Wow, what a great day! The weather was perfect, even if the result wasn't!
I had planned to go for the whole weekend, but because I wasn't 100% sure my tickets were going to show up until they actually did, funds were low and my car had brake problems. Sorting those out used up what money I would have used to camp out at Silverstone. I gave my tickets to Friday practice and Saturday qualifying to a lovely friend of mine Debby, and she seemed to enjoy them. I'm happy that they weren't wasted! And she bought me a Williams F1 shirt and a Williams lanyard to thank me! I didn't have a Williams shirt, and this one is perfect!
I had also planned to take someone with me, but it turned out that he had to work. Donna went with me, and we had a really good day out! She had never been to a race before, and I think she's hooked now. When I picked her up, we found out we both had the same idea: to wear shorts and bikini tops! (We had shirts on over them to start though.) During the drivers parade, we got the Australian flag out, as well as the bikinis, but Mark never even looked our way. David Coulthard did though! We were standing next to someone with a big DC banner, and he managed to spot us!
The sad part was that Mark Webber was taken out in the first lap. We were sitting at the end of the pit lane exit between Copse and Maggots, and after the first lap, we saw the safety car come out. When the cars came around behind it, I looked to see who was missing -- and it was Mark! Seems that Scott Speed spun, knocked into Ralf Schumacher, and sent Ralf into Mark. Speed managed to keep himself in the race though. He might be American, but he's one of my least favourite drivers, and today didn't help his reputation with me!
We were also downwind of Jenson Button's engine fire. That wasn't a pleasant smell, burning oil and electronic bits!
After the race we found Kate, Greg, Dave, Karen, and Swifty and had a good chat while waiting for traffic to die down. Silverstone has a bad reputation for traffic congestion, but we didn't have a problem getting into or out of the track. It was no worse than many of the hold-ups I've come across on the M1.
I've only put small pictures in this post, but clicking on them takes you to a bigger version.
Donna in the Toyota display with an F1 car
Felipe Massa and Michael Schumacher in the drivers' parade
Giancarlo Fisichella and Fernando Alonso
Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber (I was so excited and busy trying to attract his attention that I took the picture late!)
Donna enjoying the sun
Me with Mika Hakkinen's Mercedes DTM
Karen ... we said Mark is
Australian, not Austrian! (The flag is actually to support Austrian driver Christian Klien.)
MWSC members: me, Karen, Swifty and Kate
