Bahrain 2010 F1 Opener Hosts Eighteen Living Legends
Fan footage of the event
The race itself may have been a bit of a procession, but Bahrain put on a spectacular show for the inaugural Grand Prix of the 2010 Formula One season.
Eighteen of the twenty living F1 champions, from Sir Jack Brabham (1959, 1960, 1966) to Jenson Button (2009), gathered in Bahrain for a once in a lifetime event, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the sport over the weekend. Only Nelson Piquet and Kimi Raikkonen were not present.
The drivers were available for signing sessions, photographs and a parade in which they drove a collection of the ground breaking and championship winning cars that had seen them to the top of the podium. For many of them it was a great excuse to reconnect with old friends and competitors and spend time with heroes and role models: “I flew here with Jack Brabham and we had plenty to catch up about, but it’s pretty extraordinary to get so many of us here at one time” – Alan Jones, from Bahraingp.com.
The collection of rare and stunning cars was on display throughout the weekend for race attendees to admire up close as well. They proved special enough to thrill even the most experienced drivers. Nigel Mansell, 1992 world champion, remarking “I am astonished by this car, it’s amazing,” about the 1950 Ferrari 125 ‘Thinwall Special’.
It was a truly unique event for both drivers and fans as such a collection of Formula One champions is likely to never be gathered in the same place again.
Check out this fantastic gallery of the event put together by YallaF1.com.
And some fan footage of the event, part 1 and part 2.
Via Bahraingp.com and Sarah Holt’s BBC blog
