One of the most physically demanding sports in the world, F1 drivers spend months staying in shape, maintaining an ideal weight, and working on their fitness to give their best during an actual Grand Prix weekend. However, they’re not the only ones who have to be in a good condition physically.
Those working in other areas of the circuit during races have to put in long hours as well. Photographers, in particular, could have to spend around 14 hours trackside, as revealed by Taidgh Barron, a Tokyo-based photographer who specializes in Real Estate and Sports photography.
Barron, who landed himself in hot water last year by calling Alex Albon’s attitude demeaning, shared a video on his Instagram account, talking about the ‘best and worst’ food he has eaten at races around the world.
Of course, the glamorous outings like Miami and Jeddah were like a feast. But the worst conditions he worked in made him feel how drivers do in Singapore.
Barron singled Monaco out for providing the worst catering services out of any race on the calendar. “The race is absolutely stunning,” he began. “The local federation are some of my favorite people to work with. They all know I’m coming back no matter what.”
“But the media food here consists of a hockey puck-looking sandwich,” he added, which was shocking when taking into account that Qatar hosted an outdoor barbecue and Miami gave out free beers in luxury boxes to the same people.
Barron also revealed that because he takes photos of F2 races as well, he misses out on the only time of the day when the catering people serve food. “It’s one of the absolute best races of the year, but yeah, I lose six kilos (13.2 lbs) working it.”
In contrast, F1 drivers, after the long, hot, and humid, race in Singapore sweat out and lose only around 4 kilos (8.8 lbs). Who said only drivers have to be physically fit?
Why Monaco serves poor food?
Barron had a perfectly logical explanation behind Monaco’s abysmal food and even worse distribution system. It all stems down to the fact that it is a ‘legacy race’.
The newer Grand Prix on the calendar want to impress everyone in attendance, which is why they splurge on every aspect. For Monaco, however, creating that appeal isn’t necessary because the race is as appealing as it is.
So, it’s possible that some other historic tracks on the calendar such as Spa-Francorchamps, Silverstone, and Interlagos don’t offer the most flattering catering either.
However, that’s not necessarily true.
Barron revealed that Bahrain has surprisingly good services. They’ve been hosting F1 for over two decades, but continue to give equal importance to drivers and media personnel alike.
“My favorite part is that the photographers actually eat in the same dining halls as F2 and F3 drivers…”, he said.
Not quite F1-level luxury, but certainly better than ‘hockey puck’ looking sandwiches.
