Sunday morning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the United States Grand Prix, and it's hot and humid, with crowds everywhere. There is the bustling of frenetic activity everywhere, with a dizzying array of colours.
SCOTT SPEED, the first American to race at his home race since the late Eighties, has a large contingent of enthusiastic, supportive fans. One of his most ardent supporters is his mother, who is seeing him race in a
F1 car for the first time.
Speed, 23, lives in Salzburg, Austria, near his team. It also has the doctors who treat his colitis, which nearly ended his career several years ago until it was properly treated.
His parents, Julie and Mike Speed, started him in go-karts at age ten. He won his first race in Junior One in go-karts. Speed also competed other sports too, until his parents said he had to choose between them and karts. Speed, true to his name, chose wheels.
NICO ROSBERG is the youngest F1 driver - he turned 21 Wednesday.
Rosberg has been dropped to last place on the grid for Sunday's USGP - not a large drop as he qualified 19th. His penalty resulted from his failure to stop at the weigh scales when instructed at the end of his run.
While in his home country of Spain, FERNANDO ALONSO is recognised everywhere he goes; in the US, he isn't known outside the racetrack. Between the two North American F1 rounds, he spent time in New York, where 'there are a lot of Spanish people'.
Alonso explains his post-race dancing antics are usually due to things he's promised to people and he makes it up as he goes along. He said it brings bad luck to plan ahead what 'dance' he might do, so he wouldn't talk about what happens if he wins the USGP.
At home, Alonso drives a
Renault, a Nissan Morano...and a big Mercedes.
Regarding any second thoughts about leaving Renault for McLaren at the end of this season, Alonso said "I will have a competitive car and team next year" and he has no second thoughts about his decision to move to
McLaren.
