Rachel Brookes reflects on a busy, but unforgettable, transatlantic fortnight from the cold of Canada to the heat of bustling Baku
Tuesday 21 June 2016 19:20, UK
My first back-to-back of the season began with me getting my race licence in the pouring rain at Brands Hatch.
I know the Indy circuit well but when you are under pressure and the heavens open, it was as if I had never driven it before. The instructor talked through a couple of laps and then it was my turn, in silence, to copy his lines, replicate his speed and find the windscreen wipers' fastest mode.
You will see all about my racing exploits so far in the build up to qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix on Sky F1, but for now, back to Canada…
Before writing this, I looked back at last year's diary for the Canadian Grand Prix to make sure I didn't repeat myself. I wrote it in a cafe in New York the day after the race and mentioned how much I love the city and I then went on to say I had put a piece together about the fall-out from Monaco and how everyone was moving on.
There was more than a little déjà vu to this year's Canadian GP.
I visited New York again, but this time prior to the race week, and again had a great few days to set me up for the weekend.
Once at the track, I found myself putting together a piece about the fall-out from Monaco. Instead of a mistake for Lewis Hamilton in the pit stops, this year it was Daniel Ricciardo who had a missed opportunity to get over.
After the race, he hadn't wanted to talk to the team and had gone on to say that he was nearly 27 and nowhere near being a world champion.
That Sunday afternoon in Monaco had left its mark on Daniel and only as the season plays out will we find out just how much of a mark. After all, every driver on that grid wants to win the World Championship but it's only a realistic possibility for a few so it's no surprise that he would consider moving teams if necessary.
However, he did say during the race weekend that he would like to win a title with Red Bull, but if it's not in the next two or three years…
Christian Horner was quick to remind everyone that Daniel had a contract for 2017 and we have learnt they have, unsurprisingly, taken up their option on him for 2018 too.
That could be a long time for a driver to feel he is not able to challenge for a title so let's hope the improved pace of the Red Bull continues and he is a real contender soon.
Canada was cold. Really cold. None of us were prepared for the temperatures.
Everyone enjoys going to Montreal because the track is close to the city centre where everyone stays and the people really welcome the race weekend.
On Thursday night, I organised a dinner for the girls of the paddock. Despite huge improvements in the number of women working in F1, a lot of us work in teams of around 90 per cent men - if not more.
When you spend somewhere between 21 and 23 weeks of the year away together, it is nice to get together with a group of girls sometimes.
We had a mixture of press officers and media but some of the boys still wanted to come and join us! We had booked for 20 but as always happens with F1, plans change and last-minute schedule alterations meant some couldn't make it but a fab night was had by all.
And before you ask, we didn't talk about the boys once!
Friday started chilly but by the time I did the post-practice interviews, it was really warm.
I had an interview with Sergio Perez scheduled after his podium in Monaco and walked with him to the Friday drivers' meeting trying to prise some inkling out of him about his future.
We know now that he is signed to Force India for next season but if he wants to leave, he, or the team he goes to, needs to buy him out of his contract.
I can only see that happening if Ferrari want him and if they come calling, you wouldn't blame him for leaving. A couple more good performances like Monaco and I think he could be in red next year.
By Sunday, I had resorted to a warm coat as the temperature dropped once more. Teams were scratching their heads as to what would happen with the tyres as the paddock buzzed with speculation about tyre strategy and just how to win the race. It also may have been because Tom Brady arrived and grown men stopped what they were doing to have a picture.
You are always aware when a big star is in the paddock. It is such a closed environment that an unfamiliar face, along with a huge entourage, is hard to miss.
Luckily for me, when he emerged from the toilets, I managed to catch an interview (I don't always hang around the toilets but on race day it's the best place to catch an interview whether it's a driver or a celeb).
Once in the pit lane for the actual toilet run interviews, I caught up with Michael Douglas. He had a great knowledge of the sport and had been watching since the Graham Hill and Niki Lauda days.
It's good to talk to a celeb who is a genuine fan of the sport. I always remember my first interview with Liam Cunningham in Monaco in 2012 when he went into great detail about the season and the cars. I even spent time talking to him about the sport afterwards too.
My favourite moment in Canada though came after the race. Sometimes, I don't get to interview a driver if they are going to join Simon and the boys. So on this occasion I didn't get to quiz Sebastian Vettel about his race.
Once I had interviewed Lewis and Valtteri Bottas, I went to join the boys. Moments later, Seb arrived and started chatting to Lewis about the race and how his was ruined by a pair of seagulls.
It was a moment of unscripted and unplanned banter between them and it was brilliant. You can interview them every day for a year and you will never get as genuine reactions and responses as they gave us then.
If any press officers are reading, maybe we should get a couple of drivers together more often…
After the race on Sunday, there was a big party in the city to celebrate the arrival of a new sponsor to the sport.
Formula 1 always has its critics but to see a brand the size of this one want to come into the sport, to pay money into the sport and to want to be involved to the level they are with the football Champions League is good news.
They have promised to improve the fan experience too and are investing time money and effort into doing so.
I had the opportunity to chat to two of their top men at the party and explained that anything they can do to bring the fans closer to the sport, closer to the drivers, would be warmly welcomed.
I spoke to them about the value of "behind the scenes" access and heard one of the plans they have in the making already. It's exciting and I wish them all the best.
Several of the drivers were at the party and I briefly spoke to Fernando Alonso about how I can get quicker through fast corners, aside from keeping my foot flat to the floor, which is something I am struggling with right now.
Apparently, I am quick through slow corners as you will see in the piece in Austria. He said I should use a dark visor. "Really?" I asked. "Or are you having a laugh with me?" "No, really it will help you," he said.
So out at dinner on the first night in Baku, I was sat next to Johnny and I asked him. "Fernando says I should use a dark visor to help me be quicker through slow corners..." "He's having a laugh," replied Johnny. Paul Di Resta was also with us, "I have never heard that before," he said.
"Great, so he was taking the mickey?" I replied. "I don't know about that but I doubt a dark visor will help you!"
Confused and a bit disappointed I decided to ask Damon on Saturday while we watched P3. "He's right," the world champion said. "I remember once tearing off a visor strip and everything got lighter. Blimey that's scary, I thought. That's really fast!" Johnny and I were in fits as you can see from the photo. And I still don't know if it will help…
Baku is a fascinating city. I got the pleasure of exploring it on Thursday for my city guide piece.
I had read up a lot about the capital and its history and it's quite incredible to think it only got independence 25 years ago. It is a real mix though of old and new, and of different cultures and influences. Certainly everyone who attended for F1 was impressed with what they had done.
Teething problems aside, which every new venue has, they provided those that work in it with everything we could need and more, and couldn't do enough to help.
The race didn't live up to expectations, maybe because the drivers had watched the chaos in GP2 and decided not to take risks in the hope of capitalising on others' mistakes.
The twisty section by the castle has to be seen to be believed. We walked the track on Thursday evening and I just stood at the entry to the corner and tried to imagine how you would take it in an F1 car. Essentially, it is almost a straight line through there but even so, at those speeds and with the barriers so close, it still takes balls!
The track also has elevation and off camber sections to catch drivers out so the fact they all managed to get through relatively unscathed is testament to not only their skills but also maybe the advances in simulators these days.
One thing that did throw me in Baku was the time. They are three hours ahead of the UK but they shouldn't be. They actually cancelled summer time so that the race could begin at 5pm local but still finish in daylight.
Unfortunately, it was cancelled too late for the makers of iPhones and my phone's automatic setting had the city four hours ahead no matter how many times I changed it. I always keep my watch on UK time now and my phone on local time but maybe I will have to change that now.
In the past two weeks, I have been able to holiday in my favourite city, interview world-famous actors and NFL players, not to mention Enrique Iglesias before the race in Baku, and ask driving advice from a couple of world champions.
Even five years in, I still have to pinch myself…
RB
