JWM - Volume 3, Issue 4 - (Page 59)

©rAiner W. sChlegelmilCh/getty imAges estimated 30 million people? In the end, Ecclestone agreed to a 10-year deal with COTA. But everyone knew that if the first didn’t work out, the promoters probably wouldn’t be around to stage a second. The action at a Grand Prix starts in earnest on Saturday afternoon, when the cars compete for positions on the starting grid. The fastest qualifiers begin the race at the front, giving them a huge advantage. The slowest won’t get a place among the 24 starters. As soon as I saw the track, I realized that the first few moments of Austin’s Grand Prix would be unlike any other. The start/finish line led directly up a 133-foot hill, then into a hairpin turn. Drivers loved it. “Spectacular,” crowed Jenson Button of the McLaren team. Drivers such as Button are international celebrities, some of the most recognizable athletes in the world. And if you have a pass to the paddock, the alleyway behind the pits where team officials spend their downtime, you’ll see a parade of familiar faces. Actors, CEOs, and sports and media personalities all try to catch a glimpse of their favorite drivers—and each other. Strolling through, I saw Chef Gordon Ramsey, Mexican financier Carlos Slim and film producer George Lucas. Texas Governor Rick Perry worked the alley, pumping hands. Then the area cleared, and teams frantically tried to post faster times and move up the grid. Germany’s Sebastian Vettel, driving for the Red Bull team, edged out McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton for pole position, the front-row space on the inside lane. Vettel would clinch his third consecutive championship if he won in Austin and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, his leading rival, finished lower than fourth. In races where he’d captured the pole, Vettel hadn’t been passed all year. That night, Austin showed that it could hold a state-of-the-art Grand Prix away from the track too. Downtown streets had been blocked off and concert stages erected. Performers over the course of the weekend included Enrique Iglesias, Clay Walker, Aerosmith, Flo Rida and dozens of local bands. Just as Formula 1 was discovering Austin, Austin was discovering the glamour of Formula 1. I dropped by My Yacht F1 Club, a roving party that touches down for race weekends, and found a chic elegance there that the casual Texas capital doesn’t Go! At left: Mark Webber driving an RB8 Renault. This page: Fernando Alonso of Spain, a Scuderia Ferrari driver on the track.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JWM - Volume 3, Issue 4

Jwm - Fall 2013
Contents
JW Experts
Contributors
Editor’s Letter
Distinctive Products, People, Ideas & Style
Well-Being
Food + Drink
Visions of Sugarplums
The Portal
Austin at the Starting Line
Details, Details
The Tastes of the Year
Not So Private Lives
JW Experience
My Passion

JWM - Volume 3, Issue 4