What started out as a search to watch Formula 1 live has turned into a community that meets almost weekly to watch their favourite teams go head-to-head.
Meet Simphiwe Dlungwana, the brainchild of the F1 PaddockViewing Club, a space essentially created by a fan for fans. The club started mid-season last year and has since expanded across four locations with scores of motorsport fans.
“I was simply looking for a place to watch F1 because I was tired of watching it at home by myself. It was quite hard to initially find a place, which was strange because you could easily find a place to watch rugby or soccer but there was literally nothing for F1.”
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This motivated Dlungwana to create a space for himself and his friends, and thus the first location on the list was the 011 Gin Eatery in Sandton.
“For the first three months, every single race weekend I would take my TV to the restaurant so that we could watch the race. With each race weekend the word started to get out and more people attended.”
He added that the experience at the viewing club was modelled after what he would like and enjoy.
“I wanted to create the idea of just being able to get together with some friends, have good food and drinks all while watching a race.”
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Forward 14 months, the shouts and screams of excited fans can be heard from Rosebank, Sandton, Menlyn and Bedfordview as teams get the upper hand, ultimately fighting for a podium finish.
With a 24-race calendar set for 2023, Dlungwana is excited to see the club grow as F1 gains more popularity in South Africa.
“I have plans to expand beyond Gauteng to places like KwaZulu-Natal and Cape Town, get more Formula 1 fans together and let them know that there is a space out there for them,” said Dlungwana.
Interested in experiencing Formula 1 like never before? Find your nearest F1 PaddockViewing Club location on their website on www.paddockviewing.africa
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