on air diary...
Disaster keeps F1 in perspective as Monaco glitz looms.
posted by Lee McKenzie on 14/05/2009
Since the race at the weekend in Barcelona, I have been to Italy in a pretty emotional trip with Jarno Trulli round L’Aquila, the town which was devastated by the earthquake last month.
Formula One is a pretty excessive and glamorous sport and yesterday’s trip really put everything into perspective.
In the village of Onna, 43 people were killed from a population of 250. Toyota’s Jarno Trulli and I visited the people who managed to escape and now living in tents. They have nothing- some have lost their families, others their homes, jobs and belongings.
Jarno, who is from the area of Abruzzo, has set up a charity to raise money for his region. He even ditched a sponsor to carry the logo on his car and overalls. He was visibly moved as we walked round the ruins and saw bikes, books and clothes scattered in amongst the rubble.
Later, we drove across Italy to his vineyard, a family hobby which has become and international business. The wines were lovely, the scenery stunning. You will be able to see the two features on the BBC F1 programme later in the season.
Back to the F1 weekend in Barcelona and it was another great victory for Jenson Button, although you had to feel a little sorry for his team mate who lost the race by strategy. It will create an interesting twist to the Brawn GP story, which until now has been a fairytale heading towards a happy ending. Is Jenson being favoured and Rubens shut out? The team say not, the next few races will tell.
Monaco is next on the agenda and again, I fly out early to film with Nico Rosberg and also another feature with Nelson Piquet Jr. Getting behind the scenes and into the lives of the drivers is one of things I most like. I think you really get to see the ‘real’ people and not the corporate race-face at the track.
I hope you are all enjoying the shows and I’ll report back from the glitz of Monte Carlo.
Lee x
