27.05.2007
Sunday
On Grand Prix Sunday in Monte Carlo, wherever you go, you rub shoulders with the rich and famous.
Panasonic Toyota Racing had direct links with perhaps the most impressive boat in the harbour, the 95-metre Indian Empress, purchased from a member of the Qatari royal family last year. The marvellous vessel is now owned by team sponsor Vijay Mallya, the 51-year-old chairman of United Breweries Group and Kingfisher Airlines, which draws its name from the brewery's flagship beer brand.
The boat had already hosted a fabulous party attended by many notables from the F1 world and elsewhere. Regular F1 faces such as Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore mingled with not only Toyota top management, but also personalities from the worlds of show business and sport.
American rapper Jay-Z was there. The 37-year-old is one of the world's most successful hip-hop artists and a co-owner of the New Jersey Nets NBA team. He was joined by Hidetoshi Nakata, the 30-year-old Japanese footballer who played for AS Roma as well as representing his country in the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups. Nakata, who retired from the game last year, was listed by the great Pele among the world's top 125 living footballers.
Australian motorcycle ace Mick Doohan is a keen F1 fan and also took advantage of Toyota hospitality in Monte Carlo. The 41-year-old Doohan won five consecutive 500cc world motorcycle championships between 1994-'98.
Not long before the race, team PR chief Fernanda Villas-Boas took a phone call from the agent of well known actor Roger Moore, to ask if Roger could watch the event in the Toyota hospitality area.
With so many famous faces around, the team catering staff excelled itself with a selection of mouthwatering dishes of varying description.
Moore, 80 this year, first came to prominence as Simon Templar, 'The Saint' in the widely syndicated hit British TV show that ran between 1962-'69. He then, of course, went on to star in seven 007 films as James Bond himself, Unfortunately, even Mr Bond himself could not deliver any points for the team in Monaco today, after a difficult afternoon saw Jarno and Ralf finish 15th and 16th, their races spoiled by their troubled qualifying sessions on Saturday.
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Fernando Alonso won his second successive Monaco Grand Prix and with team mate Lewis Hamilton second, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes extended its championship lead over Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro to 20 points. Another double points finish for BMW Sauber consolidated the team's third position in the world championship.
Giancarlo Fisichella achieved the best finish of the season for the ING Renault F1 Team with fourth place. Team mate Heikki Kovalainen finished 13th after having his best qualifying lap blocked by David Coulthard. The Scot claimed that he had not known the Finn was on a qualifying lap but race stewards excluded Coulthard from Q3 and moved him back two places on the grid.
