Formula One Drivers Heat up the Catwalk for Sir Elton John’s Foundation

Prior to winning the Monaco Grand Prix last weekend in Monte Carlo, Jenson Button, along with six other Formula One hotties, took part in a fashion show at the Amber Fashion event to raise funds for the Elton John Aids Foundation.

Strutting the catwalk for charity were Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Mark Webber, Adrian Sutil, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Sebastian Vettel and F1 veteran David Coulthard. The sports hottest drivers wore designs by Petra Ecclestone- daughter of F1 Management CEO Bernie-from her F1 inspired men’s wear collection FORM…Mark Webber commented on his second appearance as a model for the event: “Last year my knees were shaking a bit, but now it’s all routine! Could the catwalk be a career for me? No. So far I’ve never been a fashion junkie, but you never know - never say never!” Jenson Button also returned to the catwalk for the second year in a row: “Whatever you might think, a modeling career was definitely never my ‘plan B,” said this years Monaco Grand Prix winner, “I do this here because it is a fun event and it is for a good cause. Hopefully the guests will put their hands in their pockets and get some money out this evening. For us drivers it’s a nice break to do something different.” Indeed…strutting their stuff seems like a pretty good ‘something different’ to me…to view photos of our F1 babes decked out in FORM fashions, visit the F1 website HERE.

Seen at the Monaco Grand Prix…Josh Hartnett (L)-looking sexy as hell-chatting it up with George Lucas…and actor Jesse Metcalf (far right) giving Mark Webber a run for his money in the ‘hot’ department.

As always, thanks for reading. Delinda@athlebrities.com

Lewis Hamilton Visits Aussie Burn Victims

Formula One teams and drivers are arriving for the first Grand Prix of the season in Australia. For many, including myself, this is reason to celebrate. The thought of Peter Windsor working that grid while Lewis Hamilton prances around in his race suit is enough to make me smile. But I’ve got a bigger reason to smile-as do the burn victims of Victoria’s Black Saturday brushfires.

When McLaren Mercedes driver, Lewis Hamilton and teammate Heikki Kovalainen landed down under, their first pit stop was to the Alfred Hospitals burn unit. Sure, they could have gone to the zoo or played soccer, but they chose to make the rounds, visiting recovering burn victims, nurses, doctors and hospital staff.

Hamilton is so classy, that he brushed aside the media to speak to the patients. It wasn’t until after the visit that he briefly addressed the media. “We can’t imagine what they’ve gone through, but to see the smiles on their faces and how strong they are … it gives me inspiration.”

While Hamilton and Kovalainen opted to spread love, other drivers-not so much. Unless you call ‘spreading love’ a visit to the zoo or playing soccer? German Formula One drive Nick Heidfeld (above) and Adrain Sutil opted to meet four kangaroos at the Zoo in Melbourne instead of visiting burn victims…

…and Hamilton nemesis Spanish Formula One driver Fernando Alonso was busy being presented with a team shirt from the Melbourne Victory soccer team…I’m just saying…the fires, in which 210 people died, form an emotional backdrop to this year’s Australian Grand Prix-I would expect more drivers to pay homage to those who’ve suffered.

The Australian Grand Prix goes down on March 29, 2009.

As always, thanks for reading. Delinda@athlebrities.com

Lewis Hamilton Gets Waxed and Is Awarded a MBE?

And yet another one of my favorites, Lewis Hamilton, has been immortalized in wax. Yes, the youngest and first black Formula 1 World Champion has landed smack dab on display at Madame Tussauds in London. “He has undoubtedly won a place in the nation’s hearts for his determination and single mindedness and a place at Madame Tussauds for an amazing track record,” said a spokesperson for the London attraction. The wax-figure took around six months to create and cost about $210,000 to make…

In other Lewis Hamilton news, the beast was awarded an ‘MBE’ earlier this month…in efforts to understand the meaning of an MBE, I did some research into it and ended up getting a very confusing history lesson.

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are: Knight Grand Cross (GBE) or Dame Grand Cross (GBE); Knight Commander (KBE) or Dame Commander (DBE); Commander (CBE); Officer (OBE); Member (MBE).

Essentially, they are the ones who ‘Knight’ people, give out medals and add the ‘Sir’ or ‘Dame’ in front of someone’s name. And even though Hamilton’s lowly ranking in the Order doesn’t qualify him as a Knight just yet, I’m gonna continue to call him Sir Lewis.

As always, thanks for reading. Delinda@athlebrities.com

DYNAMIC DUO’S

Hope everyone was safe, happy and loved this holiday…Events have been added to the Celebrity Athlete Charity Events Calendar, with plenty more to come. Next week, I’m gonna break down some of the events for you and highlight the one which I recommend…if you know of an event you’d like listed, please email me, an if you are a PR firm or Athlete rep, please contact me to be included on the calendar…but in the meantime, I’ve got plenty of pent-up ‘are-you-kidding-me’s’ that need to come out….

The battle between my heart and my libido rages on- spurred by David Beckham “on loan” to AC Milan alongside Paolo Maldini-I must bow to the babes and give proper recognition to some of the men who’ve paired up in the past to make me question my sanity…Beckham is a no-brainer, but when paired with Maldini? Are you kidding me? Geez-Us. Both are exceptional ‘givers’ in the charity world but right now I am so blinded by ‘fineness’ that I can’t even spell humanitarian…and for the record, Beckham’s sex-appeal is no match for the Italian beast who’s dark hair, piercing eyes and delicious accent make Beck’s look a bit…ah…mousy?

As I refresh my desktop screen saver, I still cannot bring myself to delete this photo from 2007 when we enjoyed a soul shattering moment of ‘hello-ness’ as Camilo Villegas stood alongside Aaron Baddeley…not much else to say except here’s to a few more crawls, and victories, from Villegas this year.

Another one of my favorite: Chad Pennington, then still with the Jets, and the ‘are you kidding me’ look on his face as Tom Brady whispers sweet nothings in his ear…I’ve always had a secret thing for Chad-and I dare say you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who’s got a bad thing to say about him-as a person, as a player I’m sure there’s haters but who cares as Chad and his new team (Miami) watch Favre and the Jets say buh-bye to the Bowl.

One duo that always makes me lose my voice is Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. This photo from 2006 is timeless to me. The Swiss-Mister-in my opinion- seems to always rely on his reputation to pave the way to victory, whereas our Tapa is always busy training. The manner in which Rafa is holding his victory screams ‘oh my god I really did it’ while the Swiss-ter wears a look which says “yeah-enjoy-it- while-you-can”…last laugh on R-Fed as our baybee sits pretty at number one. Both are in Abu Dhabi for the start of the Capitala World Tennis Championships. Vamos you sweet thing, Va-mos.

Pavel Nedved and Allesandro Del Piero. April 2007. I don’t know if Del Piero slapped Nedved in the face or kissed him afterwards, but the photo qualifies-in my book- as a classic.

Here’s to an awesome 2009!
As always, thanks for reading.

delinda@athlebrities.com

Celebrity Athletes in 2008
2008 has been a great year for some of our favorites. Yes, I made a vow to take the month off but unfortunate I can’t stay away…too many of our guys are out there playing Santa, making cookies with kids and spreading the holiday cheer…I couldn’t possibly cover all the action, just a few memorable moments that made my estrogen spike and my man question my sanity…

Rafa is sitting tight at number one after sending the Swiss Mister down the rankings ladder and finally clinching his spot atop the world rankings…Our kitten Camilo Villegas grabbed a few headlines, several trophies and a shit load of estrogen en route to 2009…Lewis Hamilton became the youngest champion in Formula One history and owned the word “class” while kicking ass in the face of racism…we fell in love with Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt while raising awareness for genocide…Men’s USA Basketball did us proud and brought home the gold…and we, the people, elected one of the hottest ballers alive to be Our President. All in all, I would say a mighty good year.

Ideally, I would elaborate on Carmelo Anthony’s ‘Very Melo Holiday Event’ which was held in Denver…however, I am at a loss for words. Only one comes to mind…Geez-Us. Carmelo Cares people and don’t ever doubt it. “It’s important to me to make a significant impact on the communities that have positively affected me. My family and I are committed to growing my Foundation so that we can continue to help families in need.”

Another Nugget up to do-gooding…Chauncey Billups, along with Ray and Rodney Billups-spread some holiday cheer during a holiday event for families at the Hiawatha Davis Rec Center in Denver.

Shane Battier gets mad props for helping this little kid from Casa De Esperanza pick out some toys during the Houston Rockets Season of Giving in Houston…and gotta give a massive hug to the most underrated ‘giver’ in the League-Ron Artest…Ron-Ron made cookies during the Rockets event and passed out gifts along with Luther Head, Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey…

And this is the fifth year in a row that the NBA has teamed up with ‘Feed the Children’… This years event in Detroit saw five Pistons -Kwame Brown, Allen Iverson, Jason Maxiell, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace- stepping in as the Fab-Five for this years ‘Miracle in Motown’ where they fed five thousand families…For me, the Pistons embody something that transcends basketball. Off the top of my head I can’t think of any controversy, jail time or scandal involving the Motown boys that would deem them unworthy of praise, so correct me if I’m wrong-until then, they get my vote for sincerity, good will and never saying no when asked to help others.

Have a safe and happy holiday season…remember to check out all the celebrity philanthropy we’re covering at Look to the Stars…have a rocking new year, hug a child and I’ll see ya in (yikes) ’09.

As always, thanks for reading.
Delinda Lombardo

Dramatic Finale for Lewis Hamilton
“I feel like any of the other drivers that are out there, that it is a dream for me to get to Formula One.”

Lewis Hamilton sped into the record books as Formula One’s youngest champion after a dramatic final lap at the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix. With Felipe Massa wiping tears from his eyes-and placing first-it was Hamilton who nabbed the World Championship title from the Brazilian after placing fifth. (For those outta the loop-the championship is based on points earned throughout the year. So although Massa won this race, Hamilton had accumulated enough points this year to win the “Championship” title by simply placing fifth or better.)

The 23-year-old British beast almost gave me a nervous-break down during the final few laps. Needing only a fifth place finish, Hamilton held his position for most of the race. Massa held first-as expected-for most of the race-yet all eyes were on Hamilton as he pitted quickly and did just about everything right…until the final lap, when out of nowhere Timo Glock sped by him…pretty sure my neighbors heard me screaming as I watched what I though was a replay of last years finale when he lost it by a nose hair…less the one lap remaining-Massa is celebrating…rain is expected…Glock is racing on dry-tires ahead of Hamilton…without rain Hamilton will place sixth and lose… and then, a miracle…the race gods opened up the skies and sprinkled just the right dose of rain to give Hamilton and his wet tires the edge he needed to miraculously power past Glock…perhaps one of the most dramatic finishes I’ve ever seen.

Lewis Hamilton now becomes Britain’s ninth world champion after Mike Hawthorn, Graham Hill, Jim Clark, John Surtees, Sir Jackie Stewart, James Hunt, Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill. Shame on the Brazilian race fans who booed loudly as Hamilton stole victory from the pug (Massa). “It’s absolutely great and that’s a shame that the crowd are doing this (booing). They should be sportsmen. We have the championship and let’s look forward to the next one.”

Perhaps adding salt to the self-inflicted wounds of the racist-race-fans is that fact that Hamilton didn’t just earn the title by winning, but Hamilton also becomes the first black Formula One Champion, ever. Most of the chat rooms during the race were also filled with racist morons hoping for Hamilton to crash, burn and die. I can understand not wanting a Brit to beat your hometown hero, but to single him out for the color of his skin is moronic…Hamilton names Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King as his heroes, “Being black is not a negative,” he told Black History Month magazine. “It’s a positive, if anything, because I’m different.”

Congratulations Lewis Hamilton. We all see you now!

 

Like what you read? Subscribe to my RSS feed for daily email updates! (link on top right)
As always, thanks for reading.
Delinda Lombardo

HAMILTON UPDATE: RACIST WEBSITE OWNED BY TWBA MEDIA

“The Spanish government cannot allow this organized and systematic racism to continue. These people must be widely condemned and the websites they use shut down immediately.”

Wow…the website used to target Lewis Hamilton with racists remarks and hatred has thankfully been shut down, but the most disturbing fact is that the site is owned and operated by New-York-based advertising agency, TWBA, which is part of the world’s largest media services group, Omnicom. And the kicker? The site belongs to the Spanish branch of the advertising firm.

Last night, the site was yanked and spanked after after hundreds of abusive messages were posted…and I don’t need to elaborate on what the messages said. We have British cabinet minister Andy Burnham to thank for the shut-down, as he led calls for action against the abuse. “This is a crucial race and the whole country will be behind him. I’m very concerned to hear reports of sites potentially fueling racist abuse. The authorities must take the toughest possible action against racism in sport.” Another one to thank is Keith Vaz, chairman of Labour’s ethnic minority taskforce, who urged foreign secretary David Miliband to lodge a formal protest:: “The Spanish government cannot allow this organized and systematic racism to continue. These people must be widely condemned and the websites they use shut down immediately.”

TBWA operates in 77 countries with 12,000 staff in 258 offices. Its clients include Absolut Vodka, Apple, Adidas, McDonald’s, Michelin, Sony PlayStation, and Singapore Airlines. Last year, Omnicom’s revenue was $12.7 B.

A spokesman in the New York office played dumb, saying they did not know why the site, designed and owned by its interactive marketing branch in Spain had not been monitored to stop racists using it to abuse Hamilton, but would take “appropriate action” once they identified the idiot who was responsible for the website.

Renault’s Fernando Alonso last night condemned the racist supporters. “If it’s true, obviously this is not possible [acceptable],” the Spaniard told reporters at the Brazilian Grand Prix. “In 2008 we cannot have these kind of people in our world. It’s not only formula one, not only sport, it’s normal life as well.”

Like what you read? Subscribe to my RSS feed for daily email updates! (link on top right)
As always, thanks for reading.
Delinda Lombardo

Lewis Hamilton is Again Targeted by Racists

In London, things are good for Lewis Hamilton-so good in fact, that he’s a piece of art…British artist Ian Cook unveiled his latest work of genius…a massive Lewis Hamilton painting he created by using remote controlled cars instead of paint brushes…this Sunday, Hamilton will go head-to-head with Felipe Massa for the Formula One world title. Hamilton currently holds a seven-point lead over Massa going into the final race of the season in Brazil…kinda like Obama over McCain…and of course, racists morons are not happy about their homeboy Massa being outperformed by a –oh-god-no! Black man.

I was literally sick to my stomach reading some of this shit. (Excuse my language kids but this fires me up). A new website has emerged-which I do NOT recommend you visit, especially if you have a weak stomach for hatred and racism. Massa fans can’t handle the fact that their pug-faced hero is about to lose the World Championships to yet another squeaky-voiced uber-sexy British beast. The website asks visitors to place pins, nails and porcupines on the ‘interactive map of the track’ to try and “stop Formula One’s first black driver from finishing Sundays race.”

The website has done nothing more than give cowardly racists a platform to voice their sub-par thoughts. More than 16,000 racist messages have been left so far….many taunting him about the color of his skin in a vile campaign that reprised the abuse he received at the start of the year in Barcelona. One coward wrote: “Conguito, you are going to die.” (conguito is a type of chocolate with racist overtones.) Other cowards wrote messages like: “Half-breed, kill yourself in your car,” and “I hope you run over your dad in the first pit stop, Hamilton.” And these are the nicer comments.

Formula One’s governing body condemned the Web site, according to Brazilian media, saying that it is against any act of ‘discrimination and prejudice.’ Earlier this year, FIA even launched an anti-racism campaign after Spanish fans taunted Hamilton during testing in Spain.

Now, while I do kinda believe in voodoo, I’m not too concerned about a lame website aimed at those with an IQ of less than 20. Hamilton-with his seven-point advantage over the Brazilian pug Massa, need only finish the race fifth or better. This he will do. He WILL win his first title and become F1’s youngest champion at age 23. And that my Brazilian haters, is a cold hard fact that you best put in your racist pipes and smoke it all to hell.

If you can stomach the hate, go to the Telegraph to read more and follow the link back to the site. Ain’t no way I was linking that crap up here.

Like what you read? Subscribe to my RSS feed for daily email updates! (link on top right)
As always, thanks for reading.
Delinda Lombardo

SINGAPORE GP: LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION- ALONSO!

The Singapore GP brought new meaning to the term ‘lights, camera, action’ as I awoke early to catch my favorite grid-boy Peter Windsor bask in the glow of the newly installed soft lights which illuminated the first ever Formula One night race. A 5.067-kilometer street circuit was created in Marina Bay for the event, but preparations have been tricky according to Toyota’s Italian driver Jarno Trulli.  “I’ve seen the plans and the Grand Prix looks amazing so far, even if before we can get a real idea I would like to drive on the circuit for the first time, or anyway to see the first the circuit laid down, to understand especially the safety, the corners, the speed - and then you get a better idea about the set-up and the kind of down force we’re going to have.”

And now, lets take it down to Peter Windsor on the grid: “The atmosphere is just brilliant. More than ever before there are a lot of smiling faces around the cars and the people.” As he speaks, he eyes the crowded grid like a lion stalking its prey along the Serengeti plains…first victim is Flavio Britore (managing director, Renault) who strolls by as Windsor grabs Flavio by the arm. Flavio turns around to find the microphone in his face: “Flavio, we’re live on American television, Speed, first of all what are you thoughts on the atmosphere here?” He echoes Windsor’s sentiment…Windsor spots Italian GP winner Sebastian Vettel…”Live on American TV” (someone whispers in Vettels ear) as Windsor ignores the interruption: “Live on American TV, great job at Monza mate and enjoy the race.”…Vettel says thank you and Windsor turns his microphone back towards the grid in efforts to find a more flavorful meal…Sir Jackie Stewart feeds a few words to P-dogg, saying he was initially skeptical but all is good…the grid beast then moves in another direction, proclaiming. “There’s Mark Windsor who’s looking like he wants to be interviewed” he approaches, “Mark, hasn’t been a great weekend so far mate, but anyway, you got a few honors, you were the first guy to hit the wall.” Webber scratches his head, ”Yeah, exactly…one of our weaker qualifying performances in the last the year.” Windsor: “But what do you think about the show?” Webber: “We need to do more of these.” Cut to commercial break…back to the grid…Windsor with Nelson Piquet. Piquet, in his usual blah-blah-blahness, “Yeah, qualifying was a pity because testing was really good and me, plus the team, screwed up with strategy, with set-up, we, we thought we could have found it a little bit more in qualifying but the car went in another direction, plus going in the traffic but it’s gonna be a good start with Fernando next to me so it’s a good chance to show the team how strong I can be.” Windsor, apparently grasping what Nelson was saying this time: “Good luck Nelson”…In chimes the commentators: “Poor old Nelson Piquet, this is supposed to be fun kid!”

(Above: Sutil, Hamilton, Rosberg) Massa, Hamilton, Raikkonen…a single championship point separates Felipe Massa and Hamilton (Hamilton owns that point)…. starting 11th is my Jarno Trulli in row six…Fernando Alonso starting back in row 8…and they’re off…61 laps in total…Trulli moves up two positions…Massa holding strong in first with Hamilton about 1.2 seconds behind…Raikkonen about 5 seconds behind…three laps in and Massa/Hamilton are running way ahead of the pack…Nico needs to get by Trulli to maintain his dignity…debris on the track, yellow flag….Massa and Hamilton still fighting for first…Trulli falls to 11 because his fuel load is heavy…Raikkonen is routinely setting fastest lap…putting the pressure on Hamilton who is 3.227 seconds ahead of him….oh-another fastest lap just clocked by Raikkonen…

Speed then cuts to a voice over of an interview Windsor did with Sebastian Bourdais about the passing of Paul Newman. Bourdais: “Obviously, we keep a lot of very good memories from him and spent a lot of times to do a lot of good things around him, especially for kids, and ah, just a great character, a guy who enjoyed his life…I know he will be dearly missed. It’s just a sad day.” And suddenly, in the midst of my tears welling up at Bourdias words-we cut to Nelson Piquet’s car smashed against the wall of the track. “A very sad day and we see Nelson Piquet into the wall, heavily.” Can we get a safety car? Here she comes…14 laps into the race…pit lanes closed when safety car is out…guys need to refuel…Piquet can’t get off the track…so he runs across it…Barrichello is stopped on the track now, he just pulled to a stop…Kubica refuels and gets a ten-second penalty…but if you’re gonna run outta fuel you’ve got no choice. Barrichellos car being pushed off the track…crane on the track hoisting the remains of Piquets car…pit lanes now reopen…

Massa leads the parade into the pit lane and pulls out with the fuel hose still attached. The mechanics rush to him in efforts to remove the hose…they cant seem to get it off…Massa has the engine running very hot…and it looks like it’s over for Massa-oh, they got it off and he’s off after losing close to 30-seconds…major, major f*ck up by team Ferrari…there’s the safety car again…Hamilton pitted after Massa…the cluster f*ck bottle neck opening of the pit lanes has now given us a new line up of Rosberg in first and Trulli in second…Hamilton is way down in 8th…and we’re less than 20 laps into the race… and just like that things can change in the blink of an eye…and now I’m told that due to time restraints, they may not be able to televise then entire race-I’m gonna go insane if they cut me off here…

Hamilton in sixth behind Couthard…making his way back up to the front…33 laps remaining…Massa way back in sixteenth place…Mark Webber seems to be done as they push his car into the garage…Trulli now leading the race…just about at the halfway point in the race but he has yet to make a pit stop…Alonso inching up on Trulli…Trulli remains the fastest man on the track right now but he’s about to pit…Hamilton in fifth…Alonso up to second…Trulli pits in 9.9 and reenters at eighth, his fuel is gonna weigh him down a bit…28 laps to go…Alonso now back out front….Hamilton back to fourth…Raikkonen passes Trulli….Alonso pits in 7.6…20 laps remaining…Coulthard blocking Hamilton from second…he’s gotta get around and passes beautifully while fighting for a podium finish….Hamilton pits in 7.7, Coulthard pits at the same time…7.0 but has a problem with the fuel hose and losses time before he takes to the track again…Alonso enjoying his first place run…Rosberg moves up to third…18 laps remaining…Hamilton in fifth working his way up…Trulli in sixth…Alonso, Glock, Rosberg leading in the one, two, three positions…13 laps…Rosberg now in second… 11 laps to go, Sutil rams into the water-wall after Massa cuts him off…car on fire…safety car…Trulli is out of it-game over for my Italian racer after he had a meeting with the water-wall as well….

The final ten laps host Alonso in first, Rosberg in second and Hamilton in third…it’s do or die time…Safety car keeping ‘em slow until debris is removed…its all come down to the brakes-according to Windsor…nine laps remaining…safety car gone…restart underway…if Hamilton can pass Rosberg he’ll pick up two (championship) points….Alonso holds a secure lead with his “soft, prime tires”….nose to tail, Hamilton challenges Rosberg…Alonso is at about at a 6 second lead….yeah, we see you Alonso…Raikkonen hits the curb with four laps remaining…and yet another casualty…

Gotta give mad props to Alonso for blowing em all away (his 20th career win)….final lap…and AGHHHHH, my DVR says “enough” and the Speed Channel cuts my Sunday morning fetish short. Fortunately, nothing happened in the last lap, and in Formula One’s first night race, Fernando Alonso captured the Singapore Grand Prix after starting 15, Lewis Hamilton extended his championship lead by seven points and finished third, while Nico Rosberg took second. With 15 of 18 races completed, Hamilton has 84 points in the driver standings, followed by Massa (77) and Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber (64).

Once again, thanks to Peter Windsor for the wonderful early morning wake up call…and thanks to the drivers for making this very special night race a success. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from watching these guys-is that if you’re ever in a car with them, let them drive but dear god don’t let them pump the gas. Seriously, I’ve never seen so many ‘refueling mishaps’ as I have in Formula One.

RIP PAUL NEWMAN: YOU WERE THE MAN AND WILL FOREVER BE MY COOL HAND LUKE.

Like what you read? Subscribe to my RSS feed for daily email updates! (link on top right)
As always, thanks for reading.
Delinda Lombardo
delinda@athlebrities.com

WET TRACK A TREAT FOR SOME
Monza. It’s the fastest track on the circuit…and moisture on the track can cause problems for some, such as Lewis Hamilton who chose the wrong tires in qualifying-or the moisture can work magic for others such as Sebastian Vettel, who became the youngest driver ever in the history of Formula One to qualify first…according to my dreamboat-gridboy- extraordinaire - Peter Windsor-it’s because Vettel “Love’s it when its wet.”

NO!! Off to a bad start as rain caused problems with Peter Windsor’s ‘camera’ and we weren’t able to follow him as he worked the grid for the pregame show…they tried to appease me by running an interview my grid-beast did with Lewis Hamilton…Lewis talked about being really grateful for his opportunities and how close he is now with his family, faith, and religion…all fine and dandy but I wanna see Windsor on the grid already…audio only with Mark Webber: “The grip level is reasonable…” he says as I curse the camera men who can’t get my Windsor on screen…cut to some lame stock footage explaining the mechanics of a Red Bull car-would have cared if Windsor were talking but he wasn’t…I can’t even see him…microphone works…not fun…missing a priceless moment as we hear Windsor approach 1997 Italian GP winner David Couthard from the Red Bull Team, “David can I join you as you walk back to the car…I know you’re not a great man for emotion and all that stuff but this is your last ever European Grand Prix, your thoughts?” Couthard wished it were a dry track…blah, blah, blah…we then get a shot of Bernie Ecclestone walking around with an umbrella…technical difficulties with Windsor’s camera have crushed my Sunday morning fantasy…the race starts with a safety car…Hamilton way down at 15th…giving Massa an edge to overtake Hamilton in championship points…safety car gone and we are green at Monza…the spray from the rain soaked track giving the drivers a intense visual impermanent in most spots…cant see anything…

Sebastian Vettel maintains the lead…Jarno Trulli is 6th and catching up-apparently my new Italian crush is very good at “wet driving”…Hamilton at 13…5 laps in and nothing too exciting yet…Vettel is about 9-mph quicker per lap than the other drivers, putting the others to shame but then again he doesn’t have a driver in front of him spraying the track….Timo Glock skids off for a second…all are using extreme wet tires….Windsor tells us the rain has backed off a bit…and is clearing up but of course there’s still on ton of water on the track…oops, Vettel just lost 6-seconds by running over a ‘sleeping policeman’….hear comes Hamilton trying to overtake but doesn’t quite make it, “Its still very, very wet”…Hamilton takes over Kovalainen for 11th… Massa overtakes Nico Rosberg…Hamilton edges passed Glock…he passes another…more rain expected in about five minutes…Vettel still leading…amazing…Hamilton up to 7th place…round and round they go…Hamilton up to second now, amazing considering he started fifteenth…Vettel in lead…lap 23…Hamilton now 2.6 seconds faster than Vettel on last lap…can Hamilton win this after starting so far back in the pack? Hamilton clocked fastest lap at 34.3…Vettel with 36.3 seconds…Hamilton only needs a 7-second fuel stop to complete the race…hasn’t pitted yet…Massa stuck behind Heidfeld…Jarno pits in 9.4…less than one second separates Hamilton and Vettel with 27 laps to go…Hamilton pits…it has to be a perfect pit stop…damn 9.7 seconds…too long…enters back in tenth…no traffic…technically leads the way because everyone ahead of him has yet to pit…Kovalainen in second chasing Vettel…24 laps to go…the sexy voice of Peter Windsor chimes in with a weather report…Alonso pits in 9.8…Hamilton in sixth now…apparently, rain is a concern for everyone except Hamilton…up to fifth now with 22 to go…Jarno back in tenth…Webber spins into a 360, regains control beautifully…18 laps to go…Jarno pits…Vettel hasn’t pitted yet…Hamilton has now moved into second…Vettel pits in 6.7…Hamilton pitted again, this time in 5.2…17 laps to go…Hamilton must close the gap of about 34-seconds in order to win this race…Massa at sixth…Hamilton inching up on him…15 laps remaining…Hamilton lays fastest lap at 32.869…gap between Massa and Alonso was 8 seconds and is now 5.5…Hamilton is desperately attempting to pass Massa…Vettel lays down a personal best of 33.569…Hamilton closes the Massa gap to 2.4…but still at seventh…Hamilton hasn’t been able to pick up any speed…his pace is dropping off…could be the tires…4 laps remaining…if Massa places ahead of Hamilton, our baby will lose his first place standing in championships points…

Vettel is amazing as he dominates first…Kovalainen in second…final lap, on Vettels radio “few drops pozzeeble, few drops pozzeeble.” And just like that, Sebastian Vettel becomes the youngest driver ever in Formula One history to win a race. His first win, and the first win for his team. Second: Kovalainen, Kubica third….Massa sixth, Hamilton seventh. So, despite a Peter Windsor-less visual, and a lousy place by Hamilton, it was still worth it to get up early and watch our speed demons accumulate their championship points.

Like what you read? Subscribe to my RSS feed for daily email updates! (link on top right)
As always, thanks for reading.
Delinda Lombardo
delinda@athlebrities.com