Entertainment - Bahrain GP 2010

Its a funny thing entertainment. We need different amounts at different times in different circumstances, from different people, in different locations.

Let me give you an example; my flight out to the first F1 race in Bahrain was never going to be entertaining . How can a 7 hour plane journey from Gatwick, full of strange people, with a 2 hour stop over in Doha come anywhere near being considered as entertaining?

So as I walked onto the plane and was told I could sit anywhere I liked, as there are only 60 passengers flying on a plane capable of accommodating 295 people, this trip suddenly looked more entertaining.
I plonked myself into an emergency exit row, kicked off my shoes and pressed the Beer Button as the cabin crew call bell is becoming more commonly known.
My other colleagues decided that their idea of entertainment was slightly different to mine. One was entertained by watching a German film about terminal cancer whilst drinking 14 bottles of white wine. Another decided he would take the offer of free seating to position himself next to a pretty Canadian girl and spend the next 7 hours sticking his tongue down her throat.
The flight continued like this all the way to Doha and eventually Bahrain, where we all walked off the plane sideways and decided that yes Qatar Airways is indeed a 5 star airline.

This brings me on to what is now being slated as one of the most boring F1 races in history. For the record I do not agree. But as I am trying to explain, we all need entertaining in different ways. The Bahrain circuit do this fantastically. There is so much entertainment off track that actually watching some cars drive round in circles pails into insignificance with the entertainment activities including, watching a man stick his head inside a balloon, a Geordie escapologist wearing not much more than a yellow bow tie and a girl playing a violin whilst BMX bikers perform tricks above her head.

We have never had an entertaining race in Bahrain. New rules will not change that, new car and driver combinations will not either, nor will adding a few more corners to a circuit. Entertainment comes from being surprised when you do not expect to be, realising that something is fun when it is not supposed to be, or watching a man in lycra climb inside a big red plastic balloon.

Lets see what the Aussies can come up with in 2 weeks time.......