iWitness in Turkey on Sunday
11 May 08
Images
So competitive are Formula One folk that races rarely end at the chequered flag, and it was no different in Istanbul. Frank Williams and Sam Michael left the track five minutes after the chequered flag in their efforts to make a 5.45pm take-off slot at the nearby Sabiha Gokcen airport. They made it and were home in time for tea.
Fred Opert, who ran Keke Rosberg in Formula 2 in the late ’70s, has been in the Istanbul paddock this weekend. The last race he attended was the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix, where Nico Rosberg drove a stunning race to fourth place, and Nico drove another beautiful race to eighth place today. Fred is obviously a lucky charm for the Rosberg clan – please come to more races!
257 Not Out. The Turkish Grand Prix saw Rubens Barrichello break former Williams driver Riccardo Patrese’s record of 256 Grand Prix starts. “I don’t know if I can make 300 starts,” says Rubens, “but I feel like I’ve just started and that I still have a lot more to achieve in F1.”
Talking of former Williams drivers, iWitness was sorry to hear that Alex Wurz shunted heavily on his sportscar debut for Peugeot at Spa today. Hope you’re not feeling too sore, Alex. Why don’t you drop by for a rejuvenating cuppa at Monaco next week?
