Saturday July 28th, 2001
If You Can't Stand the Heat...
British American Racing welcomed the culinary expertise of television chef Martin Scharss over the weekend as he prepared traditional German cuisine for selected special guests in the team's motorhome. The kitchens were not quite the normal spacious environment he is used to, however, and he was amazed how BAR's regular chefs cope with the pressure.
"My kitchen is at least 15 times bigger than this," he said. "It must be tough for the guys who work here but it has been great for me, to see how everything works behind the scenes."
Caught by the Fuzz
The traditional Mercedes media day, held on Wednesday before the Hockenheim race, had an unexpected visitor as the party went on into the night and local residents decided they had had enough. Perhaps it was Mercedes chief Norbert Haug's singing on stage that did it, and maybe his rendition of Satisfaction was not as satisfying as it should have been, but things were interrupted when the local police turned up to calm things down. The party was held on an airfield some distance from the nearest town, but the sound managed to carry, and once the music was tamed down a little and the happy policemen had tucked into the barbecue all was well and they went happily on their way.
Button Wins Rule-Breaking Race
Briton Jenson Button got the better of McLaren rival Mika Hakkinen in the pitlane over the first two days of practice by claiming the highest speed over the 60km/h limit and securing with it the biggest fine. Button clocked in at 71.4km/h during the second Friday practice session, while Hakkinen could manage only 64.9km/h as he struggled with his car during the first session of the morning on Saturday. Perhaps the conditions on Friday were better for Button to claim his illegally rapid time, but his punishment was a whopping $3,000 compared to Hakkinen's more minor $1,250.
Tall Story
American basketball giant Shaquille O'Neal paid a visit to the Sauber team on qualifying day as the 7.1 feet tall athlete, actor and, although lesser known, rapper, dropped in to chew the fat with Nick Heidfeld and Kimi Raikkonen. Heidfeld and Raikkonen, who both only just came up to the giant's chest, met up with him immediately after the final practice session on Saturday, and O'Neal put on a show for the photocall when he raised first Heidfeld and then Raikkonen on their backs right above his head.
Heidfeld showed off his own basketball skills whilst sitting on the shoulders of one of his mechanics to raise him up to O'Neal's height, as he spun a basketball on the tip of his finger but needless to say, O'Neal did not try out the Sauber cockpit for size because he would probably not even have fitted his legs in.
Published at 11:06:18 GMT
(03-11-2005): 
