Bernie Ecclestone (F1 boss and supremo at the time), and Jean Todd (Ferrari boss) discussing something on the pitlane before the race. Legends of the sport for sure these 2 ...
One of the greatest legends the sport ever saw ... of course none other than Michael Schumacher. You can't imagine my surprise at suddenly finding him in my viewfinder!
Fernando Alonso ... likewise, another legend. Still with Ferrari at that time. I was surprised how smiley he seemed, normally look so serious when you see him being interviewed. I guess he was enjoying it in Singapore!
Lewis definitely clocked me here, remember I've got that exact same team shirt and hat on, and my great big camera. He's playing it cool walking with his friendly rival Mark Webber. More of him in a moment!
Jenson Button, and this was distinct eye contact albeit very breif this time, as the drivers are paraded around the track sitting in (or on) classic cars. Same hat, same shirt ... and there is a lovely hint of a smile at him spotting me like that ...
Mark Webber sure had the biggest, cheesiest, ozzy grin of all the F1 grid .... what a great character. He was waving and smiling like mad at everyone he possibly could. A great sport.
John Button, who supported his son Jenson at his every F1 race. RIP, party legend of the paddock who died in mysterious circumstances in 2014, very sad for the sport and for the Button family.
The closest I got to JB, who was far too busy to pay any attention to anyone behind the fence - he's about to get into the car for the race. At this point I didn't dare try get his attention like earlier. I could feel the energy of his focus ... no joke
Jenson slips on his helmet and I'm sending him positive vibes for the race. He finished 2nd, from 3rd on the grid. That pesky Vettel beat him somehow ... but still a great drive, my hero didn't let me down!
Brief for a reason
Having spent 2 hours drafting this post and creating all the comments, LikeTu proceeded to fail to post it and the entire draft was lost. Hmmm, perhaps hit that 'save draft' button more frequently next time! Hence, I'm going to keep it short now to finish the post and bring you these images all the same.
See the first 2 parts of this series in the links below, where a lot more of the story was written!
Celebs
This part mainly focuses on the famous people I managed to capture with the camera I had that weekend. It allowed me to zoom in from afar and still obtain sharp images. First there was Jenson Button, one of my main 'targets' as he was pretty much my idol at the time, being a fellow Brit and not that much age difference either. I guess I also wondered how he ended up with such a cool job, whilst at the time I was slaving for my salary in Singapore ... lol. However, I did put in some good times on the SingTel F1 simulator that year, not quite the top spots tho which I'm pretty sure were cheating. It was a promotion by the main Telecoms firm in Singapore, and the major race sponsor. Being a customer, I managed to get to try out my luck in a REAL formula 1 simulator rig, putting down a time on the Marina Bay circuit. Weeks practicing and learning the track on PS3 F1 game beforehand was all the practice I got. My early time on the sim stayed in the top 10 until almost race weekend!! I thought I would win the prize and get a VIP experience. Suddenly it wasn't to be however, as about 40 people posted faster times than me. I was certain, they must have been really good sim-racers, or somehow got to have a lot more goes than me and hence could improve their times vastly! Just one spontaneous memory from back at this time ...