Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Ever since I was a little boy and I was plonked on the settee in front of the television broadcasting a Formula 1 race, I’ve been transfixed by the sport I love so much.
I never had the chance to go to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix when I was younger, although I would have walked there if I could, so now that the race is on my very doorstep here in Bahrain, I take the opportunity every year.
This time, though, it was a whole different kettle of fish. Sitting in the stand watching the cars whizz by is already fantastic enough, but thanks to Renault and the Renault Sport F1 Team, the stuff of dreams came true.
Events began as last week’s issue of GulfWeekly hit the doormats with a press conference hosted by Y K Almoayyed and Sons, which featured a question-and-answer session with Renault F1 driver Jolyon Palmer.
The British driver took the time to discuss the team’s return to F1 after a five-year absence, and how the road cars available in the showroom relate to the on-track machines.
He said: “Renault vehicles, such as the Captur, are great products and I’ve spent a lot of time driving them. Renault puts the same care and technology into their road cars that it puts into their cars on track. The name Renault Sport Formula One Team underscores the crossover between F1 and road cars and the importance the company places on this aspect.”
A short meet-and-greet session followed where I got the chance to have a small chat with Jolyon and get a picture with him, and little did I know that this would be the first snowflake in what would become a huge snowball of meeting drivers and famous figures from the sport covering the race weekend.
For, on Friday, the French marque invited me to the Bahrain International Circuit for a tour of the garage and pit-lane during the First Practice session.
It truly was an amazing experience actually seeing the cars close-up as opposed to from a TV or a stand, and to see how many parts come together to create the slick yellow beast that prowls around the track.
A swarm of engineers converge around the cars, all working-as-one to tweak settings and fix components, of which there are thousands. I even had the chance to hold the car’s steering wheel, something I was absolutely terrified of doing considering just that alone costs somewhere in the region of BD50,000!
How the drivers even manage to get around the track so fast with so many buttons and paddles I’ll never know, but that’s why they’re paid what they are, I suppose.
When the Practice session actually began, we were taken into a booth in the garage and given a pair of headphones. These not only protected our ears from the noise of the engines as they fired up, but allowed us to hear the channel on which engineers and pit crew talk to Palmer and his driver colleague, Dane Kevin Magnussen.
Vitally important to the team to ensure they have the optimal set-up for the race, Practice involves a lot of driver feedback and suggestions from the team over various settings. The chatter was non-stop, with various engine modes suggested and brake balance shifts encouraged; I was exhausted listening to it, never mind the drivers!
After a spot of lunch (which thankfully didn’t involve bananas … I’d seen enough yellow to last me a month!) and thanking the team for the opportunity, I spent the rest of my day stalking the paddock like one of those giggling fangirls at a One Direction concert.
I have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of though, I got ‘selfies’ with nearly every driver plus a few figures from the sport’s past. If you don’t ask, you don’t get!
For more information on Renault vehicles, visit the Y K Almoayyed Showroom in Sitra or call 17705705.
