Silverstone ‘94. Now there’s a something that evokes some serious memories.
1994 was, of course, the year Aerosmith’s classic video accompanying their song ‘Crazy’ hit MTV’s screens. Its star was the ultimate object of teenaged lust and desire, Alicia Silverstone.
I have to confess the part of my home-recorded ‘best of 1994’ VHS tape which features this Silverstone video is all but worn away. Meanwhile, the Grand Prix that goes by the same name, and can be found midway through my ‘180-minute Scotch Lifetime Guarantee’ cassette, remains pristine. If you cannot tell, I am of a certain vintage!
It shows Damon Hill driving off into the distance ultimately scoring by over a minute in a race where 22 cars were lapped. There wasn’t a World Champion in the entire field.
The highlight was HRH Princess Diana presenting Damon the winner’s trophy. The problem was she wasn’t really a royal then having formally separated from Charles 19 months beforehand.
Nevertheless, as the promotion of a British product now worth £2 billion annually in revenue (let us not forget six teams are based in the UK), her efforts even as a non-royal, were a watershed moment.
But, 23 years on, the race has not been graced by a meaningful royal since. In fact, I’m already questioning who are we going to send to represent the United Kingdom this year? In 2012 Italian Frankie Dettori, with his list of convictions for drug use and politician Kenneth Clarke jointly fulfilled the roll. Clarke has actually been generically dispatched to represent Queen and country for the past two decades.
In more recent times, with a liberal sprinkling of the royal family opting to watch the well-known Scottish Referendum YES vote advocate Andy Murray play in the Wimbledon final, there have been no royals or a Prime Minister in attendance.
In mitigation, if you did not blink you may have seen Prince Michael of Kent at the Silverstone circuit 24-hours before race day. Does anyone have the faintest idea what his relationship is to HM the Queen? It is distant enough to mean he is not considered to carry out approved royal duties domestically. Although, in some instances, foreign commonwealth countries are given him. Poor souls.
So his visits were not on an official basis rather a personal commercial one. Managing a consultancy business, a Freemason, fluent in Russian with Sputnick blood flowing through his veins, he may have played a role in the demise of the Marussia team.
Alas, the best British ambassadors Formula 1 have mustered in recent years are
actor Rupert Grint (never heard of him but I’ve never watched a Harry Potter film either); model Jodie Kidd (fresh from her appearance in Celebrity Antiques Road Trip – better known for selling and supplying something other than antiques); Amanda Holden (not certain what she did before becoming a panellist on Britain’s Got Talent or how she got that job); 70’s musician Leo Sayer (who loves his country so much he moved to the other side of the world and became a naturalised Australian), singer Geri Halliwell (a standout as Nelson Mandela described meeting the Spice Girls in 1997 – not being release from 27 years imprisonment – as the best day of his life); a pair of chefs, James Martin and Nathan Outlaw (never heard of ‘em) and politician Peter Hain (never want to hear of him).
Resultantly the starting grid normally looks like a refugee column of folk that had been and that wanted to be …but failed.
Next Sunday he'll be hoping for a repeat 🇬🇧
#OTD
Admittedly Northamptonshire is not Monte Carlo where an itinerant collection of mega-wealthy wasters, drifters and self-delusionists can fill the starting area with consummate ease. But, when it is all said and done, only a few of the characters listed above would be known outside the bounds of a mindless British televisual wasteland.
So who will be the highest profile British global brand ambassador on display at Silverstone this Sunday? I’m going 500/1 HM the Queen. After all, she will doubtlessly be very tired following seven days of official horseracing engagements at Ascot during June.
Despite the global worth of the sport to the countries balance of payments, she will not send her son, Switzerland-based, former Special Representative for British International Trade and Investment, Prince Andrew, either.
Queenie is probably still irked at Bernie Ecclestone suggesting he makes a racetrack out of her driveway by tabling a London City Grand Prix. Not the kind of horse power one appreciates. It has to be said Prince Harry is a contender, albeit a big outsider. He’s been before – he didn’t say much mind – but with his relationship with a well-known F1 presenter now over, he’s 25/1.
Historically, before disappearing into the night due to over-exposure, female television presenters have earned some camera time at the British GP. Carol Vorderman, Anthea Turner, Ulrika Jonsson, Carol Smillie, Selina Scott, Claire Sweeny et al all offer that girl-next-door appeal. Clare Balding, who HRH reportedly dotes on, doesn’t. Unless you live next door to a castle that is! The current go-to-girl will surely stay at Wimbledon so is 250/1 to be sighted anywhere near a race car this weekend.
Santander no longer sponsor the British Grand Prix meaning athlete Jessica Ennis will not be rolled out. So who are we left with? True, Rowan Atkinson’s likely to be there albeit, like the late George Harrison, his style is to hide inconspicuously at the back of a team garage.
So it is David Beckham, the former footballer which played for a country that has never gone close to winning anything in over 50 years, that is clear odds-on favourite to be the UK’s highest-profile representative of Queen and country at the British Grand Prix.
He’s has commercial sponsorship ties with Tudor watches, the sister company of the British Grand Prix’s title sponsor, Rolex. In short, if he didn’t have to be there he wouldn’t. But he probably does and so he’s the 6/4 favourite to play poster boy and possibly present the winner’s trophy.
