Forza!

Well, I just got back from Monza and I can wholeheartedly say that it was absolutely perfect. As a first experience of a live Grand Prix it was every fan's dream. Here are some assorted highlights.

Having a beer in the Red Bull Energy Station - Thank you Red Bull Racing!

Shaking JPM's hand - On the Friday I found JPM standing outside Mclaren's hospitality area. I shook his hand and told him he was my favourite driver and he said "hey thanks".

The Start - Dear god its loud! I was standing level with Trulli's car on the grid for the start and I swear the earth shook when all the engines were revving and as they pulled away.

Meeting the ITV-F1 crew - Louise Goodman in particular was very friendly and I kept running into her at the track or in the hotel. James Allen and Ted Kravitz were pretty cool too. At one point Ted said "Why are you bothering reporting on GP2, you don't want to bother with that!" and I said "Oi, don't say that I've spent my entire weekend covering it. Don't tell me I'm wasting my time!" and Louise said "Well you're cottoning on fast, this is only your first grand prix and you're already telling Ted Kravitz to fuck off!"

Thanking Mark Webber - After the race I was able to grab Mark Webber and say "Thanks for passing Sato right in front of me." his response was "Oh yeah?!"

Chatting to Dave - "How was your race David?" "Crap". This was how my little natter with the Scottish driver began. We were interrupted by some random women who wanted a photo with David. As I took the photo I asked him how it felt to be a bitch-magnet
which illicited a grin. I continued to chat to him on the way back across to the energy station and told him it was my first GP. As we were talking I thought I spied Martin Brundle nip past. David was clearly the person to ask and he said "Yeah, do you want me to call him over?". This led me to my next highlight...

Meeting the Brundle - The Brundle-hunt bears fruit! Finally, having met the entire ITV-F1 team, I found Brundle and had time to thank him for his Regent Street burnout outside Liberty ("Oh that silly thing in London, how long did you wait for?") and mentioned my favourite of his sarky comments ("Yeah, its funny how people remember certain things"). I managed to get a great photo with me and the Brundle!

Thats all I can really remember right now. The entire weekend was a massive blur and I'm sure I'll think of others and produce some photos soonish. For now, click the E-Reporter link to the right and read my reports and diary!

Currently impressed by: The race. The people. The amount of both that I was able to see thanks to Bridgestone!
Currently non-plussed by: Anything that I could be non-plussed about pales into insignificance.
Current urge: Go to another race!