Dangerous curves
After we had been hanging out in front of the Scuderia Toro Rosso garage for a few minutes scratching ourselves like apes, the mechanics took pity upon us and rolled one of the cars out, being careful to keep it just out of drool range.
Seeing F1 cars on TV doesn’t do them justice. They’re absolutely stunning up close. Next time I’m getting to the pit walk earlier, (assuming the race returns to Indianapolis of course) as it was already nearly impossible to get near the McLaren or Ferrari garages by 10am.
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In this age of budget cuts…
By drastically reducing the size of driver accommodations on race weekends, the Spyker team has been able to reduce their operating costs considerably.
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My Dad in the 1940s
I wish I knew when this picture was taken. It’s almost certainly during the war when dad was in the Army as a meteorologist. It’s one among thousands of photos I inherited and recently brought home from his house in New Mexico. The photo was scanned from a large format negative and I spent several hours retouching and removing dust and scratches. The original is really stunning and I plan to make a large print or two.
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About Gawain
I’m a husband, father, musician, web/new media developer, photographer and motorsports nut. My company site is here.
2007 United States Grand Prix
I’ve finally done it. After following Formula One since 1999, I’ve finally seen and heard these amazing machines up close at the United States Grand Prix. I went up to Indianapolis with a friend and we spent four days at the track. Thursday’s pit walk, Friday practice, Saturday’s qualifying and the race on Sunday.
The weather was hot and muggy. There’s not much cover so I was grateful to have a good hat and a generous supply of sunblock.
A few high points of car and people watching:
- Seeing a bearded guy dressed like the pope with a big pointy hat and robes, but entirely done in Ferrari colors and logos. We were walking through a tunnel and I didn’t have time to snap a picture. He nodded a blessing as we passed. Yep, it was going to be a good week.
- A band of rabid (and quite smashed) fans dressed in Brazilian flags, playing Carnival music on percussion instruments and chanting a song prominently featuring the words “Felipe Massa!” as they paraded triumphantly around the infield.
- Hearing the Honda guys start up one of the engines in the garage. What a wonderfully aggressive bark as the mechanics blipped the throttle and adjusted the fuel mixture. When they shut it down the engine stopped instantly and the sound echoed up and down pit lane as the assembled crowd cheered and applauded. Later I discovered that the Honda cars were indeed among the loudest cars in the field. Too bad loud doesn’t always equal fast.
- Seeing Lewis Hamilton’s car coming down Hulman Blvd., knowing he was seeing the track for the very first time outside of a simulator. Pace came quickly as we all knew it would. He was cool as a cucumber the whole weekend, even after having a little moment in turn 13 before the straight.
- Of course, the race itself. The battle for position between the McLaren and Ferrari teammates. Nico Rosberg losing his engine along the front straight and the marshals dousing the rapidly disintegrating car with fire extinguishers.
More later as it comes to me… In the meantime, enjoy this pic I took of Heikki Kovalainen during Saturday’s morning practice session.
