11 July – Britain

Ron Dennis to get long overdue knighthood

After spending decades at the top of Formula One, Ron Dennis is finally going to receive his much deserved knighthood but it will be for services to television, not motorsport.

According to Buckingham Palace (pictured left, yesterday) Her Majesty The Queen… was getting more and more annoyed last Sunday, that her enjoyment of watching the British Grand Prix was being spoilt by Eddie Jordan in full Jeremy Paxman mode, badgering Christian Horner for no apparent reason.

Her Majesty was close to switching off, when Ron snuck up behind Jordan and deftly cut his headset wires, rendering him speechless, making it impossible for the Irishman to ask Horner the same question for a seventh time.

Dennis is due at the Palace for a special investiture next month.

If you want to see Ron’s heroic deed (for UK viewers only) snipping EJ’s earphones, check this at around 2:31.30 http://tinyurl.com/37nh349

To see a proper interviewer in action, watch this……

Friday, July 16th, 2010
Tags: British Grand Prix, Eddie Jordan, Ron Dennis
Posted in 11 July – Britain | Ron Dennis to get long overdue knighthood

Sauber sign Paul the Psychic Octopus

Following a rather lacklustre British Grand Prix the Sauber team have reportedly sacked Pedro de la Rosa and have replaced him with Paul the Psychic Octopus.

The talented mollusc has now finished his stint predicting results for the football World… Cup and is due to have a seat fitting at Hinwil next week and should be in the car for the German Grand Prix in just under two weeks time.

A spokesman for the team said; “We think it’s a win-win situation. Paul is immensely popular in Germany so may attract a sponsor, we could do with at least one, and he’s plainly on a winning streak so we hope he’ll bring a bit of that to the team”.

He added, “Paul is a bit of an unknown quantity when it comes to racing an F1 car but if it doesn’t work out with him then it’s not a problem, Kamui Kobayashi is one mean sushi chef, so we’ll just eat him.”

Monday, July 12th, 2010
Tags: British Grand Prix, Kamui Kobayashi, Pedro de la Rosa, Sauber
Posted in 11 July – Britain, Sauber-2010 | Sauber sign Paul the Psychic Octopus

Eddie Irvine changes his tune and goes green

One man not at the British Grand Prix was Eddie Irvine, one time Ferrari driver and former Man Friday to Michael Schumacher, who is reportedly about to adopt a Robinson Crusoe lifestyle and live on a desert island in the… Bahamas.

The only difference between Irvine and Crusoe is that the Irishman owns his island, having shelled out £1 million for it and is the only known castaway with a private jet.

Irvine, who was once F1’s playboy in residence, is apparently inspired to adopt the simple life by his worry for the planet and ‘green issues’ when before, the only green issue he was worried about was how bloody slow his Jaguar was. He has sold his fleet of sportscars and is even considering getting rid of his yacht, one thing we would have thought handy if you live on an island.

In an article in The Belfast Telegraph, Eddie says; “I will make as small a footprint as possible (a bit late for that surely) and I won’t even have a generator on the island, I will be frugal and I won’t be eating much steak that’s for sure.”

Irvine goes on; “We are going to have to get clever and that is why Formula One is not my passion anymore because it ain’t clever”

Hmmm. Not quite what he said when he was announced as the host of the LG Grand Prix Show on Talksport radio a little while back when he said; “Although I’m no longer part of the paddock, I am still very passionate about Formula One.”

Confused? You should be…

Monday, July 12th, 2010
Tags: British Grand Prix, Eddie Irvine
Posted in 11 July – Britain | Eddie Irvine changes his tune and goes green

Ten things you did not know, or care, about Sakon Yamamoto

Sakon Yamamoto has been called up to drive for the HRT squad at the British Grand Prix in place of the dropped Bruno Senna but what do we know about the Japanese star?

We spent a good ten minutes on Wikipedia before… we got bored and this is what we found out, so here are ten must know Sakon stats for you to savour.

Apart from being a Grand Prix driver, Sakon is also a much in demand club DJ. Quite possibly, though we cannot be sure, his favourite tune to slap on the decks is the medically creepy song ‘Turning Japanese’ by The Vapors.
In 2006 Nick Heidfeld called him a ‘Vanker’ when he mistook him for fellow countryman and mobile chicane, Takuma Sato.
The reason HRT signed Sakon up as a test driver at the beginning of this year was, and we quote; “So he could help Hispania develop the car” It had nothing whatsoever to do with money. Not at all.
The reason HRT dropped Bruno Senna on the eve of the British Grand Prix was because they thought he deserved a go and might be quite good. It had nothing whatsoever to do with money. Not at all.
Sakon is a big Harry Potter fan, actually we don’t know that for sure but he should be, as his hometown of Toyohashi is the base of the fictional Quidditch team, the Toyohashi Tengu.
Yamamoto’s surname is nearly the same as Yamato, the great World War Two Japanese battleship . The Yamato was moderately fast but unpredictable in the way it steered and had the capability of causing great damage to anything within it’s range. A bit like Yamamoto really.

Sorry, that’s only six facts of interest and we struggled getting that many as the inclusion of the Harry Potter one shows.

Friday, July 9th, 2010
Tags: British Grand Prix, Bruno Senna, HRT, Sakon Yamamoto
Posted in 11 July – Britain, Campos-2010 | Ten things you did not know, or care, about Sakon Yamamoto

Chandhok not so sure about HRT Silverstone upgrade

While the cockpit on his upgraded HRT car is certainly roomy enough, Karun Chandhok is not so sure about its aero effiency. Still, unlike team mate Bruno Senna, at least he’ll be driving something this weekend.