Monaco not only hectic for the drivers

From writing releases to making sure DC makes his television interviews and that the world’s media keep to their schedules, for Red Bull Racing’s press officer Katie Tweedle it’s hectic every race weekend. But Monaco is a whole different story again… Here’s her team blog from last weekend.

“I’m completely exhausted if I’m honest! Monaco is the best race of the season by a long way – but it really does take everything out of you, as it’s non-stop. There are Red Bull parties to work at, media events to manage, VIP guests to introduce to drivers, celebrities to look after, media requests to fulfil, high-speed F1 crashes to contend with, photo shoots and fashion shows, the list is endless, and all of it is spread out over five very, very long days and nights. By Monday, everyone from the marketing team looked like zombies. But it’s the Monaco GP, and what’s not to love? It’s non-stop brilliant, even at half three in the morning when you’re walking back to your the hotel after working at a Red Bull event, and you know you’re getting up again at seven the next day – it’s still really good fun.

“Monaco is such a hard race to sum up. You arrive and every year I find I’ve forgotten just how completely beautiful the place is. Our three-storey Energy Station is moored in Monaco harbour, where it floats on a platform including includes three levels and a swimming pool, amid beautiful yachts and shiny speedboats. To the left is the palace, sitting high on the cliff and in front of you is a unique mix of high-rise and beautiful old buildings that make up the Principality, while to the right is the world famous casino behind some of the biggest boats you’ve ever seen.

“Compared to the concrete car parks and trucks that we can normally see from the Energy Station, it definitely ranks as one of the better views of the year. The buzz to the place is electric and it increases throughout the weekend, as music blares from the different bars and boats and the size of the crowds gets bigger and bigger.

“The on-track the action was non-stop too, I can’t believe how many different incidents there were. Qualifying was an event in itself. Seeing the footage of David’s car hurtling past the camera at 185kph, was not nice. The monitors didn’t show where the car ended up and there was a big sigh of relief in the garage when we heard David say he was OK.

“His media session that afternoon was crammed with TV cameras and the print media, mostly from the British nationals. It’s great when the job’s like that, as you’re right on the edge of breaking news. The main thing was that David was OK – but then the media frenzy starts. Some of the journalists are pretty relentless and will keep going with questions till they get the story they want. Our job is to monitor that and to ensure we stop the session when time’s up – although a few will still try to keep going – to get headlines the next morning such as ‘Mass Carnage’ and ‘Coulth-argh-d’.

“Race day was very wet, which is not great in Monaco. From a marketing point of view, it’s not very inviting for the guests to arrive in an open boat feeling a bit soggy and then have to huddle inside out of the rain, rather than listening to the cars roar round the streets while drinking champagne on the terrace in the sun. And, from a racing point of view, it gives the engineers a lot of thinking, predicting and gambling to do before the race. But, I suppose Monaco’s the right place for that!

“I felt really sorry for Sutil when he was taken out by Kimi from fourth place towards the end of the race. It was good for the team though, as it meant we finished higher up the order – and Mark got five points! Unfortunately David crashed at Casino – in really bad weather conditions. When you see the on-car footage, you really start to understand what it is that those guys do in the car. It’s pretty incredible stuff.

“I made the comment to someone at the start of the weekend, that all the races should be in Monaco – we should just have 18 Monaco events a year. But, after such a long, weekend and looking around at my colleagues this week, I think it might just about finish everyone off! It’s the variety of the tracks and places that we visit which makes the season so great and keeps our enthusiasm up all year round – so bring on Magny Cours…”