Right, I am now off to drive back to Paris, so it will be a quiet afternoon. Most of the F1 circus is already home and back at their desks, but I thought I would take a gentle potter through the Ardennes, Sedan and the Aisne, perhaps pausing for lunch on the way.
I guess life as an F1 reporter has one or two bonuses…
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sounds like a great day.
An unrelated question though Joe: Who decides what innovations are to be restricted, and who decides the ones that are OK?
for example, Red Bull and Ferrari seem to have a way to get their front wing to lower slightly, through flex in the wing itself, or the nose assembly. The FIA then increased the stress requirements in these areas, yet McLaren make an innovation with the F-Duct, and the FIA let everyone else play catch up.
There’s loads more innovations that were banned too (my favourite being the fan car) but I was just wondering who gets to make the call on what innovations are allowed, and what innovations are to be opposed?
Yay for mentioning my good old département numéro 02 – L’Aisne! Last time it was mentioned on an F1 site, I think Lewis was being done for speeding…
Have a safe drive home – it’s currently chucking down at Soissons.
Jo, for me your whole life is a bonus.
Following the circus for 20 odd years, meeting and knowing many of our heroes, getting to drive through the european countryside, and a chance to drink Belgian beer, in belgium.
i could go on. . .
You certainly have the life, Joe. Keep up the great work.
Matt
Australian Austosport Community
Please blog your adventures along the way should you get a minute. Some of us out here stuck pushing mice across their desk all day would hang on every word.
Most envious of run through Ardennes and down to Sedan. Beautiful scenery and a real sense of history about the place, especially if you take the scenic route from Bouillon and pass some of the ruined fortifications from 1940 – very atmospheric and moving.
Still, I guess something has to make up for being an F1 reporter…
When I read an article like this, and see Martin Brundle driving to Spa with Jake Humphrey in a glorious V-12 Jaguar, it reminds me of the man who probably did most to attract me to Formula 1 in the first place (apart from my schoolboy idol, Stirling Moss) and that was Denis Jenkinson. I used to love reading his articles in Motor Sport, not just just about the Grand Prix but also about his wanderings across Europe, mostly in a Porsche and later in a Jaguar. That I decided would be an idyllic life. Sadly, it’s no longer available, but maybe you should drive down to Monza, Joe, just to remember Jenks and celebrate the end of the European F1 season in style.
I concur zenmeister. Denis Jenkinson. What a legend. Sadly they just don’t make them like that anymore. I started reading DSJ back in the late 50′s. Schoolboy pocketmoney was spent on the neccesities of life,…. the monthly edition of Motor Sport. This continued for the next 40 years until his death in 1997. Never bought MS after that. DSJ was an extremly knowledgable journalist who was never afraid to speak his mind, unlike some of the current crop who grovel to the -powers- that -be. He once famously enquired of a fellow journo in the press room for all to hear ‘ We all know you’re a c, but can you tell us why you’re a c ?’ Probably be banned for life for that nowadays.