My First Live Formula 1 Experience - Why Did Intercity Fail?

I had the opportunity to attend the Formula 1 Rolex Turkish GP 2021 event held on October 8-9-10, 2021. For me, this event was the manifestation of a hobby I had been passionate about for a long time and had been able to closely follow for the last 1-2 years. Putting Intercity's organizational disaster aside, it was definitely an amazing race. It was also an incredible experience for me.

In my opinion, the hero of the race weekend was the fans who endured all the hardship and patiently waited to meet their passion. Seeing so much interest in this event in Turkiye really made me very happy. Both these people and this track truly deserve a spot on the Formula 1 calendar.

My Problems With The Event

I was able to attend the part of the event that took place on October 9-10. I made beautiful memories. I attended an event of a sport I love, which happens once a year. Of course, I wished everything would be flawless, but of course it wasn't. However, Intercity's organization failed in my eyes. This is a personal view. In other worlds, for other lives, it might have been a flawless event in every way. Is the problem with me? The news and social media posts say otherwise. Did I engage in selective perception? I don't know. I'll write it down. You read it. Decide for yourself.

COVID-19 Measures

One of the most critical points of the issue. Vaccination was requested, and PCR tests were required from those who were not vaccinated. HES codes were flying around. But what was the reality on the ground?

When you said, "We came as a group," the gates were opened for you. There were participants whose HES codes weren't asked. I witnessed that they didn't check who was vaccinated, who wasn't, or the PCR results of those who were not vaccinated.

Similarly, when you said, "We came as a group. My friends can pass, I'll scan the tickets," the response was "No!" Apparently, they needed to make sure the tickets were really purchased. That's what I understood.

Exit Management

Speaking of Covid, attendees were funneled through a "single door," yes, a single-person door, which led to a stampede. Social distancing? Forget about it. You might have seen it in the news; participants tore down fences. They were right behind me. They couldn't take it anymore and opened their own gate. I think it was a justified rebellion.

Was it over? Not really. The bridge-head photographers showed up. Some friends, who had thrown themselves onto the bridge, started taking photos with their phones as if they weren't the ones who had just experienced the stampede. They stopped walking. This wasn't just a problem with our people. Some foreign nationals also did this. Flag waving, making hand gestures, swearing... We were subjected to various fascist actions.

Was that enough? Of course not. The security came. What did they do? They took photos of us :)

People who lost their patience started to curse and yell at everyone who stopped walking. Some climbed the overpass. Others attacked the fences. After these insults, a verbal argument broke out between some people on the overpass and those below waiting for their turn. However, seeing the angry crowd below, these people realized that turning around and leaving was the logical decision.

Including the Dutch fascist idiot. You waved your flag, good for you :)

Despite all this chaos, the police didn't remain indifferent. They intervened with people blocking traffic on the bridge. This intervention, albeit a little late, seemed to ease the participants somewhat.

Age Restriction

It was forbidden for individuals under the age of 18 to participate in the event, except for those with a guardian. Those without a guardian could attend with an adult and a consent letter. I tried to reach Intercity in August, September, and October for the ticket I bought in July. I couldn't get through. Neither the phone was answered, nor any tweets were responded to.

So, after the stress and trouble I went through, what happened? Nothing. Everyone walked in freely. There were no issues. No consent letter was asked for, nor was there any identity check.

Parking Management

When buying the ticket, you could also purchase a parking ticket. We didn't pay for the parking fee, thinking, "We'll find a spot." However, when we arrived at the event venue, we saw that some entrances were closed for various reasons. Spectators were directed to long queues stretching for kilometers. Seeing that the closed roads were open to Lamborghinis, Porsches, and Ferraris, I started questioning: How much of the 100,000 people attending this event are VIP? Should the entire road have been reserved for VIPs?

Did I mention we didn't buy a parking ticket? People who did buy parking tickets also faced similar queues. In fact, I even met people who had to park their cars and walk because they couldn't reach the parking lot they paid for.

When we arrived at the designated open parking area, I saw thousands of vehicles, including IETT buses, stuck on a two-lane road. In addition to the tremendous traffic jam, I saw that the parking entrance was just "one lane," and they charged a 30 TL fee at the entrance, which I found to be a serious problem. Every driver who approached the gate had to make a payment and search for a spot. The thousands of vehicles behind them had no choice but to wait for the transaction to complete. After paying the parking fee, was a receipt given? No. It wasn't.

On race day, like many other spectators, after being stuck in traffic for 2-3 hours, we parked our car and continued on foot.

When I combined the pedestrian traffic mentioned above with the vehicle traffic, here's what I got:

Food and Beverage Restrictions

All kinds of food and drinks were prohibited. But were they checked at the entrance? No. Some people came with bags full. And they did well. Inside, there were stands from a company. After waiting for about 20-25 minutes in line, we faced the situation: "Can I get this?", "It's out of stock.", "Can I get this?", "That's also out.", "Okay, what's left?", "Actually, not much is left."

Looking at the prices below, I understood better what it meant when they said not to bring anything from outside.

Souvenirs

No need to say much. The exchange rate is what it is. A T-shirt costs 1100 TL, a hat costs 700 TL. If that works for you.

I couldn't buy it, guys. I didn't have enough money. But I would have expected it to be enough. Apparently, expecting isn't the solution for some things. I paid 300 TL for my ticket. There were tourists who paid 30 €. Of course, I'm happy that foreign currency comes to my country. It's good. This is also an export, and it's a good thing.

However, one can't help but feel sad. Feels bad. I remembered when I entered the Efes ruins in Izmir a long time ago, where I saw that tourists paid less than Turkish citizens. I'm not suggesting we rip out the tourists. That's not what I mean. But as a citizen of this country, I would have liked to be more financially comfortable. It didn't happen.

Children and Disabled Individuals

Honestly, I don't remember if these questions were asked when I bought the ticket. However, this question didn't leave my mind for two days: What would I have done if I had a disability?

My hands and legs work. I don't have a child or a stroller with me. If I did, what would I have done? How would I get on those buses, how would I get to the stands? Or how would I walk the entire way back, where would I park my car, and how would I get there?

Forget all that. How would I get up to those overpasses? How would I use the restroom, how would I get my food? Was there a separate path for disabled individuals? I don't know. Maybe there was. I didn't see it. In fact, as I said, maybe it was asked at the beginning, I don't remember.

In Conclusion

There's much more to write and tell here. I tried to summarize as much as I could. I don't think the people who showed up in such large numbers for this event deserved to be treated like this. If there are people saying, "Shut up, you poor guy," I don't know what to say to them.

So, Wasn't There Anything Good?

Of course, there was. How could there not be?

A wonderful track. An amazing race. The whole world talked about Istanbul and Turkiye that weekend. Thousands of people came to our country. They left foreign currency. As I mentioned above, this is export. However, how much of the money went to citizens, how much went to "money makes money" is something I can't know.

People watching Formula 1 from all over the world didn't see empty seats. They encountered a lively group of fans. Filling the track was up to the pilots and teams, but filling the outside was up to us. I saw that our people truly want this event in our country. And they want it with all their hearts. I hope we find a spot in the calendar for ourselves again next year.

And these weren't all. Göksel went out on the track. He sang our national anthem. It was an honor to sing our anthem with thousands of people. Seeing any country's value being celebrated with such a crowd always makes me happy. I've always felt happy watching this scene in other countries. But this time, it wasn't on TV; it was right in front of me. It was a completely different feeling.

And of course, there's the trophy. A prize referencing the iconic 8th corner of the track, with a crescent and star design. I really liked the design.

In the End...

I think. I think. I THINK!

• It was a great race on a beautiful track.
• The Turkish people truly deserve to watch Formula 1 in their country.
• Intercity management should really sit down and think seriously.
• We still have a lot of things to change in terms of mindset.