Saturday April 5th, 2003
Montoya Ready For a Fight
Dutchman Jos Verstappen had better steer clear of rival Juan Pablo Montoya in Brazil this year - because the Colombian has threatened a fight if he crashes into him. Verstappen smashed into the back of Montoya's Williams-BMW in the 2001 event and left him fuming when he took him out of a potentially winning position. The Dutchman missed last season's race when he was dropped by his Arrows team but has returned to the grid with Minardi this year – so Montoya has warned him against a similar move this year. "It has been alright so far," said Montoya. "But if it happens again this year I'll probably deck him!"
Improving Interlagos
The Interlagos circuit was given a $1.7 million (USD) funding boost last year and race organisers appear to have used the cash wisely – by investing in the track. Almost a kilometre of the notoriously bumpy surface has been resurfaced while new fences have been added around the track, the drainage system has been rebuilt and there have been new run-off areas introduced in the first seven corners.
A new race tower has also been constructed but the improvements did little to please the hard-working journalists, who still suffered in the small media centre, or the teams, who still have to work out of cramped garages and have little space to construct their homely paddocks.
Rent-a-Crowd
Battling to contend with the usual low crowds on Friday, and attempting to give home drivers Rubens Barrichello, Antonio Pizzonia and Cristiano da Matta a cheery boost, the race organisers invited a bunch of children from a local school to fill the start-finish grandstand. Attempting to support their local drivers, they screamed and did a Mexican wave at every driver that emerged from the garages during the opening practice session. And they were treated to a real glimpse of their hero Barrichello after the session when he strolled out from the garage to give them a wave – and he received the biggest scream of the afternoon.
Sex on Entry
Brazil is renowned for its 'playful' night life, so congratulations went to a local evening haunt for their ingenuity during the Grand Prix when they went to great lengths to publicise their wares. Journalists entering the circuit on Saturday morning were given freebie handouts from two "gorgeous" beauties at the entrance gate - one a flyer for a sex club, accompanied by two stickers promoting the company "Powersex", and the other a condom from the said company. One delighted British journalist joked: "That's the first time I've been offered Powersex from a Brazilian girl!"
Published at 18:12:19 GMT
(03-11-2005): 
