Toro Rosso drivers relaxed for final race of the season

When you are young, you often find yourself experiencing something for the first time, as life throws all sorts of unexpected scenarios at you. However, even by the standards of most 20 year olds, Sebastian Vettel crammed a whole host of new experiences into a short holiday in Hawaii, in between the Chinese and Brazilian Grands Prix, as you can see from the photos.

“I had a go at surfing and wind surfing for the first time,” said our Vettel. “Given that I only had a short time, I think I preferred the surfing, as the wind surfer is a bit more technical and is harder to learn. I also had my first taste of scuba diving and there was plenty to see under the waves, including sharks and turtles and all sorts of fish. I found time for some wakeboarding, being towed along behind a jet-ski which was great fun too. While I was in Japan, I never got the chance to climb Mount Fuji, so in Hawaii I made up for it by going on a six hour hike up the 3000 metre high Hale a Kala mountain. But by far the most exhilarating new experience for me came when I went sky diving. I have to admit the first twenty seconds after jumping out of the plane was possibly a scarier experience than racing round Fuji in zero visibility in the rain. But when I remembered this was a tandem jump and that I was attached to someone with a parachute, I relaxed and enjoyed the trip!”

While Sebastian hit Hawaii, Tonio Liuzzi opted to spend his pre-Brazil time making his second visit to Miami. Although our Italian driver had chosen his destination for its good weather to allow him to get on with his training programme, Red Bull in North America couldn’t resist getting Tonio to jump through a few promotional hoops while he was there. “The Red Bull crew were great guides and we got a lot done,” said Tonio. “On my first day there they had me karting, just in case I was missing being behind the wheel! I guess it’s well known that I’m a keen follower of fashion, so I was pleased to be asked to officially open Miami Fashion Week, which is a big event down on South Beach. Of course, there were visits to some hot clubs, restaurants and hotels, including the very hip Delano hotel where all the stars hang out. On the Sunday, we went on a great trip around Miami on the ocean in a 54 foot cruiser and at least I was able to catch up on some exercise doing some jet-skiing and wake boarding which I really enjoy. Unfortunately, I had to have a break in the middle of this trip to fly back to Paris for the FIA hearing, - which meant I had to turn down an invite for a backstage pass to a Ricky Martin concert and an NBA game, but I turned straight around again after Paris to finish off my Miami trip with a lesson in DJ’ing from DJ Irie, the main man on the Miami scene. It was a busy time and a nice way to relax and train for this weekend in Brazil.”