Nico's Trip to China

Posted on Friday 17 Apr 2009 and tagged with nico, flashback.

An interesting sidenote ahead of next weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai is that in 2006 I became the first person ever to drive a Formula One car through the centre of a Chinese city. Williams F1 staged an Allianz-sponsored event through the business district of Guangzhou in southern China and it was a huge success.

“The streets were closed off in the Pearl River Newtown area of the city and I was able to do sha9r flashback 1 some pretty impressive speeds in my FW28 race car. Thousands of people turned up to watch and judging by the smiles on their faces, they really enjoyed the show. But I guess it’s hard not to be impressed by the noise and speed of an F1 car when you experience it for the first time.

“The event came about because Allianz wanted to publicise their commitment to road safety and safe driving in China. Just like anywhere else in the world, China is a country in which everyone can improve their road driving and this event tried to convey that message in a sporting context.

“Guangzhou will host the sha9r flashback 2 16th Asian Games next year, but I’d like to think that this Allianz event three years ago went some way towards enhancing the city’s status on the international sporting scene.