Power to You - How Vodafone VIP realises the dreams of F1 fans
- Published on Nov 3rd, 2010 by Adam MilleneuveOn a sunny afternoon in Milton Keynes, nearly two hundred people descended on Daytona kart circuit and were treated to an exclusive thrill of meeting and racing against the 2008 F1 World Champion, Lewis Hamilton - Badger was there too, to see how the day unfolded and my, what a treat!
Each of the 60 competition winners brought two guests and so with 180 people all dressed in their overalls, Lewis Hamilton came on stage and did a great Q&A session, took questions from the audience and then went about setting his fastest lap around the circuit. One lucky chap also got the chance to drive with Lewis in a special two-seater kart, certainly something he'll remember.
After a few laps of practice, the teams were formed, strategies discussed and the lights went out. After a full hour of racing, one team managed to beat Lewis' time, albeit on light fuel - but still, a sterling effort!
The sheer scale of this event, and having such an iconic modern F1 driver around throughout the day impressed us muchly - great to see a day of F1 action so fan-centric, especially given Formula One's traditional closed-door image for fan interaction - well done Vodafone.
Here are some more photos from the day:
If you're reading this thinking, wow that's brilliant (and why wouldn't you be!?) then, all you have to do to be in with a chance of similar such events or maybe taking part in the go-karting in 2011, is to be a Vodafone customer - pay as you go, contract or what have you and register at the Vodafone VIP website - there's already another exciting opportunity in the form of a behind-the-scenes tour of the McLaren Technology Centre - the amazing home of the legendary British team over in Woking.
And finally, here's Lewis Hamilton showing everyone how it's done in a go-kart around Daytona:
Badger also got a masterclass in karting from Lewis - read about it here, and what with being media we had the opportunity to sit down with the man himself and have a chat about the rest of the season and the downside to 'being' Lewis Hamilton - read our exclusive interview here.
oh and i’d love to see a mark webber movie he is the most...
Comments and Discussion
Almost makes me want to be a Vodafone customer
Soo jealous!
I feel sorry for the modern F1 driver. Sure they have the good bit of racing every other weekend, but the rest of the time they have to suffer being a sponsors puppet.
Only Lewis knows if stuff like this is genuinely enjoyable, despite what he says to please the people who pay the team. Given the choice i doubt he'd choose any of his 'commitments' over chilling out at home with family/friends and preparing himself mentally.
So what were Jenson, Mark, Sebastian and Fernando doing that weekend?
Not pointing the finger at any companies, they all do it. If they want to be able to add "World Champion 20xx" onto next years advertising campaigns, then they need to stop distracting the drivers at crucial parts of the season.
I see your point, but as you mentioned, it's part of the course for the modern F1 driver - they keep the sponsors happy, the sponsors continue to support the team (Vodafone have recently extended until 2013 and have increased involvement in the team) which means the team has more pounds and pence for development, which in turn means the drivers may go even quicker come Sunday afternoon. It's the way things work, there's a not a lot wrong with it and the fact that sponsors put on events like these is only a positive thing.