Formula 1 is a closed world. The mystery is part of it's appeal. That's what drew me in from a very young age. But in 2012, I earned my big photography break and photographed my first GP. Since then, I've photographed nearly 20 F1 races around the world and had a first hand look at life in the paddock. This is what it's like behind the closed door of F1 at that most historic of Grand Prix weekends: The Italian Grand Prix.

Jamey Price

It's Thursday morning in Monza and my body clock is in meltdown mode.

Jamey Price

F1's media circus generally arrives the day before to acclimate to the time change and cover various media opportunities around the track and city. Those of us that do not cover the full season are given a "race by race" pass which we pick up early on Thursday morning before heading to the track. The lanyard is an electronic swipe card with our ID on the back of it and the publication or media outlet we work for printed on the back with the dates of the GP. Basically, this is a one race credential that will allow us to cover that particular race, but with fewer privileges than someone who has a full season "permanent pass."

Jamey Price

Once we pick up our pass, we walk through the "famous" electronic turnstile gates that guard the F1 paddock and head toward the media center to set up our kit. Photographing a race is not just about race cars on a race track. We are there to tell a story for everyone who isn't at the race. The world needs to know what's going on, and we are there to show it.

Jamey Price

Thursday is all about the press conference, drivers walking the track and getting the general atmosphere of the race weekend. Not everyone likes Thursdays in the F1 paddock, but I definitely do. It's generally the only point in the weekend when you can see drivers with a slightly more laid back personality. By Thursday night, all our images from the day are edited and sent, and we it's totally time for at least one beer.

Friday is a long day at any F1 race.

Jamey Price

The drivers generally arrive at the circuit two hours (on the dot) before their first session of the day. That means Lewis Hamilton makes his grand entrance at 8am.

Jamey Price

It's my least favorite thing to do, but many photographers line up to nail photos of drivers swiping into the electronic turnstiles that we all must pass through to get into the paddock. They're very dull photos and rarely produce anything nice or editorially usable. But occasionally, depending on the race track and the paddock layout, it can be worth it.

Jamey Price

Jamey Price

With very limited track time, you need to plan your day pretty carefully. The sun and weather play a large part of that strategy. This Friday morning, I heave my heavy 500mm lens over my shoulder and head out to a part of the circuit that is pretty much the farthest point from the media center: the first Lesmo, a fast right hand turn where, if the sun is right, you can snag a great photo of the car emerging from the tree shadowed track into bright sunlight.

Jamey Price

Sadly, on this day, when cars start running at 10am, the sun is nowhere to be seen. The 6 of us at that corner are disappointed, but then, by some miracle, the sun comes out. Problem is, no cars are running. They've done their installation lap and have gone into the garage for a coffee and chat with engineers. That's how it goes sometimes though. Finally, cars start running again, and again, the sun comes back out. The harsher the sunlight, the better the photo (in this spot anyway). You should have heard the cheers as each car came out to do laps.

Jamey Price

One of Ferrari's photographers was cursing and swearing with each passing car that came out, with exception of the two Ferrari's. "Where are you, you @#$%'s!" until they finally came out, and with equal swearing and excited yelling, we all laugh and continue working. I cover a few different spots in the area I'm shooting. But again, the problem with this section of track is you're stuck until the session is over.

Jamey Price

When it's done, we make the long walk back to the media center. Once back to the press room, I dump my memory cards into my computer and begin doing edits and send images to our photo team's server for archiving. A quick bite to eat, then an hour before the session, head back out on track for free practice two.

Jamey Price

Second practice goes much the same as the first. I'm at a fast section of track called Ascari before the cars head off down the long back stretch toward Parabolica.

I shoot a few different angles of Ascari and walk up along the the track toward the Lesmo's again, except this time on driver's right. Before you know it, the hour and a half session is done, and it's once again time to make the hike back to the press room for more editing. By the time we're all finished at the track, it's been a 13 hour work day.

Jamey Price

Jamey Price

Saturday goes much the same as Friday.

Arrive two hours before the session and photograph drivers walking in, some paddock atmosphere and whatever else can be found. I am given the "pass" that allows me up in the tower above Parabolica. It's a small platform that quite literally hangs over Monza's most famous corner. It's also an exceptionally fast corner, and with 20 other photographers packed into that small space, it's hard to pan with the cars as they fly by beneath you. I didn't even bring my long lens.

Jamey Price

Jamey Price

This photo spot is all about wide angle and a few images on my always handy 70-200 lens. I spent the entire hour free practice session trying different angles than another team member had done the previous day. It's frustrating, but occasionally rewarding. The track was also damp to start with, so the cars were not taking the normal line under us, but were instead much farther out, off the racing line, fighting for grip on the track.

Jamey Price

After FP3, it's time to edit, then get my gear together for qualifying. I am heading to the outside of Parabolica this time. A spot that I did not manage to explore last year. A few nice images can be done and I did what I could with the short session before walking back to do a few more edits.

Jamey Price

Jamey Price

I think the highlight of this particular Grand Prix Saturday was a Shell / Ferrari joint press event where they placed the new 2015 F1 chassis on the old Monza banking along with a 1951 Ferrari 166. Normally these press events are as dull as watching paint dry. But this one was well organized, and very, very cool. Take note sponsors! Want the press to come in masses and salivate over your product? Do something cool, like this.

Jamey Price

Jamey Price

Jamey Price

The day ended with a few drinks and nibbles at the Red Bull Energy Station. Red Bull is one of the few teams in the paddock that takes care of the media very well. They usually host a few parties through the year. Anyone with a media credential can come and enjoy. It's a nice way to end a long day in the hot Italian sun.

Sunday is always buzzing in the F1 paddock.

All the teams have guests, especially at European races. Monza is special because it has great atmosphere. A few celebrities and politicians are floating around talking with media and socializing in the team motorhomes. Our photography team sits down and talks through our race strategy. We are a four man team, so each of us has a job to do, part of the track to cover during the race, as well as a spot to cover for the podium.

Jamey Price

With the driver's parade at 12:30, I spend a few minutes in the paddock wandering around looking for familiar faces. Part of the job of being an F1 photographer is knowing who is who. The more time you spend around the paddock, the more you learn about who is talking to who and who to look for when they step in front of your camera.

Then I head back to the press room one more time. Three lenses, a 500mm, a 70-200mm and a 14-24mm are carried with me, as well as a card wallet full of memory cards. I snag a few water bottles and out the door I go!

I head to the pitlane to catch the pre race festivities and photograph the drivers talking to one another as they climb aboard the truck that takes them on a lap of the track to wave to fans. It's a chaotic half hour of being pushed around by security guards and other photographers. But with an hour and a half left before the race starts, I head down to my pre-planned start position at turn one. It's a fairly long walk down the front straight. The photographer's tower is pretty high up too, so a handful of trackside volunteers help us hoist our heavy camera gear up on ropes to the top as we climb the ladder one by one then get ourselves situated in the tower.

Jamey Price

Jamey Price

The tower fills up quickly, so getting there early is a must. You'll notice that throughout the weekend, I didn't spend any time in pitlane. That's mostly because "race by race" passes do not generally have access. It requires a special tabard that you sign up for on Thursday, and working on a team with three other photographers, they have the pitlane well covered. Some races I do get the chance to spend some time in the Force India garage or in pitlane covering drivers coming in and out from the track, but it's a fast paced place to work. It's the same with the grid, the FIA and FOM are very selective about who has access. And anyone with a "race by race" pass does not have that luxury. One of the many frustrating things about covering F1, but it is what it is!

With five minutes to go, the five lights come on and we are all standing ready to shoot the start of the Italian Grand Prix, the grand stand behind me is brimming with excited fans, with 2/3 of them wearing bright red in support of the home team.

Jamey Price

The cars head out on their formation lap. We dial in all the camera settings, but also get banker shots of all the cars going into turn one. More than once, the three teams we have as clients have failed to make the second lap due to crashes or mechanical problems. A few minutes later, the cars re-appear making their way to the start of the race. The lights come on one by one, then away they go!

Jamey Price

With a roar, the 20 cars fly toward us as we photograph the whole sequence until they are all past us safely. On this particular afternoon, Hamilton disappears into the sunset on lap two. I spent most of the race waiting for passes up in the tower looking at turn one but not much passing happens there. Those kinds of shots are not glamorous, but they are necessary to have.

With 10 laps left, I climb down from the tower and walk up the track as the cars fly by. As the laps count down, I shoot a few images of cars whizzing by and finally, the checkered flag comes out and Lewis Hamilton takes another Italian GP victory.

But for the fans, it was all about the man in red, Sebastian Vettel, who took his first home podium wearing the famous red overalls. I photographed the podium celebrations from across the track in a photographer's tower protected by security guards to help eliminate the risk of camera theft, which sadly, and has happened to me at this race before.

Jamey Price

You have to keep your wits about you at Monza. I love Italy, and I love Italians, but some of them have very sticky hands. With 50,000 fans packed onto the front straight under the podium, it's an amazing sight to see that many humans in one place. It's part of what makes Monza special. After the podium, the photographers in my area all sit down and relax for a minute. There is no point in trying to fight the mass of humanity that lies in front of us to get back to the press room. Finally we feel it's safe enough to move, and we all head back across the track and back into pitlane where we quickly send priority images, followed by the rest of our selection to clients and our archive.

Jamey Price

All said and done, our team transmitted 1725+ images, walked many many miles, had many many beers, and many many pizzas. It's a lot of work, but covering F1 is an opportunity I never thought I would see, and I can barely believe it when I say that by the end of this season, I will have covered my 20th GP.

Jamey Price is a Charlotte based professional motorsport photographer who has photographed MotoGP, Indycar, NASCAR, Sports cars, Le Mans and F1 for several years with his work published around the globe. You can see more of his work at www.jameypricephoto.com and on Instagram: @jameypricephoto.

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