Built for the Grid

I don’t mass-produce generic plastic boxes. I build hard-to-ignore collectibles for people who love this sport as much as I do.

When I look at a scale model or a piece of racing memorabilia, I don't just see a hobby, I see engineering peaks, heart-pounding race weekends, and hours of raw passion. Our cars deserved better than sitting on boring, cheap, sterile plastic shelves. They deserved the podium.

That’s why I started making these displays. Every single piece I design, engineer, and assemble from the textured carbon fiber plates to the custom-wired studio lighting is built to bring that exact floodlit, premium paddock energy back to our desks.

Honestly? I still can’t quite believe I’m the one building them.

I grew up in a normal middle-class home, waking up at weird hours of the night just to watch Alonso, Seb, and Lewis battle it out. From day one, I was a massive Lewis Hamilton fan. I’m talkin’ the kind of fan who got anxious and couldn't sleep after the Abu Dhabi GP in 2021, celebrates every win like I’m on the team, and spent what little money I had collecting diecast scale models of his cars.

To a kid like me, those tiny models were the closest I’d ever get to the real thing. The actual paddock? The pit lane? That stuff was for a completely different world. It wasn't meant for me.

The Breakthrough

Fast forward a few years. I ended up grinding hard as a commercial photographer, spending a long time behind the lens trying to perfect my craft and build a career. Eventually, that hard work paid off in a huge way. I got the chance to work closely with Mercedes-Benz India.

Because of that gig, the craziest thing happened. They invited me to the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix. And not just as a spectator, I was inside the Paddock Club with the Mercedes-AMG F1 team.

Walking into that floodlit night at Marina Bay was absolute sensory overload. I went from staring at a television to standing literally right by the Mercedes W14, hearing the deafening scream of the V6 engines, and watching the pit crew move with insane, military precision.

And then, the universe decided to flex on me. That exact weekend, Lewis Hamilton fought his way onto the podium. Standing there, a middle-class guy who used to just dream about this stuff, watching the driver I’d supported since the beginning spray champagne right in front of my eyes... I still get goosebumps thinking about it.

Bringing the Paddock Home

When I finally got back home to my studio and looked at my own collection, everything had changed. After seeing the hyper-engineered perfection of the Mercedes garage and the luxury of the Paddock Club, standard display cases felt completely wrong.

I wanted to capture that exact, high-end atmosphere. I wanted to build displays that felt like an extension of the garage itself.

I’m just a crazy, passionate fan who finally got to see the dream up close, and I poured all of that obsession into this gear.

Welcome to the grid.

Check out the images that I shot at the Singapore GP here:
https://www.audibleimage.in/formula1

~ Purple Sector by Purnendu Deo Kodwani