Postcard from the Paddock - Rd.6 Monaco Grand Prix

Monaco Grand Prix - Postcard from the Paddock

24.05.2009

STAR TURN

 

As the most glamorous Grand Prix on the Formula 1 calendar, Monaco naturally brings out the celebrities and this year Panasonic Toyota Racing joined in the fun with an international cast of stars.

As a team with strong Japanese connections, it was fitting that a Japanese superstar was among those taking an exclusive look behind the scenes of the Toyota garage.

Japanese baseball legend Kazuhiro Kiyohara, who retired last year after hitting more than 500 home runs, met Jarno Trulli and the team’s top management before being shown around the garage by Director Technical Coordination Noritoshi Arai on Friday.

Meanwhile, on Saturday the team had two celebrities on site. First up was Italian actress Maria Grazia Cucinotta, who paid a visit to Panasonic Toyota Racing as part of her role as a World Food Programme ambassador against hunger.

Panasonic Toyota Racing official partner ALJ has donated its branding space on the TF109 to the World Food Programme, as you can see with the ‘Fill the Cup’ logos on the front wing.

Cucinotta, famous as the Cigar Girl in the James Bond movie The World Is Not Enough, posed for photos with Jarno in front of the garage before publicising the ‘Fill the Cup’ campaign via several television interviews.

Soon after, Olympic swimming champion Alain Bernard popped into the garage to see the substantial difference between his racing equipment and that of Jarno and Timo.

The Frenchman is a Lexus ambassador and drives the Lexus RX 400h. He won three medals in total at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was given a guided tour by Panasonic Toyota Racing President John Howett.

DAY OFF? DOUBTFUL…

The unique timetable of the Monaco Grand Prix may give the impression that the Formula 1 community enjoys a day off on Friday, but that is hardly the case.

Tradition dictates that there is no Formula 1 practice on Friday in Monaco, although there is a GP2 Series race, so the programme is a little more relaxed for the hardworking team members.

Normally on a Friday, with three hours of practice to prepare for, the team arrives at the crack of dawn but in Monaco the scheduled arrival time was 9.30am – a long lie in on a Grand Prix weekend!

However, there is always plenty of work to do preparing the cars for final practice and qualifying so everyone was kept busy. The drivers were at work too, mainly chatting with their engineers to find the perfect set-up for qualifying but also squeezing in some additional PR interviews as well.

There was work too in the evening, of a sort. Jarno and Timo joined top management on the yacht of the team’s official partner ALJ for one of the famous Monaco boat parties, although this was of the classy, restrained variety rather than the raucous all-nighter preferred elsewhere in the harbour.

FOOTBALL CRAZY

 

Jarno Trulli’s ‘Abruzzo nel Cuore’ appeal is going from strength to strength and the appeal was given a major helping hand in Monaco with the announcement of a celebrity football match to raise money.

Jarno set up the appeal to raise funds for the victims of last month’s earthquake in his home region of Abruzzo, which killed hundreds and left thousands of people homeless.

As well as raising money and collecting Formula 1 items from fellow drivers for a charity auction, Jarno visited the region to meet the victims before flying off to Monaco, gathering the attention of Paolo Ligresti and other entrepreneurs.

With the help of Ligresti’s charitable foundation, a charity football match will take place on June 1 at the legendary San Siro stadium in Milan to generate funds for the ‘Abruzzo nel Cuore’ appeal.

Jarno is, of course, no stranger to charity football matches and took part in one on the Monday before Monaco, at the Stade Louis II. He appeared for the Formula 1 drivers’ team alongside several current rivals as they took on an all-star team of celebrities and ex-drivers. Jarno’s team won.


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2009 Championship Points

Jarno Trulli
32.5pt / 8th
Timo Glock
24pt / 10th
Kamui Kobayashi
3pt / 18th
59.5pt / 5th

Details