We pack up, leave the site at 09:55 and drive 3 miles to join the autostrada. Traffic is light and we make good progress for the first 40-odd miles until we enter long sections of road-works. We're still moving quickly but it gets much busier where the road is reduced to two narrower lanes. Just before mid-day we reach the toll station and pay the €12.90 fee, good value today as it saved nearly three hours. We enter Monza's suburbs still on dual carriageway and only have the last 4 miles through busy city traffic but at 12:30 we find the Autodromo campsite without any problems and set about checking in. A few of the staff are English which helps but it is a narrow gateway and they are processing lots of people so it takes a while. Soon we are parked and connected and ready to go into the circuit.

As we wander through this site it's obviously going to be a noisy weekend. Vans and tents from all over Europe and Scandinavia are set up amongst the trees, many with groups of 4,6 or 8 men plus the obligatory beer coolers and large sound systems blasting out heavy rock music. We haven't eaten and the smell from 'banger city' is too tempting so we have hot dogs before going down to the circuit entrance.

3-day ticket holders are allowed a pit lane walk today so we join the group assembling at the back of the pits. We have to wait over an hour for the doors to open and the crush begins, but when staff spot a wheelchair they hold the crowd and take us through. Once in the pit road we head towards the garages and get a real treat. Instead of having to fight the crowd by the barriers we are directed into pit-lane itself, walking along the blue strip that divides the pit boxes from pit-lane.

We get an excellent view of the cars in their garages, some fully assembled on their wheels, others being worked on by the mechanics. Jacks, air guns and traffic-light gantries are all laid out, together with stacks of tyres and nose-cones.

As we approach the Lotus garage they start a car's engine. Who says this year's cars are quiet?!

Nearer the end of pit-lane we are outside Mercedes-Benz pit when there is a cheer and world championship leader Nico Rosberg appears. As Nick turns to see him Nico steps in front of the wheelchair and gets a clip on the ankle; racing incident, I turned in and didn't see him...

Anyway we get an autograph and photo with him and continue down the lane.

A Mercedes is on the tarmac with a mechanic in the driving seat. A few guys push the car forward, it stops, air-guns chatter, wheels are swapped and air-guns chatter again. Practice pit-stop; 4 wheels changed in under 3 seconds. Meanwhile a Ferarri is pushed past coming back from scrutineering.

Then for reasons not know Ali incurs the wrath of a marshall who tries to manhandle her camera as she is taking a video. She snatches it out of his hands, Nick nudges him with the wheelchair and he lets go but is babbling away crossly. It's obviously time to go so we counter his yelling with our own as another marshal politely accompanies us to the outside of the barrier.

We wander along by the pit wall where teams are setting up the 'prat-perches', as they call the station from which they manage their cars during the race, then back to the barrier where Ali grabs another driver's autograph, this time Jean-Eric Vergne.

Leaving pit-lane after a fantastic close-up experience with cars and drivers we stop for a cold drink in the 'village' then head back to the campsite.

It's still reverberating to loud music and the smell of cooking is wafting through the trees as we return to the van.