Formula One is more than just drivers and cars: it's also the mechanics, the media and the creative minds that bridge between the sport and its fans. Atlas F1 pays tribute to some of those professionals as Ann Bradshaw - a veteran press officer herself - writes about some of her best colleagues

Who is or has been the best press officer in Formula One? A difficult question to be asked and not one I feel confident in answering with one name. So when asked to write this article I said I would relate some of the funny stories at the expense of my colleagues, and also give credit to those who came up with some inventive ideas to promote their respective teams that I wished I had thought of first.

My first year as a Formula One press officer was in 1985 and while plying my trade with the then Canon Williams Honda team I was actually employed by CSS Promotions, the agency looking after the team's sponsors. In those days CSS also employed Tony Jardine, nowadays a studio pundit for ITV's coverage of Formula One. Before joining CSS to look after PR for JPS with the Lotus team Tony had a variety of jobs including being a teacher, a truck driver and even a stand-up comedian. All of these previous positions had put him in good stead for the job of going round the world getting the best publicity possible for the Lotus team and such drivers as Ayrton Senna and Elio de Angelis.

Tony is one of the funniest people I have met in the sport and is famous for his many impersonations, with those of Bernie Ecclestone and Jackie Stewart being side splitting. In those days there were not many team press officers, in fact, apart from those of us employed by CSS, I can't remember any other press officers with the teams. Tony did a great job for the team but my lasting memory of him will always be the French Grand Prix in '85 when, along with our colleague Fiona Miller, who was looking after the guests for Mobil, we were booked into a holiday flat in the seaside resort of Bandol.

The brochure told us this town centre apartment slept six, but it didn't mention two of the beds were sofas in the sitting room and the other two were bunks located in what can only be described as a broom cupboard with no door. When the three of us arrived at what is best described as a large one roomed apartment with a bathroom it was obvious we needed to banish Tony to the cupboard, while we took up the two sofas.

While he didn't seem to mind the two girls being bossy, it soon became clear after a few days sharing such a confined space life with him was not going to be quiet. Firstly he managed to walk around the flat wearing a sheet Gandhi style before being banned to his corner where he chanted away in an accent to match his attire. He then decided the best way to make his presence felt was to rush out in the middle of the night and try to tickle us as we lay sleeping on our far from comfortable sofas. However, the piece de resistance was when he suddenly felt thirsty in the night, went to the kitchen, which was also part of the same room, and drank the remnants of a bottle of wine he found in the fridge. As if this was not bad enough he then decided to give us the fright of our lives by dropping his sheet while he stood in front of the fridge and let its light expose him in all his glory!

I have been lucky enough to work alongside some very imaginative press officers and some of them even managed to come up with ideas for the rest of us to get involved in. The best idea was that of Ferrari's Stefania Bocchi. She used to hold a Hen Party at the Monza Grand Prix. This was solely for the PR and catering girls in the paddock and we were all invited to a great evening in the Ferrari motor home. Not only was this a great idea, but very generous as well as we were always given a lovely present. These included a travel wallet and a document case, both of which I am still using. As you can imagine a motor home full of girls was too much for some of the boys to cope with without trying to get in on the act. Any male who approached during the evening was sent packing, but I shall always remember the Ferrari mechanic who thought he had found the solution - he dressed up as a woman. Luckily his swarthy good looks gave him away as there is no make-up around that can hide a Latin five o clock shadow!

The only males usually allowed to have any involvement in this evening, apart from the motor home's catering staff, were the photographers and we used to do a photo call before the fun and games started wearing specially printed t-shirts that publicised the Hen Party in Italian. One year Stefania decided we should try to liven this up and as the shutters clicked and the snappers got ready to be sent packing they received an unwelcome shower from the girls as we had all been given an egg to throw at them.

When I first started in the sport the FIA press officer was a French lady called Sophie Sicot. Apart from being very good at the job, Sophie came from a distinguished family as her father Bob Sicot was the Ford press officer for many years and always respected by everyone who came in contact with him. Bob used to give the most amazing presents of Hermes ties for the men and scarves for the women. I was lucky enough in the eighties when I was press officer for the British Grand Prix to be given a couple of these lovely scarves. One of them, although lovely did not match my clothes, so I decided Bob would not mind if I went to the Hermes Bond Street shop and exchanged it. This I did but as soon as I went into the very snooty shop I realised I was not the sort of customer they liked to encourage.

The shop assistant was downright rude and was very pleased when I had made my decision and left his shop to the more affluent and better-dressed people who usually shopped there. I had my new scarf so put the bad experience behind me. However, I was delighted when a friend who had also received one of the beautiful scarves informed me Bob had a deal with Hermes to take their seconds and so if the rude shop assistant had stopped to examine the one I had taken back he might have realised it was not what it seemed. I hoped this went to one of his better customers!

Sophie was just as professional as her father, and while not giving us such luxurious gifts was great at working out what would be one of the most useful items for both press and fellow PRs. She used to produce a book, which was a guide to all the races. Not only did she document where all the tracks were, but more importantly gave us list of the best hotels and restaurants. We never went anywhere without Sophie's Ford Guide and still, almost a decade since the last one was updated, I find it invaluable in finding the good places to eat and drink.

All the engine manufacturers also have their own press officers and two of the most amazing men to do this job have been Eric Silbermann for Honda and Jean-Jacques Delaruwiere for Renault. Eric gave Honda a human face and helped them gain some ground after being vilified for dropping WilliamsF1 in favour of McLaren in the late eighties. He worked hard at looking after the journalists and some of the happenings in the Honda motor home were legendary. It was a sad day when Honda decided to pull out and we knew Eric would be looking for another job and journalists a new watering hole. Typical of Eric he decided the last Grand Prix for the motor home should be a special event, and so put a press release out saying that at the end of the race as the motor home would not be needed any longer there would be a ceremonial burning. It says a lot about Eric's credibility and writing skills that several journalists, whose names I shall not divulge to protect the guilty, enquired as to what time this event would be taking place!

JJ - as everyone called Jean-Jacques Delaruwiere - was one of the most hospitable press officers in the paddock and the Renault Sport motor home was a welcome place for not only the French but for every journalist in the paddock. The food was excellent and the wine top class. JJ was also great at knowing exactly what the press needed, and before each Grand Prix he would send out a release that answered ten questions. These questions would be asked to not only members of the Renault Sport staff, but also members of the teams they were supplying with engines. The great thing about these questions were they were the ones the journalists often wanted to ask but never dared to. It was a regular occurrence to see stories in not only the motor sport press but also in national newspapers from these answers. Sadly I didn't keep copies of them as it was only recently that a modern day engine manufacturer press officer asked me if I could help him locate some as he wanted to show his bosses how to do such things.

Along with me, some of my colleagues from the eighties and nineties have now moved on to do other things. One of these is Louise Goodman, a pitlane reporter for ITV, who had the daunting task of keeping the Jordan Team in general and Eddie Jordan in particular under control. Louise is about 5'10" so was able to square up to most drivers and in many circumstances look down on some. If her no nonsense attitude didn't get their attention then perhaps the mass of silver bangles she always wears, that could deliver a blow like a Mike Tyson punch might have helped.

I always remember laughing at Louise explaining how she had been sent to explain to Ralf Schumacher you can't swear on live television. Ralf had had a bad session in his Jordan and so when asked about it had honestly said 'we f…..d up'. This would not have been so funny or so difficult for Louise if the F word was not something EJ used about 20 times a sentence to get his point over. Needless to say Louise used all her diplomacy to explain the situation to junior Schumacher and he has never done this again.

From the stories above the casual observer may deduce there are equal numbers of male and female press officers in the paddock. This is not the case as the majority are women. For some reason we seem to be better at the job than men! Perhaps it is more difficult for a journalist to get cross with a woman when he cannot obtain the 'precious' driver interview he has been seeking for months. Perhaps woman are better at diffusing difficult situations when all a driver wants to do is go back to his motor home and kick hell out of his teddy bear after a bad on track session and does not want to explain why he was last when he thinks he should have been first.

Whatever the reason is, I believe that all of us who have undertaken this job, that is perceived as glamorous but nothing can be further from the truth, should give ourselves a pat on the back for coping. When asked by wannabe press officers what are the most important attributes needed to do the job I always talk about patience and ability to write about what has gone on, I don't often say a few years working at a kindergarten school would be excellent grounding but I think I should.

About the author:
Ann Bradshaw - Annie - began her motor racing career as a teenager, helping out her brother in local rally races in England, where she grew up. In the 1970s she organised motor racing events in England, and was later the press officer for the RAC MSA - the motorsport governing body in Britain. In mid 1980s, she became press officer to team Lotus, where she worked with Ayrton Senna. Shortly after, she moved to the Williams team and was working there for several years, when once again she found herself working with Senna. She worked with Damon Hill after the Brazilian's death, and moved with the British Champion to Arrows. She also worked with the Panoz team in the United States, before becoming a freelance press officer, now working with Compaq and BAR among others. Annie joined Atlas F1 as a regular columnist in April 2002.