic?
Nah... I walked to the Photographers Area and again 'sneaked' in. Security was not too tight anymore. FIA was getting ready to pack up and dismantle all the equipment to be flown to Shanghai, China.
Opened the door and were greeted by equally sweaty and tired looking photographers. Some in the OFFICIAL SIC PHOTOGRAPHERS room were just staring at their computers, the ceiling, the wall, etc. Too tired to even talk.
I plonked down at the nearest seat and also stared at the wall. What a day. Blazingly hot but infinitely fun. Thankfully the rain did not come or I would have been confined to the Petronas Paddock suite and shoot from the big window.
A Formula 1 weekend is always a special weekend for me. To be able to cover the race at the roof was already an awesome experience. But thanks to the generosity of the people in the room I was in, I managed to cross off one of my wish list.
After about 30 minutes, some food came into the room and the energy of the photographers rose back up. Some began editing, some joking around and playing the fool. I opened up my tiny netbook and began off loading the CF cards haul into it. We all began ooohh-ahhh'ing each others shots and laughing our asses off at the goofy shots of each other we took. We slapped each other's backs whenever we get the 'awesome (to us that is)' pictures.
I gave some of my shots to the SIC Photographers for them to use. A thank you for letting me experience what they did for a living. After all, they are just pictures.
At about 9:30pm I bid farewell to the others, thanking them for the experience and told them it was a blast.
Slowly walked to the PO parking area (no more shuttle back to PO after dark) and drove off.
Got home, took a shower to wash off the grime, sweat and dirt, plunked onto the bed and promptly fell asleep...reliving the day in my dreams...
#143.
THE END.
