F1 hospitality: The business of luxury

(CNN) -- Even in the notoriously damp conditions of Spa-Francorchamps, many of Formula 1's most committed supporters will again flock to the camping grounds in thousands, set up their tents and brave the less than clement conditions.

Back in the olden days, when Formula 1 represented more of a traveling circus than the glamorous spectacle it is today, drivers and teams would have been likely to join them. Needless to say, this has changed.

For guests of the teams, the corporate clients of their sponsors and other VIPs, a weekend at a Formula 1 Grand Prix are an extremely luxurious experience which begins before they even arrive at the racetrack.

While all other visitors have to face crowded motorways or trains to make their way to the event that attracts tens of thousands of fans, whoever is lucky enough to get invited will usually get to the circuit by helicopter.

Not surprising that the small heliport at Silverstone in England claims to be the busiest airport in the UK every year for the British Grand Prix.

From there on, it is but a short ride to what sets Formula 1 apart from most other sporting events in terms of corporate hospitality, the Formula 1 Paddock Club. The central part of the Paddock Club is a series of pavilions, also known as the Village.

The major teams usually have their own pavilion where they entertain their respective guests. The guests of this area are free to roam in between their designated VIP grand stand to catch the action of the Formula 1 Championship and its support series and enjoy the odd glass of complementary champagne at the open bar that is located at the center of the Paddock Club.

Lunch is served just in time for the start of the race. Before that, most guests are taken on a tour through the pits where they can come face-to-face with their favorite drivers and their mechanics. And it is not unheard of for the biggest names of the sport to come and greet their guests and sponsors at the Paddock Club just a few hours before they make an appearance on the starting grid.

For most races of the season the catering is carried out by Austrian company DO&CO, who, for the record, will also feed the hungry VIPs during the European football championships in Switzerland and Austria in 2008.

The company's attention to detail includes baking bread in Vienna on the morning of the race, and shipping it out to the country where the race is to be held.

In the midst of all this luxury are the guests and VIPs who can use the setting of the Paddock Club to casually exchange business ideas and ensure that their sponsorship deal has been money well spent.

One event on the calendar, however, dwarfs all others with regards to the effort made to entertain guests at a Formula 1 Grand Prix: Monaco.

The picturesque Mediterranean tax haven is the perfect setting for teams and sponsors to entertain their guests.

To be sure, there is a Paddock Club but the real corporate hospitality extravaganza takes place on one of the many yachts off shore. These are spectacular events in their own right, which even for those not too familiar with the goings on of the Formula 1 Championship represent a great opportunity to see and be seen.

Formula 1 fans without the necessary contacts to be invited to a VIP weekend at a Formula 1 Grand Prix need not feel left out, as Paddock Club weekends are for sale at specialized travel agents.

The cost of such an event, however, starts at about U.S. $3,500 excluding transportation and accommodation -- 10 times greater than the most expensive regular ticket on sale.

For those with the necessary budget, however, it is a great opportunity to hobnob with the rich and famous and soak up the glamour that Formula 1 stands for.

Arguably, this is much more appealing than that tent on the muddy hill top next to the race track. E-mail to a friend

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