If you host a Grand Prix and the hotels nearby pong a bit you should look worried – that, after all, is the reason why Suzuka has lost the Japanese Grand Prix to the Fuji Speedway. But if the locals merely hold up members of the racing teams at gunpoint, that’s nothing to be concerned about. Interlagos will surely hold onto it’s Grand Prix.
Michael Schumacher had a ride on a MotoGP bike earlier this year but Vitantonio Liuzzi is going the whole hog and taking John Hopkins’ machine for a ride at Valencia on Tuesday. Also in the ‘sport meets sport’ news Spanish football uberteam Real Madrid will apparently be sponsoring an F1 team next year. Surely it couldn’t be Real Madrid supporter Fernando Alonso’s McLaren? The whole thing brings back bad memories of ‘Premier 1’…
Bereft of champion Alonso, Renault will field promising but nonetheless untested rookie Heikki Kovalainen alongside Giancarlo Fisichella, who was hammered by Alonso in the last two seasons. Wasn’t this the perfect opportunity to bring in triple Champ Car title-winning Frenchman Sebastian Bourdais? Of course it was.
Michael Schumacher’s final race was a ratings smash in Germany where 40% of viewers tuned in – that’s 14.8 million. Another legendary ex-Ferrari driver, Mario Andretti, was made a ‘Commendatore della Repubblica’ in Italy for his services to the sport.
Italian racer Jarno Trulli has become a father for the second time after wife Barbara gave birth to Marco – congratulations all round.
But commiserations all round as Youtube begin purging sports clips from their archives following the takeover by Google. This could be your last chance to enjoy out Top 100 Greatest F1 Videos among others.
(Above news links external)
Tags f1 / formula one / grand prix / motor sport
