iWitness Germany Friday

Posted on Saturday 21 Jul 2007

The Nurburgring Nordschleife is too dangerous for F1; everyone at ATT Williams accepts that. But Phil Kennard, one of the team’s account managers, didn’t think he was taking his life into his own hands when he went for a run around the historic track. He was plodding along (harsh, but fair – ed) when a Maserati, decked out in F1 paddock passes, screamed passed on opposite lock, missing the barrier alongside Phil by inches.  Was that Felipe Massa he saw behind the wheel?

Talking of close shaves, everyone at the ATT Williams factory in Grove got the fright of their lives last week when a plane – a Hawk, similar to those used by the Red Arrows – did a fly-past. And this wasn’t any old fly-past: the plane was upside down, 30 feet off the ground! iWitness believes the pilot knew someone in the team…

Former Williams F1 driver Nick Heidfeld is a bundle of nerves this weekend because his girlfriend Patricia is expecting the couple’s second child on Tuesday. When asked what he’d do if Patricia went into labour during Sunday’s race, he said: “I’d pull over immediately! No, only joking, I don’t think the team would tell me.”

While we’re on the subject of genes, Kimi Raikkonen’s 81-year-old grandmother, Paula, is a welcome visitor to the Ferrari garage this weekend. This is her first visit to a grand prix, and she no doubt enjoyed seeing her grandson finish at the top of the timesheets yesterday.