Sunday March 9th, 2003
Villeneuve's Swan Lake
Jacques Villeneuve may be one of the hardest men on the Grand Prix circuit when it comes to balls-out commitment - but in Melbourne he admitted that he actually has a softer side. The rock-loving superstar has admitted actually enjoying cultural experiences with his ballerina girlfriend. "I didn't know anything about ballet until I met her, but now I recognise it as a very different form of art," he said. "It is perfection - perfection in movement. Of course, when you see a bad show, it can be very, very bad. But when it is good it is beautiful." A bit like driving a Formula One car then.
If the Hat Fits...
The paddock was awash with Crocodile Dundee impersonators this weekend after the City of Casey sent three Akubra hats as gifts to Sir Jackie Stewart, in Australia with the Jaguar team, television commentator Martin Brundle, and Jordan team principal Eddie Jordan. Jaguar's Australian sporting director John Hogan, however, kept his personal headgear well out of sight for fear of being incorrectly seen as the brother of Croc Dundee himself Paul Hogan, which one British newspaper accidentally suggested on his appointment.
Midlands Not Monaco for Wilson
Briton Justin Wilson is not ready for the Formula One high-life just yet - and insists he will not swap his Northampton flat for a Monte Carlo apartment any time soon. Countryman Jenson Button, who joined Formula One with Williams three years ago, was criticised early in his career for concentrating more on enjoying the pleasures of off-track perks than seeking on-track success. But Wilson, who makes his debut for Minardi this year, is keeping his feet firmly on the ground.
"I like it in Northampton," he said. "For the foreseeable future I'm going to stay there. It would be nice to have a slightly bigger place, but at the minute that's the situation I'm in. If I have to stay there for the next few years I don't mind because I'm racing and it's just a convenient place to live." Thanks to Wilson's share scheme, which will see him earn much less than the expected rewards of a Grand Prix driver, a place in the sun is still a bit out of reach anyhow.
Miki Lauda
You would have thought the Formula One bigwigs would have known better but one observant British newspaper journalist spotted a mistake in the red passes handed out to all the media at the season-opening Grand Prix in Melbourne. The small passes, which let journalists in and out of the paddock, are decorated with the photographs of 12 former champions but two will be less than pleased with their entries. Three-time Australian World Champion Sir Jack Brabham is down as winning titles in 1959, 1960, but his 1966 achievement appears to have been forgotten. Niki Lauda, meanwhile, who was also champion three times and went on to lead the Jaguar Formula One team last year, is accidentally named Miki.
Team Sexpo
One support race team manager hit trouble this weekend when the organisers evicted three of his promotion girls - allegedly for advertising a local brothel and men's club. The organisers claimed that David Ross was "ambush marketing" and said: "Grand Prix sponsors paid a lot of money for the rights to do activities at the track and you can't just have anyone decide they're going to run some kind of promotion."
But 'Team Sexpo' manager Ross is seeking legal advice over the incident and complained of the organisers: "If morally they have got a problem they should say so and not hide behind the blanket of wearing logos. If a group of (convenience store) workers wearing uniforms with a 7-Eleven logo went to the Grand Prix are they going to throw them out?" Formula One has previously been embroiled in prostitution scandals when a brothel was set up at the Hungaroring but that was removed the following year.
Published at 08:14:37 GMT
(03-11-2005): 
