Hello, my dearest friends!

I had a very pleasant journey from Monaco over to Istanbul – obviously using the comfortable environment of Racing Engineering’s truck. Ok, ok, a ferry is not a cruise ship, but I had enough time to relax after the emotional ups and downs of Monaco and to get some sun and fresh air. Arriving in Istanbul, the metropolis on the Bosphorus, I had some time to wander around until the rest of the team arrived. YES! They also had some time off going back to their homes in Spain. Although some opted for a little holiday on the beach or visiting their families back home in France or the UK.

As I was strolling though the streets – heavily busy streets – of Istanbul, I was wondering how amazing it is to watch the huge freight ships go through the strait, how close they are to the houses on either side. It is really an amazing scenery! And I found someone to tell me a bit about the origin of the Bosporus. The name comes from the Greek and is a combination of the two words “ox” and “means of passing a river/ford/ferry”, thus meaning “ox passage”. The Greeks analysed it as “ox-ford”, therefore, our chief engineer Andrew should feel very much home in Turkey… For some reason, however, I think he doesn’t and is pretty happy when he can get back onto a plane home to the “real” Oxford. Oh, well. Nevertheless, do the big bridges connecting the two parts of Istanbul still have oxen passing? Almost… Yeah! Driving in and around Istanbul and the race track, Istanbul Park that is, has something extremely challenging about it for non-locals. Get ready for all sorts of animals crossing the roads. And that is in the best of cases. In the worse, they are just standing there, blocking the roads. The Racing Engineering boys have gotten proficient at herding sheep off the road…And, please, don’t be too surprised if someone drives the opposite way on the highway…all this is Turkey! And I love it! I mean, hey…at least you know you are still alive, if your pulse races! And if you drive with Alfonso, then he makes you feel as if Turkey is everywhere But in his defense, I have to say that Thomas and Christian, as well as some others who will stay unnamed here, were pushing their rental cars to their limits as well…

Wednesday and Thursday were really calm days at the track and with little action in the paddock. Although Dani arrived with a bag full of watches for all the team members! I wasn’t able to have a close look to see if he bought them at Istanbul’s Grand Bazar, or brought them over from Spain. However, all the boys were running around with red or yellow watches, perfectly suiting the cars’ livery. In the evening Thomas took all the boys to a restaurant declared as “safe”. Not only did the Racing Engineering crew avoid any stomach problems during the weekend, but also enjoyed some extremely nice service by the restaurant owners. As the engineers and mechanics thought they were in warm Istanbul, they all just went wearing t-shirts. When it got chilly…no, I won’t call them girlies… they all got a pashmina to wrap themselves up in. Oh! They looked so nice and funny. Denis showed an extreme resemblance to a man born some 2000 years ago in Nazareth, while others covered his head in a more feminine way…But the boys looked a bit tired. I was wondering if they went partying the previous night and didn’t tell me about it! But … oh, oh… apparently the air-con wasn’t functional in all the rooms, so some were brave enough to sleep with their windows open and I realised they were not yet used to being woken up at sunrise by the call to prayer of the muezzin! Well, I am sure by Sunday they will…

And talking about their hotel - yes, this time I went with them as I definitely wanted to be part of their adventurous drives on the country roads – it is always good for a story. This year the elevator door on one of the floors was missing, so you could see all the wires moving inside the elevator shaft. Well, one becomes a bit more relaxed about such little disfigurements when having a race in Turkey I guess. But someone was quite scared about it. So I had to whisper into his ear that it’s not the hole jumping onto him, but him having to jump into the hole for something bad to happen. I hope it relaxed him a bit…

Friday the action started and I was quite excited when the engines were turned on in the pit lane for free practice. Chris didn’t know the track yet, so he had to handle some additional pressure, but I couldn’t say it was a handicap. He made his laps as if he already finished several races at the track before. Dani lost some time due to a technical issue, but when he joined the session, he immediately was there and set great lap times. I saw that everyone was optimistic for qualifying and – so was I. But then it happened! Christian complained about a loss of power shortly after the session started. While he was still in a top position at the beginning, being let down by his engine, meant that he dropped back to 11th position. A real shame for the German! I felt so, so sorry for him! I mean, in case you can’t remember, just have a quick glance at what happened in Monaco and you will know what I mean! But Chris is always very pragmatic and positive in his thoughts, so he was sure that it could have been much better with a properly working engine. But 11th was OK under these circumstances. Dani was sharing the top spots with Chris at the beginning of qualifying, but dropped back on his second set of tyres, when he either encountered other cars slowing him down, or yellow flags while trying to set a faster time. So in the end he finished the session in 7th, which was less that everyone hoped for, but not bad either. Well the Racing Engineering boys had a longer night still as the cars needed to be revised and the engine on Chris’ car was to be changed after the problems encountered.

Race day! Dani, starting from 7th was pushing hard to improve his position in the race. I got all nervous, knowing that this track was so hard on tyres! I was wondering at some moments if he was not stressing the rubber too much so early in the race, but relaxed thinking that I am not a driver, but just a little fly… He was holding on to 7th position, which was – just like in qualifying – a bit less than expected, but not really bad either. But…hey! What is happening? Dani dropped back and was also overtaken by Christian, who spent most of the race in 9th position (if you ask me, the worst place to finish a feature race in). So, Dani was actually 9th just after the race and Chris 8th – the German set to start from pole on Sunday! And then…the waiting started…the cars weren’t released from parc fermé for such a long time!!! Hmmm, this normally means that something is not OK in the eyes of the FIA. Quite late parc fermé was opened up and…OH! WOW! … with Perez being disqualified… Sunday’s race saw an all-Racing Engineering front row with Dani as pole sitter and Chris in second. Oh, my goodness! Wasn’t that cool?!? Even Hrsto Stoichkov, the well known ex-FC Barcelona player, whose daughter happens to be Dani’s beloved one, was all excited and…I wonder, if he wouldn’t want to become a race driver instead of a football player, if he had the chance to start all over again…However, he was all excited and happy for Dani & Chris…but who wasn’t?

I see the Racing Engineering crew work very hard all the time, they always give their best, check here and there. But with their drivers on the front row, I have to say that I think I saw even a tiny bit of extra dedication and effort – although I could be wrong, as this is not possible. But I knew they would do what they could to put two highly competitive Dallara GP2 cars on the track for Sunday’s sprint race – and they definitely did! I was sooooo nervous before the start. I was thinking of joining the boys on the starting grid, wishing Dani and Chris good luck, but I couldn’t! I just stayed in the pit-lane and started some serious meditation to calm down. I closed my eyes…formation lap… lights went on…engines hauling…lights went off…race start…Dani had a clean getaway from pole and kept the lead, while Chris defended P2 so well. And they were both fast and got away from the rest. I flew over to the pit wall, to listen a bit to what the engineers and drivers had to say. So far all fine. Cars feeling good and stable, distances increasing, sector times being bettered, etc. yes, this is what I wanted to see. BUT! What was that? Chris mentioned a loss of power from his engine. No! That can’t be! Not again! However, he held on to it, tried his best. He was not as fast as Dani anymore, but still going at the speed of the ones behind him. But this changed in lap 10 and by lap 11 Racing Engineering’s car number 8 was parked next to the track due to an engine failure. I was about to cry! Really! I mean, how much bad luck can Chris and his crew have? This is not normal anymore. Again, just look at what happened in Monaco and how the weekend started in Istanbul…He was devastated after the race and it is understandable. He is there! He has the speed! He deserves it sooooo, sooooo much! And then …something like this. And it would have been so incredibly cool – a one-two finish for my Racing Engineering team!

But the race was not yet over! Not at all! Dani was still running in first position and dominated the field behind him. He increased the gap lap by lap and celebrated his first ever GP2 victory with a comfortable 8.8 seconds gap. And, oh, boy, was he happy! Let me just quickly remind you: 6 races so far, Dani scored in 5 of them and has one win and two podiums so far. It’s clear that such a performance puts him second in the championship at the moment. Once again, keep pushing And Alfonso was quick at having his cigar in place once the race was over. I have to say I only like this habit until he lights them up, but I guess it’s his way to get rid of the pressure. Anyway, this time the cigar was … really big. I wonder if he was able to finish it the same day. And now listen to this, isn’t that nice??? He handed over a cigar to each team member to celebrate the win the “Alfonso way”. I only found out later by the way. I was terrified, thinking we were threatened by the ash-cloud again… But luckily it was not the volcano this time…

I had to get back into the truck the same night, so my partying was limited after Dani’s win. I wasn’t going to Reina’s Sunday night, like most of the F1 and GP2 drivers and other people from the paddock, having heard some of the stories, it’s a pity I wasn’t there…

But I had a private little party in the truck, thinking about the nice smiles Dani puts on when he is on the podium, the breathtaking moment when he crossed the line for his first victory and his happiness. But I also had a sentimental moment when I thought about how much Chris deserved to be on the podium as well, but wasn’t…

Oh well, next race in Valencia. Another race, another chance. And this time with Fortuna on the side of both Racing Engineering boys, I hope.

Nos vemos en Valencia! Hasta pronto!

Fly on the Wall

Salut mes amis!

Oh…I could get used to it, to this savoir vivre on the Côte d’Azur. Living it up at the pinnacle, this is what Monaco stands for if you ask me. The chic yachts, the numerous parties, the ostentation of wealth can impress a little fly like me. But then again, I have to admit, I got used to it quickly. While normally I am happy to grab a bit of food here and there, I have to tell you, I quickly became familiar with the caviar, lobster and champagne I found in Monaco. But I will tell you more about a little fly trying to get a glimpse of the rich and famous later.

Before that, I need to also confess that Monaco and me, well it’s a bit of love and hate relationship. It’s the crazy form of ambivalence. I love the shiny little microcosm on the Côte d’Azur. But I somehow hate the fact that I need to watch my friends race big and powerful cars there. To be honest, this place is NOT made for car racing. Have you ever watched the on-board camera images properly? With barriers so close, practically no escape areas and corner after corner, a little fly heart suffers!!! It just makes me way too nervous. Therefore I always need to prepare my relaxation program for the days around Monte Carlo thoroughly and make sure enough parties and chill out sessions are accommodated.

But let’s start at the beginning. Everyone arrived quite early in Monaco – some because they planned it like this (like my Racing Engineering boys), and some because they took the first possible drive from Barcelona to Monaco as their flights were cancelled because of our friendly volcano up in Iceland. And for GP2, everything begins a day earlier here. Free practice and qualifying are on Thursday. Feature race on Friday and sprint race on Saturday. I don’t mind this timetable. Leaves more time for – right! – partying!

Tuesday was an easy day. Christian, who already arrived Sunday night, also continued his relaxation program (of course I had to join in to support him!) and Dani arrived from Barcelona, just in time to celebrate JB’s birthday with some cakes. I made my tour through the GP2 paddock and realised that some –mainly British - teams had not planned to already be around. I heard conversations about where to get their team gear washed, rearrangements of hotel bookings, etc. But apart from that, it was reeeeeally calm, just like Wednesday. I thought about going to the casino to try my luck on some Poker, Black Jack or Roulette, but …guess what! … the croupiers were on strike! Monaco GP week and the casino is not functional – too bad. So I had to search for some alternative night program and have to say that following Alfonso, Ines and Christian was not a bad idea at all. I joined them for a fun dinner with … wooohooo…Giorgio Pantano and the legendary Severino… at “La Salière”. They definitely had fun and, oh boy, was the food nice. I just couldn’t help trying a bit here and there…and the tables around (most of them filled with race drivers of all kinds of categories racing this week in Monaco). However, they were all off to bed soon with the action starting early the following day! So I also went back to my little hideaway in the truck, knowing that the weekend will still bring many surprises.

Thursday’s free practice went really well for my two friends at Racing Engineering. Chris, who never raced in Monaco before, finished in 3rd, Dani in 4th position. Not bad, not bad at all. I was really excited about qualifying, but got more and more anxious as dark clouds gathered over the Principality. With only a few minutes to go… it started to rain! Oh, no! If Monaco is special, as it always is, it definitely is special when it rains. My heart rate was close to …ever heard “The Legend of Max”? Apparently, the most bpms in a song ever… well, so my heart rate was close to 600 beats per minute…! With the session starting, Dani immediately took a top spot and fought a tough battle for pole with Perez and Maldonado throughout the 30 minutes. Maldonado crashed in St. Devote just after setting the fastest time, and Dani, having crossed the finish line just seconds later, was able to set an even faster time and snatched pole! Yahoooooo! Dani’s first pole position in GP2 (hey, he already qualified second in Portimão last year and 4th in Barcelona this year, so don’t tell me that you didn’t see it coming!) and now in Monaco, pole! This was just fantastic!

Pole = partying Fly on the Wall! I needed to celebrate. I followed Alfonso, Christian and Ines onto the yacht of the Renault F1 team. It was nice and relaxed, which I guess they needed after a long day. But I was out for action and found my destination just next door, or better to say gangplank. Kingfisher party, here I come. I spent some time with Tonio Liuzzi, some with the Force India boys, chatted with Karun’s dad, but more than anything I twirled round the dance floor (partially because it was quite a chilly night so I needed to keep moving, but mainly because of the amazing girls I saw there).

Race 1 on a Friday was a bit odd, but I was very alert with Dani starting from pole and Chris only a few rows behind him. I am sure you saw the race and know that Dani had too much wheel spin because of his starting position in the shade still being a bit damp, but – hey!!! – the boy made a podium! His second podium, scoring in three out of three races so far. Really coooool! Keep pushing, Dani But what happened to Christian??? No one knew and when I finally heard it, I couldn’t HONESTLY believe it. Christian was already unlucky in Barcelona, but keep on reading! The Racing Engineering crew could not start up his engine on the grid (you need to know these cars cannot be started directly, but need an external starter engine) and as pushing the car on the starting grid is highly forbidden, they bump started his car in the pit lane and poor Christian had to start from the pits. But why??? But what happened when the starter engine could not engage with its counterpart? Well, once the car was back with the boys, they opened the gearbox, where the starter engine connects. To their surprise they found, in this little hole, a piece of tyre rubber Christian must have picked up on one of his formation laps. But the rubber alone might not have caused this problem. Stuck to the rubber, there was a piece of metal, a washer! So this combination hindered the starter engine from snapping into place and ruined Christian’s entire Monaco weekend. But what an accumulation of bad luck! The hole for the starter engine is really small. The probability that a piece of rubber from track ending up there is practically impossible. But what makes the likeliness tend towards zero is the fact that additionally there was a piece of metal on this rubber bit. I am still sitting here with my calculator trying to quantify this (im)probability.

Friday night I was with a laughing and a crying eye. But the laws of probability also say that there cannot be bad luck all the time, so I decided that Christian’s season will start from Istanbul on – and he will score, and score, and score. So, off I was again, wearing my party wings and wondering where to find the coolest spot in town (or do you say, within the nation, when it comes to Monaco?). Some partying on the yacht of TW Steel, a bit of champagne at Sass’ Café, then dancing at Jimmy’z – oh, the life of a fly can be really exhausting… Lunch at yet another boat the next day and then race 2. My timetable was full in Monaco. For my friends at Racing Engineering, the sprint race was quite short and their hard work was unrewarded. Christian had his last encounter with bad luck this season (yes, yes, I am trying self-fulfilling prophecies now!) when a sensor in his engine failed (not all parts on the car are prepared by my Racing Engineering friends) and his engine shut itself off completely. Dani, on the other hand, crashed hard against the barriers approaching the casino corner, leaving the Racing Engineering crew with some extra work before the equipment gets shipped to Turkey.
In the end, Monaco brought ambivalent results for my friends at Racing Engineering, reflecting my feelings for this small country. But a podium is a podium. And Dani is leaving Monaco second in the championship. And I am sure Christian will catch up quickly.

Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you: naturally, the Eyjafjallajökull volcano caused some cancelled flights on Sunday night again and Monday morning and I slowly started to think that there is a weird connection between Eyjafjallajökull’s ash emission, wind patterns and GP2/Formula 1 weekends.

Well, I am off to the truck now to get prepared for my boat trip to Istanbul.

Au revoir!

Your Fly

Bienvenidos al primer fin de semana de la nueva temporada!

Ready for a Spanish lesson? Ok, ok, understood. So we continue in English.

Oh yes! It just feels amazing to be at a race track again. Wednesday, the usual day for setting everything up, had already a little surprise for by friends at Racing Engineering. With GP3 being born, space has become a scarce resource in the paddock. Everything just got a bit tighter, it seems – more cars, more people, more excitement!

How would Christian, GP2’s best spirit (not that I would want to annoy anyone, so let’s say all the others are “good” spirits, ok?), fit all those people under the hospitality awning? Have to check this out quickly…oh! OH! Now that looks fancy! Two top notch tents with plenty of space to put the food on display (can’t wait for the first meals to be served). And there they are! Everyone back and looking busy: Alexa and David (having their own little work tent…just next to the kitchen – I would love that, too. But I guess they are not so happy about this.); Christian and his fine crew of people making those weekends as pleasant as possible – from a nutritional point of view; all the GP2 staff, oh, sorry, GP2 and GP3 staff. It’s good to see them all and I heard that this year’s championship launch would take place at the Auditori of Granollers.

And there I was, obviously, on Thursday. But also all GP2 drivers, GP3 drivers and … wooohoooo… GP2 graduates Bruno Senna, Karun Chandhok, Vitaly Petrov and Eric Boullier joined in as well. Yes, for 2010, GP2 didn’t only supply F1 with drivers, but also with team managers. Cool, isn’t it? Missed some of the bit bigger names though. Where was Lucas? Where was Lewis, Nico, Nico 2, etc.? But, guess what! There was Schumacher! Hmmm? No! Not what you think, not the one driving for Mercedes GP, multiple F1 World Champion…but his brother Ralf. I think I heard he was somehow involved in one of the GP3 teams. Oh, well. So here I was, overlooking the entire auditorium, checking out a lot of new faces and …oh, my goodness!!!… drums…many of them…my little ears are…in pain…Alexa, was this your idea??? I mean…hmmm…yeah…cool, and definitely waking everyone up, who thought he might take advantage and take a little nap while the lights were turned down. These drums…they had something about them, no doubt. Now, with everyone awake, the GP2 and GP3 drivers were presented, pictures taken, speeches held, etc. Well, and in case someone was not able to fight against being tired from the last days of preparing the first round, the drums came back on stage again. Just in case you wouldn’t want to get up from your comfortable chair, just in case … those drums were guiding you out. Please don’t get me wrong, they were really cool, if we were outside …and on a mission through the jungle.

Friday! First free practice and qualifying of the season. And both went well for Dani and Chris. Chris qualified in 4th position and Dani in 7th. Not bad, not bad at all. And everyone was looking forward to Saturday’s race. I was sooo excited and couldn’t wait for the red lights to turn off and the 24 cars to start the race. Chris had an AMAZING start! Ok, the two ART cars didn’t get off the line too well, so Chris was just cruising by. However, turn one was the German’s “from hero to zero”-moment. I mean, I have checked the vid over and over again, sitting on Christian’s shoulder. Perez, who closed on Christian and therefore made him spin, had no need to do so. Just stay on the normal line, Sergio! You would have gone into turn 2 as leader anyway! But by trying to close on Chris, he not only turned the car of my friend around, but also took Bianchi out of the race as well, who crashed into Christian. And Bird, trying to avoid all this mess faced the same fate like Dani. They both went over the curbs and damaged their cars. Dani was able to continue and had an amazing race, which he finished on the podium!!! And there I was, accompanying my Spanish friend up the stairs to pick up his trophy. Oh, there was the president of the Spanish Federation (I heard him earlier in the day when he said that if Dani was on the podium, he would stay for the ceremony) handing over Dani’s cup. And now…oh! I think Dani had tears in his eyes, as others in the team did as well. Yes, I know that this podium meant so much to so many people and I had to put my sunglasses on as …well… so much happiness made my eyes shiny as well.

Christian, on the other hand was understandingly disappointed. But the boys in the team did a great job in bringing up his moral for Sunday’s race. But starting from the last row was merely practice for him to get ready for more races as only the first six to cross the finish line score points. Dani, having finished 3rd on Saturday, started the race from 6th position and scored again in Sunday’s sprint race. Way to go, way to go…!

Packing up in Barcelona was the next point on the list. I was happy everyone planned to drive over to Monaco, as the Icelandic volcano decided to heavily interfere with Europe’s airspace again. As the boys were leaving Monday, I heard Alfonso mention that he would leave the same day and took my chance to have some relaxing days at the gaming tables of the Monaco casino and jumped into the silver colored car and off we went to the Côte d’Azur. Before they left, Alfonso, Ines and Chris picked up Christian’s driving coach, Enzo, who was stuck at the Barcelona airport. It was a fun ride over to Monaco.

Speak to you soon!

Your fly on the Wall.

Hello friendzzzz!!! It’s been a long, long time since we have last heard from each other. Too long, I’d say. But here I am again, ready to inform you about what you cannot read in press releases, official statements or hear in interviews.

The boys doing pit stop training

I had a really long and nice winter break in Southern Spain, although, this winter it was raining an awful lot down there. But I can tell you one thing: the monotonous noise of rain drops falling makes you have the sweetest dreams. I dreamt of race wins, pole positions, championship winning parties, etc. But then…aaargh…what was that? The unique noise of a wheel gun being placed on a wheel nut, the powerful movement of a mechanic’s hand pressing the gun and off goes the noise again…I guess my time off will be ending soon. The boys are already busy training pit stops at the workshop, everything seems to be ready and prepared. Oh, well. Time to get up, time to have the race weekends continue where my dreams just found a sudden end. Still a bit confused after my long rest, I fly my first laps around the workshop. Ah, there is Dede! Good to see him again. And also Greg, David, JB, Nono, Denis and all the other boys. Wow, it’s only now that I see the truck’s interior! Well done, boys, looks amazing and you were able to do all that work without waking me up…nice!

Thomas in charge of the pit stop training

I also see some new faces around…and have to admit…I like them! Danny, Seb and Nick, it seems like they have been with us for ages.

It makes me feel good seeing everyone busy working, preparing everything and … woohooo … what was that … another new face, and also a known one. The drivers!!! Dani is with the team again! I am very, very happy for him and if he continues with the results he got in Portimão, then he’s headed straight for another: podium!!! Here we come!!! The other one is a new face – Christian Vietoris. Hmmm, I have to say that the boy impressed during the test at Paul Ricard last year and I can’t wait to see him during the pre-season testing for the 2010 season.

Not much time left. I need to get ready, too! Get my wings set-up and polished, grab something to eat (or have you ever seen a race car run without gasoline?) and pick up my 2010 fan kit.

Speak to you soon!

Fly on the Wall

Caros amigozzzzz,

Here I am sitting in my little corner going back to Sanlúcar de Barrameda after a very ‘interesting’ weekend in Portugal… Oh yes!!! I have sooooo many things to tell you that I am really wondering if I should split this last blog of the 2009 GP2 season in a few chapters or just simplify it… I have seen so many things, heard so many stories, flown over so many heads, food and other interesting things, that I do not know where to start…

Hmmm… I am still thinking (as much as I am able to with my miniature brain)… thinking, thinking, thinking… Oh well! Here we go. So first things first, and what is that? Obviously, the first few days at the track, just before the action started. As you might very well remember, Dani’s car was a total wreck after the second race in Monza. So the Fat Burner Racing Engineering boys had a very limited time to fix the damage… I tried to stay away from them as I did not want to break their concentration (I know that you humans tend to get pretty annoyed by us flies, when we are close by). After all, they wanted (as I did) to have everything perfect for the weekend… And after these first days ‘alone’ with the mechanics and engineers, who did a fantastic job in repairing Dani’s car within such short time, drivers and other people which I will mention later on, started arriving at the Portimato Circuit (or Autodromo, excuse me!)

Thursday was an ‘easy’ day (well, at least when the wind was not trying to push me over to another continent!). As the team had its own pits (wow!), I went in to do some ’spying’. Lucas, for a ‘change’ (well, not really) was glued to his Blackberry while Dani, as sweet as ever, was doing the rounds kissing, hugging and talking to people… He is sooooo sweet. When he noticed that Ines, arriving from the warmth of Southern Spain, was a ‘bit’ cold, he quickly offered his jacket… What a gentlemen! In the fly world, there are not many of those left…

Wondering about the pepper sauce.....

After meetings here and there and rebuilding of cars, the boys and girls went back to the hotel where they had a good laugh… Why, you might be wondering. Well, let’s say that the waitress serving at the restaurant was not the nicest person around… and here I am not talking about physical appearance, as everybody has his own taste and maybe some might have actually liked her… (though I am not including myself as she was not really my cup of tea… ;-)) But let’s be honest, how hard can it be to get a nice pepper sauce for a piece of meat?? By her standards…. pepper sauce was any sauce with a bit of grinded pepper added on top… (I think I have said it all).

A good night sleep followed a very hectic day at the Portuguese track. The hotel was not very close to the ‘Autodromo’, but I guess no hotel was… as the track was built far from civilization… (looks more like an oasis in the middle of the desert). So I had to get up pretty early to be on time and follow my human friends… Now that I think about it, the team took its motorhome to the track so I should have probably stayed there… but on the other hand… I would have missed some stories… OK… I have to tell you something that Dani came up with. As you well know, he has been hit from behind on several occasions, which has made some people wonder, if the other drivers do not see him or they just enjoy the crashing into his rear! So my Spanish friend told the team that it would be great to put a ‘nice’ message on the rear wing (shame they did not have the time to do it….  I can promise you that right now we would be laughing out loud non stop, if they had put it). So, what should the message be? Ok, here it goes: Stay away, I am not gay!!! Hahahaha… And then, Alfonso added that it should be on a pink background… Maybe next time…

It was great to see that they were happy, but who would not? Dani had qualified second!!! And Lucas was fourth. My Brazilian friend was a bit disappointed with his result… He had expected to be on pole, but nevertheless, I think that second and fourth was a great result for Fat Burner Racing Engineering. And Dani had his first appearance at the post-qualifying press conference. Let me tell you, this is something I could definitely get used to.

Saturday morning everybody was pretty excited at the prospect of Dani starting the feature race from the front row. After all the bad luck during previous events, I started to believe that my visit to the witch-doctor was starting to have an effect (if you do not know what I am talking about, read the previous blog from Monza and you will understand). I arrived to the track with my new ‘ride’, that is Ana, who was lucky enough to get a lift to the circuit with Lucas and Dani. My Brazilian friend was the one at the steering while Dani was changing gears… I know, mad!!! But yet, Ana was not impressed and sat at the back of the car pretty relaxed. The boys, not happy with that, carried on planning what to do next to ’scare’ the Asturian girl… and when they entered a roundabout, Lucas did a maneuver, which made the tyres squeak big time… but nothing!!! What is wrong with this girl??? Because I was definitely terrified. To be honest, I started to feel a bit sick… But the story does not finish here. After a few meters they saw this other car in front, and they thought it would be fun to put some pressure on the poor driver… Oh dear!!! When they finally caught up the other automobile that desperately tried to escape from the KIA Lucas drove (or raced?), the driver did not seem very amused…. but when he realized who was driving the tiny machine he could not stop laughing… Well, Mr. Driot, DAMS lost that one to Fat Burner Racing Engineering.

After the frightening experience, we arrived safe and sound at the Autodromo. There I decided to rest a bit (my heart was still beating too fast after THAT drive), so I stayed in the box. The guys were practicing some pit-stops… Gosh they are good!!! And what great coordination!!! Would love to do that too, but I guess due to my size the only thing I could manage to do is to get squeezed. So, onto the race… hmmmm. My first thoughts about the witch-doctor doing a good job vanished in a puff of smoke… Somebody hit Dani, again! I mean, it was not a big crash, but still. This brief contact caused a little glitch to the car’s rear wishbones… Enough to make him spin several times and at the end, he had to settle for eleventh. Lucas on the other hand, gave the team another podium!!! My Brazilian, not such a good friend of mine anymore after that drive earlier that day, finished third, and at the same time, securing third position in the drivers’ championship.

Later on, Lucas was showing a new helmet he had been given after the race. And so the ’show’ began when Dani put the helmet on. As it looked a bit strange compared to their usual race helmets as made of carbon fiber, somebody told him he looked like Darth Vader from Star Wars. So he decided to ‘attack’ Lucas… Skywalker… I have the picture to prove it!!! Lucas’ face is hilarious, isn’t it? If I did not know better, I would swear he was really frighten by ‘his father’… Guys, I have to say this was not only a moment of laughter, but also sentimentality. Don’t forget Portimao was the last weekend of the season and everyone had such a great time with this driver pairing all year long.

I was in high spirits the following day … I had a good feeling, after all, it was the last race of the season and I knew that something good would come of it…. Ok, I cannot hide it, I cannot remain quiet, so I am going to say it:  the safety car did ….. a very poor job (I do not want to say anything stronger) and that affected Lucas’ race big time. What happened? Why did the pace car suddenly slow down when it was leaving the track? The answer is still a mystery to me… and even now, watching the images, I do not get it. So, Lucas’ race was not only destroyed, as he finished in 15th, but a good number of other drivers faced the same fate. Lots of head scratching all over the place as no one really understood what that was really about…

With the season finishing like this, there was a certain feeling of disappointment within the team ranks… Lucas had been penalized for something, to my understanding, not his fault and therefore he could not do anything to try to get a good result for his team. Dani, who finished an excellent fourth, was also upset… He knew he deserved third place, and therefore a podium, after Pérez did not get a penalty, despite overtaking my blonde friend while the safety car (YES! THAT safety car…) was deployed…Villa did so as well, but gave back his position. But justice prevailed… and shortly after the podium ceremony, the team was told that Dani was third!!!! The Mexican was handed over a penalty. I told you something good was going to happen. Although Dani worked hard all season long, when he finally made the podium, he wasn’t even allowed to be at the celebrations, no photos, no champagne :-(  I am sure he will make up for it next year!

So… I think this is where I am going to stop today’s story. But I promise that soon I will write a little blog about the GP2 Awards Party Sunday night… I know some people will beg me not to do so, but it is my duty (I am sure you are all dying to read a few more stories, so I cannot let you down, can I?)

Speak to you soon!

Fly on the Wall

Ciao cari amici! Come mi piace Monza! (or anything Italian for that matter, and no, I am not going to get into any details about my preferences when it comes to the boot-shape country… I leave your minds to work that one out).

Soooo, here we go again. Race weekend and I am all excited! Yes! Why? Oh! Let me tell you because that is obviously what you are waiting for and why you are reading these lines. So here we go… party, party, party… I am kidding! Just a couple of parties and the rest of the weekend… well, more parties as the team managed two podiums! (Just so you know, I was the only one partying as the boys had a lot of work to do and, come on, let’s be honest, they need to be concentrated on what they are doing!)

Dani Clos

Ah yes! You want to know about the parties. Well, on Thursday night there was the Gonzalo Rodríguez charity event at the Sporting Club of Monza (pretty place if you ask me, at least for fly standards!). And I was quite surprised to see Alexa Quintin and David Cameron sitting at the same table as ‘my boys’ (Ok, who are they? Those two humans are the heart of communication of GP2. And with that explained so there are not confusions, let me carry on with my story) So there they were, like a big happy family, when suddenly I see these shiny things on the table laid out as decoration… I got closer and … hmmm … Yes, very bright (must have been the reflections of the candles that made these sparkling things so breathtaking) and there I was thinking I had just hit a big jackpot when I hear Lucas telling people at the table that THAT was salt and people should try it!!! Had never seen salt shimmering so much… I was really taken aback… but even more so when I definitely realized it was not salt but… pieces of glass!!! This boy really knows how to wind up flies! (or people for that matter).

Lucas Di Grassi, Didier Perrin, Alexa Quintin

Oh… and a little secret… I overheard this conversation while flying over the table. Alexa, whom I can really say was having a blast, suddenly bets that she would do something special, if Dani gets on the podium…. What was that? Ehem, I am afraid I cannot write it on this ‘family rated’ blog… So let’s leave it like that and feel free to tell us about what you think she might have said…

Anyway, my head and wings were really hurting on Friday morning and because I could not move much, I decided to go around ‘on board’ on one of my human friends, and that way also get closer to the action. Free practice and qualifying went pretty well and the boys did all they could to get the best results possible because, as you will know, they both had a 10-place grid penalty from Spa-Francorchamps for the first race of the weekend…

And after Lucas and Dani qualified 5th and 14th… I got ready to follow Alfonso, Ines and Dani to their second ‘party’ of the weekend. Don’t you just love Italy as well? And so off we went to this event organized by the CEA (they are the people doing the fire marshalling in Monza, very nice guys! And what a great dinner I had!). That was another good evening, lots of faces to see, a few new dishes to try, jokes here and there… but, as you can imagine, my friends could not stay all night as the following day there was a very important race and so off we went, back to our cosy room. But obviously not before having listened to Claudio signing, Bruce, Fabrizio and company having a dance…and the rest I forgot about

On Saturday morning I panicked… Yes I did! I did not like the color of the sky or those horrible black clouds that were approaching the Italian track. And voilà! (I know that is not Italian, but you have to understand that after spending so much time with the team, where most of my friends are French, there are some things that you cannot avoid… like learning some of their lingo). Rain started to fall over Monza just before the GP2 race, as if somebody was throwing buckets of water onto our faces (well, their faces, as I quickly flew into one of the Formula 1 pits close by in order to hide… No! I am not scared of water or storms, but you have to understand that if my wings get wet… ) So, after waiting for a long time for whoever was up there to close the tap, the race finally started and… Did you see Lucas??? Did you see the boys work on the pit-stop??? Amazing job!!! And such a great result for my nice Brazilian finishing 3rd! (and that after starting from 15th. Can you imagine what would have happened, if he had been closer to the front???) And as for Dani, I think somebody has given him the evil eye!!! Come on… a person can only have just so much bad luck now and then, but him… Oh well, problems with his car’s engine since the very beginning of the race meant he had to fight harder than the rest of the field, but despite lacking of power from his engine, and being forced to start the race from the very back of the grid, he crossed the line 15th. Ok, not bad for Lucas though. There was some disagreement in the GP2 paddock among the teams and drivers regarding a Russian driver having cut the chicane four times during the race without getting penalized for that, while others were… to be honest, maybe my brain is too small compared to yours, being human, but even today I am still wondering if it was only me who saw that…

Obviously, the team celebrated Lucas’ podium, but only briefly, as they had to get everything ready for the next day, which is not easy when you have an engine problem. But as you know, my dearest Fat Burner Racing Engineering boys and girl (let’s not forget Cristina, the data engineer), as always, did a very professional job and both cars were ready to tackle the sprint race on Sunday morning. Contrary to Saturday’s heavy showers, the weather was pretty good on Sunday. And there I was praying for everything to go nicely and smoothly when, bang!! I am telling you, there is someone, who really does not like Dani!!! He was hit from behind on lap 1… Grrrrrrr… Really, I am still very angry about the whole thing… I think I am going to go to see a witch or somebody who can lift the curse… (I am starting to believe in those things and I guess I am becoming a bit of a superstitious fly… If you have any theories and would like to share them with me, please feel free to do so… because here I am scratching my tiny head trying to find out what is going on…) Lucas, on the other hand, showed us once again his fantastic skills to finish… on the podium again!!! He was second, and I am sure he could have won, but he had Razia in front (let’s be honest, he was a bit slow compared to the Racing Engineering boy) and, as Lucas explained later, “in Monza you lose downforce when driving too close to the car in front and that affects the balance of the car”… so no risks taken (better that way).

So, after a difficult weekend in Italy, the team is taking a couple of trophies back to Spain … Not bad!!! But I really hope next weekend they can give us something to finish… oh yes! Finish the season… Oups.. I am getting a knot in my stomach… I think I am already getting upset… only one more race weekend this season… No, no, no, I am not going to think about it… I am just going to enjoy my time and hope (and pray, seeing how things are turning for Dani) that we have something to celebrate in Portugal in a week’s time.

Ci vediamo il prossimo fine settimana!!! Bacini a tutti

Fly on the wall

My dear friendzzz… I need a doctor! Honestly, if I carry on swinging from being happy to being really upset like this, I think my little heart will not be able to bear this anymore. Or you come and visit me in a madhouse. So yes, I need to visit the man in white… or maybe two; one to check my heart’s conditions and another one to check my mental state…

What can I tell you about the weekend at the super cool Spa-Francorchamps Circuit? Well, apart from being cool… it was also very cold! And there we go again, from the extreme heat of Valencia a week ago, to the nearly polar weather in Belgium… Yes, it is almost end of summer, but come on! 5ºC in the morning??? (and I was without a fleece or anything to cover my tiny body and wings) Geeeee! It was freezing! But the poor boys had only 3°C as they worked until 3am, during the night of Saturday to Sunday.

But enough complaining. Let’s start with some stories from the country of the ‘mussels and frittes”. I arrived there, as always, on board the truck (I think Arnaud and Denis are starting to feel my presence or maybe they have been reading my blog. Therefore they know I am ‘there’, getting a free ride from circuit to circuit.) and I can tell you the first days were busy, busy, busy, busy as the boys had to try and fix the damaged cars after the Valencia shunts… (Like the press department would say ‘no comment’). I have to really applaud their work! What an amazing job they have done in such a short time! I love them all! (I am getting all soppy now… oh dear!… I need a doctor, definitely).

Anyway, Thursday, after walking around the track and the briefing, Alfonso, Ines, the boys and Dani went for dinner to this Italian restaurant in Stavelot. The food was very nice (I had a bit of every dish they ordered as they now know I am there and they are kind enough to get a little plate for me… Isn’t that sweet? (There we go again…. dooooctor, where are you?)) But the service was pretty slow. So as you can imagine, being a racing team, there were some jokes going around… Oh, before I forget, have you noticed I have only mentioned Dani?… No, I am not angry at Lucas or anything, the thing is that as he is now with the Renault F1 Team boys, he gets to be with them instead than with us…

Time for some action, and that means Friday has arrived and I, as well as the whole team, was very excited thinking about what would happen? OK, things did not go so well in free practice, but everything was according to plan. But what do you think about the qualifying? Hey! Lucas second, and Dani eleventh. That was not bad, was it? At least my dear Brazilian was in a very good position to fight for victory, while my rookie friend could go for his first points… And before going for a good sleep, time for dinner! And guess what? Alfonso and Ines did not mind the slow service at the Italian restaurant… because they went back with Dani.

Saturday was a funny day… after all, it was Ana’s birthday. You don’t know her??? You missed out. Ana is working in the team’s press office and a great supporter of the team. So it was clear something needed to be done, but difficult with her not being at the track. So, after some chats within the team, it was clear a pit board with some birthday wishes needed to be prepared. But going from Valencia straight to Spa, the possibilities were limited. Like so often, Christian, our good soul at GP2 catering, was quick at helping out with some carton boxes. With the mechanics being busy preparing the cars, Ines decided to cut the box into pieces. After Thomas gave her a super tiny cutter, Garth, the chief mechanic, supplied some proper tool and quickly passed her a scalpel, which made the task much easier – initially. Before I continue, you have to know, that in Spa GP2 teams are using the old F1 pits, which is a really great thing. For once a real roof over the head. But on the other hand, they are also really tiny. So, there was Ines, with the box already cut into pieces and only one last bit left while Arnaud and Denis were preparing the tyres for the race next to her. And then it happened! Just a bit too much power and with a nice noise, the blade of the scalpel broke and … off it went. Hmmm… Did I mention before that Arnaud and Denis were preparing the tyres very close by??? Oh gosh, Ines suffered a moment of panic. Now, imagine her moving all over the floor, moving things around, trying to look under the tyres, the trolleys, etc. etc. This went on for some time and this little piece of the blade was not to be found. While Denis supported Ines in her search for the potential evil, Arnaud kept his cool. I think he felt a bit sorry for Ines’ lack of experience with such tools… And then, finally, the piece of blade was found and, at least for one person, this was a big moment of relief. So, with the pieces of carton being in shape, they were handed over to Alfonso, known for his nice handwriting. And then the photo shooting in the pitlane started. If you look on the pictures posted on our Facebook fanpage, you will see that the drivers might have mixed them up with a posing contest… Thomas and Arnaud, who wanted to send kisses…well, their mouths also didn’t look quite right…

So, everything was ready for the first race of the weekend… Oh boy! That was an eventful race! First, a mechanic from Trident got knocked out by some heavy sections of pit equipment and Alfonso, who was a first row spectator was in shock, screaming to the McLaren Team boys to get their doctor and alarmed others as well… Even Fabrizio Nosco, the FIA Technical Scrutineer, ran down the pitlane to get the ambulance. The rest you know. Vasco Rossi, that is his name, was airlifted to the hospital… I hear he is recovering well, so from here, I wish him all the best! After those dramatic moments, the race started with a little delay. Dani had to be pushed into pits after a clutch problem on the grid. Bad luck or what? Both, he and Lucas did pretty well during the feature race. I am proud of them, as they stayed out of trouble… On the subject of accidents, there was another terrible moment when Coletti went off track and suffered a severe crash in Eau Rouge (gave me flybumps). But I heard he was feeling kind of OK afterwards at the hospital, since during dinner time, again at the Italian Restaurant, Dani and him kept texting each other (no romantic hint there, ok?) So, another dinner at the Italian, together with Dani, Sten Pentus (driver competing in the World Series by Renault) and his girlfriend Kristel, who were supporting the team this weekend in Spa. Now guys, please do not start thinking this was a business meeting… It was not, just a group of people enjoying each other’s company over some nice pasta dishes (I do not know why, I just have this image from the ‘Lady and the Tramp’ in my head).

Oh, I cannot leave this out: Lucas scored another podium for Fat Burner Racing Engineering! And Dani finished 10th. Great starting positions for Sunday’s sprint race and more points were expected…

The sprint race on the Sunday… I think I should not even write about that. You see, after all the celebration in my little corner of the truck after the podium and all, my heart suffered a terrible ache when I saw both Lucas and Dani out of the event for making mistakes that I am sure could have been avoided… Where is my doctor??? I really need to see one right now… I am starting to get very depressed… and on top of that a 10 grid penalty for both of them at Monza… I am starting to cry now … oh oh oh.. What can I say guys? The team has been working hard for two weeks to get everything ready and in order for the Italian races, but with that kind of penalty, it is not like they are going to have it easy. I feel really sorry for them. They are doing an awesome job of putting fast cars on the track and work soooo many hours – they deserve better!

But you know what? I do not loose hope! And I hope you neither!

Salukes!

Your Fly on the Wall

I am sad… Yes, very sad and upset (muy triste, like the Spanish would say). And you all know why, so I think this time I am going to avoid talking about what happened on the Valencia Street Circuit during the Saturday and Sunday races… no point in remembering them… And I am sure you all, my dearest friendzzzz, agree with me.

So instead of bringing back bad memories… let me tell you about some events that happened outside the Valencia Street Circuit. Apart from the melting heat that, by the way, keeps turning me into a mosquito (size wise… because I am still an annoying fly on the wall that some are starting to try to catch… Guess what!!! I saw some flyswatters around, can you believe it??? I wonder what they are planning to do with them as I am just a harmless fly… annoying sometimes, I admit it, but nevertheless harmless and sweet…) Enough about me, because I know you are reading this blog to know more about the team and not about a little bug…

Thursday, Thursday, Thursday… Great day it was! The boys, as they usually do before the free practice and qualifying sessions on Friday, went around the ‘boiling’ track to learn the layout. For the engineers and my two friends, Lucas and Dani, it was a bit of a struggle… Imagine having to walk the whole distance around the circuit under a bright sun and temperatures of around 40°C!! No way I was gonna go with them… (I leave the technical stuff and the walk for the ‘big boys’). So I, instead, went to have a nice and cold ‘horchata’ (Eh? you might be wondering, if you are not Spanish. Well that is a typical drink from Valencia made of ‘chufas’ (tiger nuts, fancy name in English! isn’t it? :-p) Oh!, and before I forget, Lucas did the walk twice! He had to previously do the distance with the Renault F1 team (Yes, he is now one of them, too!).

Anyway, the Thursday gossip does not finish there yet. At around 6 o’clock, the boys were driven to a signing session in a well known Spanish shopping center. The place was full of fans wanting to get a glimpse of the two promising motorsport stars and why not get an autograph and maybe a photo with them… Many did and it was sooooo nice to see the happy faces of the kids after having had their photos taken with the two Fat Burner Racing Engineering drivers (if you look closer, I am on some of them, flying around their heads or over the Fat Burner bottles!)…

After the ‘exhausting’ job of signing many autographs, the boys, together with Alfonso and some team members, headed back to the track. Lucas and Dani went for dinner on the boss’ boat and had some sushi with… ouff… tons of people! No, it was not a ‘pre-race party’… that one was next door, or I should say dock, where the super massive yachts (sorry Alfonso, yours looks like a fisherman’s boat next to ‘THAT ONE’) were parked… Do you want to know whose it was? Hmmmm… Shall I tell you? Ok… it was Force India’s owner Vijay Mallya… They had a party going on over there… but it really felt like it was on the ‘fisherman’s boat’ as the music was pretty loud (I am not complaining…. ok?).

And then Saturday came… as I said I would not mention anything about the races, I will only tell you about what happened in the morning. Hmmmm, I have to try to get some pictures of that… I wonder, if someone would give them to me… I have to ask around. Oh sorry! I did not tell you what went on Alfonso’s ‘tiny’ sailing boat’. Well, a Spanish TV channel asked the ‘boss’ for access to the boat to…. ehem, film Dani doing some modeling! Yes, Dani’s new career… at least for one morning (But I am sure he really enjoyed it. He is currently waiting for further calls pursuing this second career… I heard it pays well!)

Oh well… That was all the fun bits of the weekend. You know what happened next, but what you do not know is how much work and hours the team’s mechanics and engineers had to spend to try and fix the cars. Chapeau to them! They did a fantastic job all weekend long. Fast cars in qualifying and therefore a lot to look forward to for Saturday and Sunday. But things didn’t quite work that way. And while they spent all of Saturday’s night working, just getting back to the hotel to grab their bags, Sunday’s race just resulted in heavy duty work again on both cars. They are a great bunch of guys (and girl, yes, Cristina, I don’t forget about you) and I am really proud to be able to follow them this season. Now let’s hope we can leave behind, really behind, the weekend in Valencia and all the bad luck. Let Spa bring us good results and something to cheer on!

¡Hasta la próxima!

Fly on the wall

Well, here I am again. Oh my dear friendzzzzz, what a weekend in Hungary! Apart from the very high temperatures that nearly boiled my brain (and remember, it is smaller than a pea), I had a great time getting to know a few things about the Hungarian culture and, of course, celebrating the Fat Burner Racing Engineering results.

But let’s not jump ahead of events and as always, let’s start from the very beginning of the weekend. So, what happened the first days I was over there? I just tried to relax and wait for the arrival of the drivers and some of my ‘vehicles’ as I got there pretty early on board of ‘my’ truck… Believe me, when I tell you that I really suffered because of the weather. After the really low temperatures in Germany, I expected a ‘bit’, just a bit, of heat over in Hungary, but I was wrong… oh yes, sooooo wrong that now I think I look more like a mosquito than a fly!

Having said this, let me tell you about the boys. After their arrival in Hungary, they came to the hotel in Gödölló. Beautiful place situated in the Pest county (I know, it does not sound very good, the ‘pest part’, it even might sound scary to some, but the name has nothing to do with ‘pests’. And let me remind you that Budapest was created after the unification of Buda and Óbuda with Pest, which is on the left bank of the Danube). But enough history and let’s get on with business and gossips!!!

Thursday night I saw Lucas and Dani leaving with Alfonso and Ines. For some reason I though that would be a fun night (even though the boys could not be up late, as the following day there was a very important qualifying session… watch out fly! Do not get over excited yet!). So I followed the troops down to a restaurant where they had sushi…hmmm raw fish, rice, spices… just thinking about it right now it is making me hungry. Fly! Focus! Right, I am all focused. Just before enjoying their dinner, my friends did a little walk through town and, oh boy!, there were these elephants all over the place… They were not real ones, obviously! But both, Dani and Lucas, felt ‘very attracted’ to them and pictures had to be taken (I really thought they would end up taking one back to the hotel or even to the track the following day!).

But the night was not over yet and before getting to bed, a bit of history and sightseeing followed with a visit to the amazing castle of Budapest. Breathtaking place overlooking the city. And so romantic…Dani and Lucas were a bit overwhelmed by their feelings, but I will not get into details now. I am sure they prefer it like that. So the boys tried to put their knowledge of Hungarian history on display…making up god knows what (I am still trying to decipher what they were going on about).

Friday was a great day for the whole Fat Burner Racing Engineering team. As you know, Lucas scored his first pole position since his debut in the GP2 Series, and on top of that, it was the first pole of the season for the Spanish team. Alfonso, as always, tried to smoke his cigar… but as you can see on the pictures it is not the real one! (I think he forgot to bring the proper one… Hmmm, I am not going to forgive him that one. But if not bringing it to the track makes one of the drivers be on pole… I hope he forgets them for the rest of the season!). Dani, on the other hand, was 12+1 (if you do not know what I am writing about, then read the previous story from Germany…). And before I forget, let me tell you about both Lucas’ and Dani’s singing skills… Ehem, thank God they are drivers because I think in that department, they would not be in the top 100. Really, Dani delighted us for two day with his ‘cherubim’ voice, and then Lucas joined in… Let’s say I did not take off my earplugs for a very long while…………… As a matter of fact, I still wear them!

Saturday morning started easy. Lucas and Dani had Alfonso as their chauffeur this weekend and as there was still some time, Alfonso, always worried about his drivers, thought another bit of culture might be good for them. Staying in Gödölló makes it imperative to visit the local castle. It used to be the summer residence of Sisi and her husband the Emperor of Austria (I bet Ines was very happy to see some of her country’s history. After all she is Austrian!). But maybe she got a bit lost with Dani and Lucas’ take on history… They tried once more to impress with their local knowledge. And if that was not enough, Lucas explained why he likes to pronounce people’s last names wrong on purpose (If you ever meet him, just tell him your first name. Just in case!) One of his victims this time was the team’s sporting director. Ok, I admit, his surname is not one of the easiest ‘Couyotopoulo’, and I think that is why my Brazilian friend has an idea of how Thomas family got ‘that name’. So he goes: “His great-great-grandfather had a dog called: Poulo….and it was a Coyote…so the last name was decided like this”. Does it make any sense to you? I am glad I am just a fly and have ‘no name’.

But then the relaxed atmosphere within the team was soon gone. Before the feature race started, Lucas and the entire team were left in shock after seeing Lucas’ close friend and Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa suffer a horrible accident. As I was trying to concentrate on the race ahead, I did not see until later what had happened. Lucas, in the meantime, tried to put on a brave face and get on with things while trying to obtain information. But in reality, he was very worried for his friend’s condition and who knows if that had some kind of effect on his race. He started from pole and did a great race, but finished second. I really do not want to get into too much detail as the pain he was going through after seeing the images of Felipe being airlifted to the hospital, was breaking my heart. And anyone who saw Lucas on the podium knew, that it was a very tough race for him.

When morning came on Sunday, everyone got up pretty early to go to the track. Lucas was in contact with Felipe’s family, trying to get the latest news and, well, you know how Felipe is doing. Despite his state of mind, Lucas showed a great pace once again and after having started from seventh on the grid, he snatched another podium! Way to go, boy! His total tally for the weekend was 14 points, which brought him closer to the top of the championship standings and makes me think that the second half of the season is going to be very tight… Dani, on the other had, was doing a superb race, he even made it to seventh, which meant he was only a stone’s throw away from scoring his first point… but once again, it was not meant to be, and after a little mistake, he lost some positions and finished the race 11th.

After all the excitement of the race, it was time to enjoy a bit of sun, while the team boys dismounted everything. They did a fantastic job and I am sure they will enjoy a couple of days off in Southern Spain before the cars arrive. Lucas, on the other hand did not waste any time and left for the AEK hospital in Budapest, where Felipe is hospitalized. I really hope he gets well soon and will be ready to race his red F1 to a win again in the very near future. The rest of us just wandered around a little bit before saying ‘until next year’ to Hungary and start a three weeks break from racing (at least for me because I know the team guys will only have a few days before starting to prepare for the races in Valencia…).

Speak to you soon!

Fly on the Wall