Formula 1 Exhibition
Anyone who knows me knows I’m a huge sports fan, and Formula 1 is probably up there with being one of my favourites - it’s odd that it was often on when I was a child and never really did interest me, but then one year it really gripped me and I’ve been an avid fan since. Even before the recent influx of interest from the Netflix series Drive To Survive.
I will admit I am a Lewis Hamilton fan, we’re not too dissimilar in age and watching someone start as a rookie doing so well in his first season, almost winning, to then actually winning the World Championship in his second season in that frantic last lap of the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix was an incredible achievement, then followed the drought of a few years with Red Bull dominance and that odd Brawn season, to winning 6 more World Championships (should have been 7), there’s always hope he might do it again, Ferrari willing. It’s been a wild ride. Unfortunately I’ve never been to a live race, it’s just not something which has lined up right for me, but when I saw The Formula 1 Exhibition in at the Excel in London, I just had to go. And of course whilst I was there, why not assess the accessibility.
The location was actually pretty good, I travelled on public transport via the Tube from Tottenham Court Road to Custom House, using the TfL Plan a Journey App to make my journey with step free access. It was a delight to go on the new Elizabeth Line, love the purple, with many of the platforms having level access, my scooter was able to manage with no problems. I also timed it well in that I went during quiet hours and as such it wasn’t so busy. The wheelchair space was easily accessible and with it being quieter there was plenty of space to turn round so I was facing my preferred direction, the bonus of the Elizabeth Line is that it also lets you know which side the doors will open, so takes away one less anxiety. Once at Custom House I followed the signs to the Excel and then from there, there were plenty of signs for the exhibition itself. Tickets were bought in advance, via Fever and a time chosen for entry, within the app’s ticket details it gives information regarding what size bags and other items are allowed, and what time to arrive for joining the queue.
Luckily on my time of arrival the weather wasn’t too bad as we queued outside the building, then we were allowed entry on our time slot, the ticket was scanned from the phone and I was directed to a ramp to the left hand side of the entrance, it could have been more clearly marked as it was quite dark inside, but once I spotted it, it was ok, once up the ramp I was given priority access into the exhibition - you are offered a photo on arrival but I didn’t partake and skipped that bit.
The next bit is the only downside to the whole experience, I was directed to a lift (see image), however the lift was one which needed someone to open the door for entry and exit, so when the lift arrived to my floor I had to wait for another guest to open the lift door for me to get in as there was no member of staff nearby to ask and the lift was too heavy - they very kindly also waited at the top of the stairs to open it there too - otherwise (and I did this when leaving) I pushed the door with scooter, but as it was glass there was slight hesitation to do this. That aside there was no other real negative to my experience.
Once inside you are directed towards the audio pickup where you are given a handheld device and headphones, the headphones were comfy and noise cancelling, the handheld device was a little cumbersome to start with, but I was able to sort the strap and hang from scooter handle so from then on was ok. Throughout the whole exhibition there were signs which would you need to point your handheld device towards to activate the speaking, the videos also had subtitles, for one or two of the signs you needed to point quite close, but most of them worked well.
Inside the exhibition was a little dark, I think this was to be so impactful when looking at the vehicles, trophies and memorabilia, which all had cleverly positioned lighting, there was also atmospheric sound through the handheld device, all of which contributed to the ambience of the whole experience - I really did appreciate these little touches. The exhibition was split in sections, could maybe call them rooms, each with a theme, for example the history of F1 was the first, with others including strategy, aerodynamics, drivers past and present. As a fan it was amazing to see up close the actual cars, the car parts, trophies won and the helmets which we become to recognise when watching, including the iconic yellow Senna design. The tyres were also an interesting sight just showing how big they are and having a respect for the pitstop crew to shift such a unit in less than 5 seconds. The videos were great to watch some of the historical races, hear from the drivers and team principals, but also to hear from some of the lesser known, but vital parts of the team such as aero engineers and car designers. It was also wonderful to see sections on females within Motorsport with both Suzie Wolff and Bernie Collins appearing. They were all very informative and integral to the exhibition.
The exhibition was hugely popular and there were a lot of guests there on the same day as I visited, but many were accommodating and moved to allow me to see, standing behind as they knew I would be lower down, the staff inside were also friendly, often asking if I needed space to move and making people aware of me if they weren’t to allow me to see - they weren’t overbearing and they weren't patronising at all, it was all very helpful.
I spent about 3 hours in total in the viewing rooms, reading and taking in as much as I could, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity so I was sure to appreciate it all. Upon the exit you came right back to where you started, such that it was a circular route and back down the initial ramp to the outside. If you are a fan of F1 I would recommend a trip if it comes to your area, it was informative, on the whole fully accessible and a great experience!
