on air diary...
MOTORSPORT COMES GOOD IN MAGICAL MONZA
posted by Lee McKenzie on 15/09/2009
What a crazy few weeks it has been – and it is only going to get well better or worse – I am not sure! After dull Valencia, the F1 circus moved to straight to spectacular Spa and then onto marvellous Monza – tracks which make you appreciate Formula One at its best.
And it wasn’t just on track that made the stories - crashes, lies, scandals and new teams have kept us all busy to the point of madness!
And in between all that I popped to Oviedo to see Fernando Alonso returning home – you can read the previous blog or if you missed the feature you can see a very honest interview with Fernando at http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8252335.stm
Monza is always one of my favourite races, the people, the atmosphere, the history and also it being the last European race of the year creates a real sense of occasion.
Every year I present an award ceremony in memory of Gonzalo Rodriguez, a racing driver who died ten years ago in practice. Goncho was a favourite in the paddock and his sister Nani has always had the support of the F1 and GP2/F3000 to keep raising money in his honour and memory. This year Jenson and Rubens, the Williams’ drivers and Mark Webber all came along to the event to sign a painting to be auctioned and Lewis donated signed gloves too. It is a night where GP2 teams, journalists and drivers from all paddocks come together for a good cause; something which doesn’t happen all that often in the world of motorsport, or any professional sport really.
It was a lovely event and some good news in a sport which seems to continually try to pull itself apart! The Piquet / Renault crashing allegations are really disappointing for Formula One and only reflect the sport in a bad light. The Court will decided on Monday what will happen, by that time the team will already be in Singapore – could it be the shortest trip they have ever taken with the biggest consequences? We will just have to wait and see.
In the meantime I am really looking forward to Singapore, having missed the race last year. I am still intrigued and slightly worried about being in the Far East and yet continuing to work on European time but everyone said it was easier than they thought last year. It does mean interviewing at maybe 2 or 3 in the morning and then heading out for dinner and sleeping until mid day! I have a feeling there will be a few confused, insomniac blogs for you all to decipher next week.
Finally it was great to see my friend and future F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg winning the GP2 championship this weekend. Although he says he was surprised to win it in his rookie year, knowing Nico, he would have been very disappointed to finish anything but 1st. He is a true fighter and a real talent and I hope to be interviewing him next year in F1.
Thanks for stopping by and speak to you from Singapore.
Lee x
