Podium or Pits? It’s Grand Prix POP!

Podium or Pits is Badger’s weekly guide to what’s hot and what’s not in Formula One. Stay tuned for all matters F1, including a man with braces, Petra in buying things shock, Jenson Button being nice (or not), Hammersmith and Fulham F1 “opinions” and someone who clearly thinks Felipe Massa nearly dying is cause for humour…

Brace yourself, Daniel – We like F1 drivers who also appear to be vaguely normal people. No silly earrings, stupid hats or any other paraphanalia for us, oh no. What we like are drivers who have a refreshing sense of self-awareness and this week’s winner is Daniel Ricciardo who, taking on the mantle of a thirteen year-old girl, has had metel braces fitted.

According to the man himself he “just got some braces at the end of last year… I figured, just to keep my feet on the ground, I won’t get too beautiful. So I’ve got a mouth full of beautiful metal instead.”

POP is already a fan.

Petra’s back – It feels like it’s been a while since we last checked in with one of Bernie’s children so, in the spirit of not letting an old favourite die, we’re back on the tail of a) The Daily Mail and b) Petra Ecclestone.

Ohmygodit’slikesoexciting – she’s been seen shopping – in Los Angeles.

Good grief. Is this all you’ve got?

The most noteworthy part of the article is that, as has been mentioned before in these hallowed pages, her husband does not photograph well.

STOP BEING SO NICE – Jenson Button, give the rest of us a break will you?

Fresh from being very relaxed, very handsome (swoon) and starring in an awful shampoo advert, our Jense has been supporting (or maybe just showing off, sometimes it’s difficult to tell) his girlfriend while she ran a Japanese marathon. In fact, so supportive was he that he ran 10,000 metres in a personal best time just to rub her face in it.

Some people.

Mixing business and pleasure – An interesting snippet from the ever-excellent Private Eye. F1 provokes strong emotions in us all (well, anyone who’s reading this at any rate) – and don’t even get POP started on Lewis Hamilton’s beard. However, it seems Greg Smith, Hammersmith and Fulham councillor, took it all a bit far…

Really? That’s how you want to end an advertising piece? – Sometimes things just make you go “what?”

One such thing is this feature on a Felipe Massa themed Richard Mille watch. The last paragraph reads:

‘It’s the same with Felipe Massa – aficionados will know that Mille and Massa, the Brazilian Formula 1 driver from which the eponymous new watch takes its name, have long been buddies: Massa was wearing his specially designed Richard Mille watch during his almost fatal crash at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2009. The driver was airlifted to hospital. His watch kept ticking. Luckily, so did he.’

There are no words.