Five-time World Rally champion to test for Red Bull this month
Forget about Lewis and F1 for a minute - let’s hear it for the awesomely talented and massively underappreciated Seb Loeb, who clinched his fifth World Rally title - in a row! - at the weekend.
Loeb is one of the best drivers in the world, no question, so it will be interesting to see where he goes from here. Red Bull, which now sponsors his Citroen rally team, have offered the Frenchman a test in one of their F1 cars - it’s apparently a reward for him winning the WRC this season. The test will take place later this month, at the Circuit de Catalunya. Before that, Loeb will have a brief run at Silverstone.
Although Loeb claims he has no interest in switching from rallying to F1, and has already confirmed that he will defend his title for Citroen in 2009, we’d love to see how he would get on racing alongside Lewis, Kimi and co. After all, he is just about the most successful current driver in any code of motorsport. But at 34, it’s probably too late for him to make the switch.
Shame. We think he’d do a great job in F1, even if he’s not used to the dark arts of overtaking. How do you think he’d cope with the transition?
Gridcrasher bonus! Watch Loeb test in a Renault F1 car in 2007:
Ah, the perils of being an F1 grid girl - especially at Silverstone, where the wind always blows. Still, we’re sure most male F1 fans weren’t complaining.
McLaren are running the rule of 22-year-old Scot Paul Di Resta. The West Lothian youngster, cousin of Dario Franchitti, is testing today and tomorrow at Silverstone, and will be given a second bite of the cherry later this month. Di Resta will not be given a drive for next season given that Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen have confirmed they will stay on, but he could become Di Testa (ho, ho!).
Di Resta has been brought into McLaren’s Young Driver programme which exempts him from the usual limits on team testing. He is currently racing in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) series for Mercedes. He came fifth in 2007 in his debut season in the DTM despite not being given a 2007 spec car. He has previously raced in the Euroseries championship, where Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were also blooded.
Miss Great Britain brought the sexy to the British GP
Gemma Garrett hasn’t publicly declared a relationship with a man who makes a living wearing fireproof overalls, so she isn’t technically a WAG, yet she has more than earned a position as Grid Girl of the Day for her starring role in this year’s British Grand Prix. The current Miss Great Britain was selected as the ‘official face‘ of Silverstone, which basically meant she pranced around looking pretty while pretending to know who Jackie Stewart ismaking acquaintance with Jackie Stewart.
Drivers on the British Touring Car Championship have been warned to clean up their act amid concerns that the meetings are becoming competitive bumper car races. Ahead of a decisive meeting at Silverstone this weekend, former world champion Tim Harvey has voiced his displeasure at the increasing levels of car-to-car contact.
“Nobody likes to see all those beautiful machines with hammers being applied to them and panels being replaced,” said Harvey, who is now a commentator for ITV. “It is up to the officials to decide if there is too much contact. You have to say that on occasions it does go too far.”
Leave it - no amount of shouting “Fernando!” in a really annoying voice is going to get him to come over and sign your Lewis Hamilton t-shirt. What, a little wave isn’t enough? Give Nando a break, there’s a fully stocked hotel minibar calling him.
What’s the Spanish for bastardo? Hmm, we think it might be “bastardo”.
