From a surprise meeting with Pierre in Tokyo to watching Qualifying from the Alpine garage at Suzuka, two BWT Alpine Formula One Team fans enjoyed an incredible Japanese GP experience as our recent Golden Ticket winners.

Federico, from Argentina, and Kelsey, originally from the United States, now live together in Paris and chose the Japanese GP as the destination for their exclusive prize. It was a trip they will never forget, with a journey packed with surprises, exclusive access and memories that will last a lifetime.

Surprise lunch with Pierre

The couple flew out to Tokyo on the Tuesday of race week to begin their Japanese GP adventure. While having lunch at Gyopao Gyoza in Roppongi, Federico and Kelsey received a surprise visit from Pierre, who was spending time in the city before heading to Suzuka.

From there, the pair joined Pierre at the Fan Forum event at Tokyo Tower, before travelling on the Shinkansen bullet train to Nagoya, their base for the weekend. On the Friday, the pair enjoyed both practice sessions from one of Suzuka’s grandstands, to experience the atmosphere of F1 at one of Federico’s favourite venues.

The ultimate paddock experience

Saturday proved to be the standout moment of the trip, as the Golden Ticket competition winners spent the day with the team in the paddock, including exclusive access to the garage. After arriving at the track in the morning, they were greeted by Managing Director Steve Nielsen before being given a guided paddock and garage tour by Reserve Driver Paul Aron.

The couple then watched FP3 and Qualifying from the garage, enjoyed a pit lane walk and had lunch in the Alpine hospitality, to get a true behind-the-scenes glimpse into an F1 team’s race weekend. They also met Franco, who signed both Federico’s Argentina national team shirt and his Boca Juniors jersey. Finally, on Sunday, they watched Pierre finish P7, joking they were the team’s good luck charm for the weekend.

Click here to watch a full trackside recap.

Memories to last a lifetime

“It was an amazing experience,” said Federico. “Once in a lifetime and Suzuka is one of my favourite tracks, so historic, it has been incredible.”

“Every time we turned around, there was some new surprise for us, and it was seriously incredible!” added Kelsey. “It’s going to be really hard watching the next race only on TV,” joked Federico.

For the couple, winning the Golden Ticket was much more than just a race weekend, it was a truly unforgettable shared experience. “We had an incredible time in Japan,” said Kelsey, “We’re so happy we chose this circuit.” With the couple set to get married later this year, they also revealed that Japan had originally been one of their dream honeymoon destinations.

Join the ascent - Rise higher

RISE+ brings fans closer to BWT Alpine Formula One Team with exclusive content, behind-the-scenes access, season-long discounts on our official store and opportunities to enter competitions like Golden Ticket.

Sign up to RISE+ now for your chance to unlock future fan experiences and be part of the next unforgettable adventure.