Many people have asked me why I didn’t cover current
F1 in my new book-Frankly Frankl-life, love, luck and automobiles which will be
ready for shipment by the end of October. Simple. These heroes are not my
heroes. Well , some of them such as Alonso and Hamilton are but I simply could
not face writing about Sebastian Vettel. It seems that I am not alone. The
booing that started several races ago seems to follow him all over the World.
Maybe not in Korea as I am sure the locals haven’t got a clue about what is
going on and possibly not in Japan either. But come Austin Texas I can
guarantee a less than friendly welcome.
I can think of several reasons. The owner, the team, the PR
lackeys are all incredibly arrogant. Mix this with a young man who is
surrounded by adoring sycophants and you have a mixture that many people find
hard to digest. Sticking up a finger after being fastest in qualifying
and again after winning the race might go down well in Austria at Red Bull’s HQ
but it turns stomachs in the rest of the World. Vettel is not the first World
Champion and certainly not the last. Senna was gracious in victory as was Jackie
Stewart. Lewis Hamilton’s victories are a delight to witness, as are those of
Alonso. Vettel and his boss Christian Horner both come across as a couple
brilliant but preprogrammed parrots. Having said that one has to admire them
and their design genius Adrian Newey as well their unsung yet brilliant
Renault engine.
So maybe now you’ll understand why I concentrated on
Stewart, Peterson, Cevert and the rest. Anyway, as you can see from the
enclosed front cover it is now only a matter of a few weeks before I
start visiting the post office on a regular basis.
For the benefit of those who are new to my blog Frankly
Frankl in its first, hard cover, coffee table format will sell at 44.95, 35
pounds in the UK. 499 copies all told with about 400 remaining, 99 having been
pre sold. Of those 50 have been reserved for the launch party at Ferrari of San
Francisco and another 50 for a book signing at Sardi’s in New York where the
monthly meeting of the Chowder Society is held. Take away another 50 reserved
for the Royal Automobile Club in London and if my mathematics is right
leaves about 250 copies for the rest of the World . If you are going to be
in Austin for the Grand Prix next month and would like to buy a copy
please let me know and I would be happy take a signed copy for you.
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