Inside Line: The day Schumi pranged in front of me at Yas

I was sitting on the exit of Turn 7 with a good view as the cars burst over the brow from Turn 4 to Turn 5, then the very slow bit from Turn 5 through to the exit of Turn 7. And the view was slightly elevated, in a VIP area with snacks and booze on tap.

With beer in hand and my Nikon D1X mounted with a Nikkor 300 f2.8, I found my seat and treated myself while I shot the breeze with mates and those around us in the stand while we waited for the start.

After the excitement of the warm-up lap (or whatever it is called) things quietened for the pre-race ceremonies which were well covered by the giant screens within view of my spot.

Finally the start and the ear-splitting cacophony of 24 screeching V8s as they approached like giant bees on steroids. The urge to move the eyeball from the viewfinder and like all around you soak up the incredible spectacle that a first lap in Formula 1 invariably is.

A sports photographer instinctively waits for 'that' moment while bagging the shots expected of you which I had done throughout my career in whatever sport or live news event one covers. Basically: bag the 'bankers' and be ready for the 'winner' that might unfold.

So in pro-snapper mode I did what came naturally, and popped some frames of the leaders when they snaked through the floodlit complex, then for some reason kept it focused on the apex of Turn 6, snapping as they poured through. Until in frame came Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher fighting for the same piece of tarmac.

With my non-focussing eye (which sometimes I open when shooting) I could see something happening to the left, I swung around and focused at the Mercedes pointing the wrong way. I sensed a 'winner' was about to happen.

I popped a few frames - knowing it was coming... and then boom! Mayhem on track, right in front of me, with my finger hard on the shutter release as the Force India of Vitantonio Liuzzi ploughed over Schumi's bright red helmet.

These were the only pictures of the action I took all weekend at Yas Marina, earlier I had snapped a few lame shots of the drivers coming around on the parade lap on a flatbed.

Honestly, I was so laid back and enjoying the atmosphere with my mates that it was a toss-up to decide if I would even shoot the start from the comfort of my grandstand seat!

In the end, I am glad I put the beer down (briefly) and took some snaps.

And of course, that was the grand prix weekend in which Sebastian Vettel stumped them all, stealing the title from his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard, stuck behind the Renault of Vitaly Petrov was denied.

For me on a personal level, it was a lesson on how being at the right place at the right time (and putting down the bevvy) paid off with some memorable snaps that I found in my archives.