Ask the regular Grand Prix fan what the greatest track in the world is, chances are they will say one of two, Monaco or Spa Franchorchamps. The fan would choose Monaco because of its incredible spectacle, or Spa because it is (was, now) the greatest, fastest, most challenging circuit on the calendar. So if you're picking the ultimate place to go and watch an F1 race, it really boils down to these two. When given this choice, Spa was the place I had to go, helped by its close proximity to England, its good accommodation, and because I had already been to Monaco in 1998.

But getting there relied on our nice friends at FOM granting us two paddock passes, one for me, and one for my friend Robin Postance, who would be attending his first Grand Prix. Thanks to my father Peter Slater, who is pit lane reporter for BBC Radio 5 Live, everything was sorted, and on the morning of Wednesday 28th of August we began the long journey to the south coast of England. Upon arrival at the channel tunnel, we went to get some lunch and on the way into the canteen we met some men wearing Orange Arrows shirts. After some journalistic probing from Dad, we discovered that these were the Arrows mechanics, and that they hadn't been paid since July!

The Arrows situation would be an interesting sub-plot for the weekend. After our crossing, the journey to Spa took 3 hours, and at about 8.30pm we pulled into the small village of Franchorchamps. Already you could feel the atmosphere building. There were plenty of (mostly German) fans there already, and the merchandising stalls were being set up. Wandering down the hill, we made our way onto the circuit. We emerged on the outside of La Source, and began walking down the hill, and around the corner - and there in front of me was the greatest corner in F1, Eau Rouge. It is so unbelievably steep that you wonder how on earth a car could take it at 50 mph let alone 200.

Left: Home for 4 days, the hallowed turf of the F1 paddock. Right: Bye bye, Arrows! And don't let the door hit you on the way out!

At this point it was beginning to darken over the Ardennes hills, and we would get to walk the track on Thursday, so we decided to head back to the Auberge de Pere Boigelot, our home for the next four days. We greeted Madame who showed us our beds, which we took very little time to get into. Thursday mornings at Grands Prix are normally fairly relaxed, and after consuming our traditional Ardennes breakfast of Ardennes waffles and Ardennes ham, we made our way back to the circuit where all the motorhomes were being set up, and people were arriving. We met up with some old friends such as David Coulthard who posed for photos with Robin.

When I asked him what his season had been like, he replied, "Don't ask!!!" The BAR motorhome became a popular retreat for us all weekend, and it was where we went for dinner that day. We were just finishing up when we noticed a stir of journalists at the paddock gates, and in marched a figure wearing a brown leather jacket, striding down towards the Ferrari motorhome, and in the space of about 2 seconds he was gone. We had witnessed our first sighting that weekend, of 'Michael' but it wouldn't be the last we'd see of him that day! I had always wanted to see at close quarters the classic Spa track and that afternoon we would get our chance to walk all 4.2 miles of it. This time we had a proper chance to look at Eau Rouge, and spent a good 20 minutes at the corner doing pieces for a video.

We met up with John Button, father of Jenson, who described to us the magic his son felt when going round this mother and father of all corners. We finally had to move on, and so began the (very steep) climb up to the top of the Eau Rouge corner to go over the crest at Radillion. At this point I looked back and saw at the foot of Eau Rouge a figure in red on a bicycle cycling up the great corner. I turned to Robin and said. "Hey, look at that idiot on a bike trying to cycle up Eau Rouge, what on earth does he think he's doing?" Uninterested, we continued the walk, and had reached Radillion when I turned round to look at the man on the bike again, then, I recognised him. "Robin," I said "That's Michael Schumacher!" PANIC! Robin pointed the video camera hurriedly at him, while I began to run after him.

Left: Checking out Schumi's Ferrari, tempting to accidentally giving the plank a kick. Right: Robin says Hello and Welcome to F1 to Minardi newbie Anthony Davidson.

But, being the World Champion and extremely fit, I couldn't keep pace with him for long. Anyway, there was a motorbike running close by with a woman in Ferrari gear on the back, and she made a signal to me with her finger; and the signal meant NO!! I suppose I was silly to think that Michael would go out and cycle round the circuit all on his own. 20 minutes later a panting Robin and myself arrived at the Les Combes complex, by my reckoning we had just about managed to beat the time that Bruno Giacomelli in the Life took to reach this point in 1990!! The only people we met on our entire jaunt round the track were a couple of cameramen who sat filming - what, exactly...??

At Blanchimont we stopped for more filming and to observe the new safety features erected such as higher fencing, better tyre walls, etc. At the bus stop chicane, whilst doing another voice piece for the video, I mistakenly questioned the wisdom of putting tyre stacks on each of the chicanes. Little did I know that these were just for the support races! And so we crossed the startline to clock a time of 2hrs 30 mins, easily a Thursday record, well, apart from Michael of course! Thursday evening would be busy as we had been invited, along with all media, to a special champagne dinner at the Spa town casino, courtesy of Toyota. Of course, the sensational news of the week was the sacking of both Allan McNish and Mika Salo for 2003.

Earlier in the day, I had chatted with McNish and asked whether he was going to the dinner. "Both Mika and I have been asked not to attend," responded Allan. Nice touch that. But we had been invited, and enjoyed refills of my champagne glass as we mingled with such media stars as Peter Slater, and Tony Dodgins of Motorsport News. We got talking to a nice girl from Bernie TV called Alex who has promised to try and sort some work experience out for me next year. And so we made our way into the huge ballroom, with a model Toyota in the middle and tables all set out for the guests. Soon the show got under way and were treated to a video showing Toyota's involvement in motorsport, cars, rallies, F1, etc.

Left: In front of the Williams garage, a generally depressed place for most of '02. Right: Nigel Mansell discovers he still has a few fans left (only among the British, though). He look better with the Mo!

Then a man, introduced as boss of Toyota Europe, welcomed everyone to the dinner. Ove Andersson, boss of Toyota was called up on stage, and was asked several questions by the man, the most poignant being, tell us about recent changes in the team, at which Ove gave us a load of PR bilge, saying that the decision to drop Salo and McNish was nothing to do with performance. (As Dad rightly pointed out, what is it to do with then??) Mr Toyota Europe then went on to say, "This is a relaxed evening and we do not wish to bore you with a long series of speeches, however ..." We were then all treated to possibly the two most long and boring speeches I have ever heard, one from some Japanese bloke, the other from another Toyota Europe guru.

In between consistent nodding off, I caught the words, "We would like to thank Mika Salo and Allan McNish for their superb job all year," which simply added insult to injury. Dinner was very nice, turbert and guinea fowl amongst the offerings, but the damage had already been done, and we were rather relieved to leave at the end of the evening. On the way out we collected the memorabilia on offer, which included a model Toyota, and a copy of Mr Kutsumi Whatshisname's stultifying speech! That pile remained largely untouched, so we gather. News from other journos was that the dinner was a complete sham, and no one would be attending next year. Well done, Ove.

Having walked round it several times, what I really wanted to see now was a F1 car speeding through Eau Rouge, so after our Jordan breakfast the next day (a regular fixture at race weekends), we wandered out to the area where all the poor people, sorry, 'fans', were. When we reached the area behind the grandstands on the run down to Eau Rouge, I realised that the merchandising stalls were all layed out exactly as they were at Silverstone: there was the same Michelin 3D cinema which Robin and I went in again, there was the same Ferrari stands, there was the same, Orange Arrows 3 seater experience, despite the unlikeliness of any track action from the two cars, one of which had no driver!

Left: ITV's Louise Goodman gets some tip on pit strategies from Stephen. Right: Call the FIA! The worst podium shenanigans since Austria...

We had seen it the day before. Surely the greatest place to watch F1 cars, the Grandstand right at the top of Eau Rouge. To our great surprise we had no trouble getting into the stand with our passes, but admittedly it was half empty. Unfortunately, due to foggy conditions, the medical helicopter had been unable to land at the circuit after flying in from Liege, so practice was delayed by an hour. But when it started, watching those cars bottom out through the heart of Eau Rouge is something you have to see to believe. It is incredible how steep the corner actually is, nothing like the illusion of television suggests.

Michael's emergence on track caused a roar from our grandstand, completely drowning out our two 'booooos' (we haven't forgotten Austria, Mike!!). Unsurprisingly, both Ferraris were quickest, and so we made our way back to the paddock, on the way meeting some German fans who'd been using the title sponsor a bit too heavily... The rest of the afternoon was spent hanging around looking for photographs etc, including a very nice one with F1 ringmeister Bernie Ecclestone. We had a long chat in particular with some of the Minardi team members, including Alex Yoong's manager; it was really funny watching the mechanics try and be serious about Alex and his performances and not upset the manager.

Even so, some sarcasm and giggles slipped out, not from me, of course! Neither Arrows had taken part in the Friday free practice, the initial word being that an American investor was finishing a buy out attempt. At any rate we drifted over to have a chat with my Dad's mate Graham, the chef at Arrows, who invited us for a beer at the Arrows motorhome, well, awning. In there we met Enrique Bernoldi, and my question to him was "What do you think of the Rice Bowl?!", which is the Chinese restaurant in Towcester which we go to on Silverstone weekend and which Bernoldi regularly visits.

Left: Some friendly German getting a bit more friendly thanks to Fosters. Right: "Hey! What the hell are you two doing here? I thought I banned you forever at Silverstone!"

After the beer we gave our thanks to Graham and my Dad grabbed the last word with Tom Walkinshaw before he strolled out of the paddock gates. My Dad said on air, ''Was that the last time we will ever see Tom Walkinshaw in the F1 paddock?? Looks rather like it, doesn't it?" Later that night the Arrows trucks pulled out of the paddock and have not returned since. But we had a tour of the media centre arranged by my Dad's FIA friend Stephane to look forward to. The media centre is (surprise surprise) where all the world's media is based, where the written journalists can write their articles, and the radio journalists like my Dad can send material back to London via a series of telephone and ISDN lines.

At one end of the media centre is the press conference room which is full of chairs where the written journalists can ask questions for up to half an hour after the unilateral press conference (the short one which is seen on TV). The unilaterals are done in a completely different room, which Stephane took us to. It is amazing just how small it is! There is minimal space for 3 TV cameras and a simple box for the interviewer Bruce Jones to sit on. Next to the press conference room is the podium, and it was some strange looks that we were given from passers by as I did my Schumacher leap impersonation!

That evening back at the hotel we dined with some of Autosport's and Motorsport News' finest journalists. Being F1 Rejects' UK Correspondent, I couldn't help bringing up the subject of who was the worst driver in F1 ever. According to Simon Arron of Motorsport News, Jean-Denis Deletraz was a decent driver, in fact 100 times better than Alex Yoong. Even Giovanni Lavaggi, is ranked higher in Simon's esteem than the young Malaysian, who, is about on par with Taki Inoue as the worst of the last decade. Saturday morning would be our chance to eat at the pantheon of F1 motorhomes. Well, motorhome is a forbidden word when describing this place. We would be having breakfast at the McLaren 'communication centre'. This place is so immense, it's amazing how a miniature restaurant/hotel can be transported round Europe so easily.

Left: Taking a drink and giving us a debrief on a hard day's celebrity spottting. Right: The point of view of the interviewed - not much room for Bruce Jones.

In the motorhome, sorry, 'communication centre', there are catering facilities, meeting rooms, offices, computer rooms, you name it, this place has got it. I was allowed to go unhindered around the place, even upstairs into the offices of Ron Dennis and Norbert Haug. As an afterthought, the breakfast was pretty nice too. Somewhat to our surprise, getting into the Eau Rouge Grandstand on Saturday morning proved just as easy as it had done the previous day. We watched Michael Schumacher secure what turned out to be his first ever pole position at Spa despite having won the race five times. The German's main opposition came from young Kimi Raikkonen, the Finn putting in a superb performance including driving full throttle through a cloud of engine smoke on the exit of Radillion.

The afternoon's activities included a look round the Williams garage, and our chance to appear with Jim Rosenthal in the ITV studio. One of my most satisfying moments was outside the paddock gates where Eddie Jordan was having his photo taken with some 'very nice' looking Foster's girls. After approaching one of them for a photo, she gathered the other two round, and I had a snap taken in true celebrity style. Nice!! On our afternoon paddock wanderings we had a long chat with Justin Wilson, whom I had met at an earlier test session. Justin's a really genuine guy, and from the sound of things might well be in F1 next year with Minardi. It'd be a nice thought, wouldn't it?

That evening back at Pere Boigelot, we had dinner with some of the ITV elite. Tony Jardine, Louise Goodman, James Allen and Ted Kravitz. I made a £10 bet with Ted that Yoong would not return for the USA Grand Prix. Needless to say, that was a BIG MISTAKE!! Breakfast the next day was again taken in the McLaren 'communication centre' in the company of Autosport Grand Prix Editor Nigel Roebuck. We talked about the current state of F1. The main changes he suggested were better tracks, less aerodynamics and no traction control. We walked up with Allan McNish to the driver's parade, and secured a time to interview him after the race.

Left: This photo cost Stephen quite a bit of money to arrange. Lucky the pound is strong these days. Right: The view through Eau Rouge - something we won't be seeing in 2003, and maybe never again.

There was such a scrum in the pitlane as the drivers walk out to the truck, that we found it difficult to see anything. But my height enabled me to catch a glimpse of around 100 Foster's girls lined up on the starting grid. We then watched as Bob Constanduros interviewed the drivers on their lap of honour. Some light relief came when a marshal on the back of the truck fell off on the exit of Pouhon!! Lunch was devoured at the Asiatech facility. Sadly, we may not get the chance to eat there again! And so to the race, which was unquestionably the most boring part of the weekend. Luckily the paddock gives a very good view of the run down to Eau Rouge, and it was from here that we watched the 20 cars as they muscled their way down the hill.

After a few laps in which the order settled down (ahhh, sorry did I say a few laps? The race was won by the time Schumacher reached La Source!!), we retreated to the BAR motorhome, and then to the McLaren 'communications centre' to watch the race. Justin Wilson was there, and talking to him was far more exciting than the race itself. We made our way to underneath the podium to watch Montoya and the two Ferrari drivers yet again spraying the bubbly. When all the excitement had died down we went back to the McLaren 'communication centre' where David Coulthard was enjoying a post race drink after his fourth place finish.

We chatted with him about the race, he also introduced us to his girlfriend Simone Abdelnar, which was yet another 'pleasant' experience! The interview with McNish proved a satisfying conclusion to the weekend, and it was three very exhausting racefans who made their way away from the circuit that night. And shall we return? We probably never will. I was heartbroken by the FIA's decision to drop the race from the 2003 calendar. With competition from Bahrain and China, Spa will find it difficult to come back to the calendar, and I fear this beautiful circuit has been lost forever to the world of F1. At least I can say I went there, and experienced the most fantastic weekend I've probably ever had. How can Silverstone 2003 be an improvement? For now, enjoy the memories of some of those great Spa races. I certainly shall.