Story behind the photo: Vettel soaks up the celebrations
After every grand prix, ace photographer Mark Sutton of Sutton Images gives us a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to cover Formula 1 from behind the lens.
Photo by: Sutton Images
I really love the amazing circuit at the Hungaroring, it’s one of the modern classics having first hosted a Grand Prix in 1986. It hasn’t changed much, only upgrades for safety, but generally it’s amazing for photos and great for spectators to see lots of the circuit.
My photo of the day is from a privileged position on the media centre roof, which I spotted some years ago and it offers an amazing vantage point to photograph from. I was there 40 minutes into the race, to make sure I was on pole position, as there is only really room for five photographers to work, and I could shoot the pitstops from above – looking back down the pitlane.
But my main sequence of images could start when Sebastian Vettel crossed the finish line to take his fourth victory of 2017, so I was also in position for all the parc ferme celebrations from above – and then twist to my left to start shooting the podium.
Seb jumped, throwing his trophy in the air, and then this photo was taken during the national anthem, taken on my fish-eye lens which distorts the image slightly, but offers a great view of the podium, parc ferme, teams, photographers/media and the amazing fans which have now lined the circuit to create a very atmospheric image.
And, if you look closely, see who’s stood next to the fire marshal, eyeing up that deckchair…
Tech specs:
Camera Body - Nikon D5
Lens - Nikkor 10.5mm Fisheye
Shutter speed - 1/320th of a second
Aperature - F11
ISO - 200
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