Inside track

Watching an F1 race with live access to engineers and telemetry is the stuff of dreams for racing fans. ALEX WOLSTENHOLME makes a day of it

- ALEX WOLSTENHOLME

Did you know that Formula 1 is regulated by a rulebook that is more than 500 pages long? And that, during the course of a race, drivers can lose as much as 5kg?

What about the g-forces said drivers endure? They're greater than those felt by astronauts on the Space Shuttle.

Such snippets, and many others, were gleaned during a day out at Mercedes-Benz World at the historic Brooklands track, where my colleague Charlie Martin and I had been invited to join a few lucky competition winners for a behind-the-scenes insight into the Singapore Grand Prix.

Attending meant braving the ever-depressing M25, this time in torrential rain and just as the sun was coming up, but still, the promise of watching a grand prix on a big screen with access to experts from the F1 team's base in Brackley would surely make the slog worthwhile.

Arriving at Brooklands is always surreal. As you round a junction through a retail park, you'll notice you're actually crossing the infield purpose-built of the world's first race track, and it begins to feel a bit special: it's the perfect prelude to an afternoon's racing.

First of all we are ushered up a domineering spiral staircase to be greeted by some 70 years of F1 history: a 'Monza'-kitted W196, one of Mika Häkkinen's McLarens and even a CLK 55 safety car.