{"id":610757,"date":"2020-01-13T14:55:42","date_gmt":"2020-01-13T14:55:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/archive\/article\/\/\/jennie-gow-3"},"modified":"2020-11-24T10:46:19","modified_gmt":"2020-11-24T10:46:19","slug":"jennie-gow-3","status":"publish","type":"issue_content","link":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/archive\/article\/july-2019\/29\/jennie-gow-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Jennie Gow"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When it comes to Formula 1, I think I\u2019m a bit of a jinx. My very first F1 race weekend was the epic Canadian Grand Prix of 2011, which lasted for a record-breaking 4hrs 4min 39.5 sec. Jenson Button eventually won in his McLaren after charging back from last place. It was such a fantastic race that I still remember the press pack, stood by a screen watching the drama unfold, clapping and cheering \u2013 we were all delighted for Button.<\/p>\n

Fast-forward eight years and I was lucky enough to be at one of the longest single qualifying sessions in F1 history as
\naccidents, red flags and missed opportunities bombarded our senses for almost two solid hours. The sun was even beginning to set by the time Valtteri Bottas took pole position for Mercedes and the world\u2019s collective media stood shivering in the shade of the Baku Parliament buildings.<\/p>\n

There have been longer sessions \u2013 a tropical storm interrupted Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying in 2009, which is officially the longest in the sport\u2019s history as the rain poured down and the clock ticked around \u2013 2hrs 41min \u2013 but Baku 2019 was right up there.<\/p>\n

One of the things I like best about my job is working alongside some pretty awesome journalists and broadcasters. When you\u2019re all gathered in a media pen, freezing but huddled together in front of the TV screens watching the action, you all share something very special.<\/p>\n

We watched Robert Kubica crash out before he went AWOL for an hour \u2013 not even his trainer or any member of the Williams team was able to track him down. The suggestion was that he got lost in the maze that is Baku city centre after a swift check-up at the medical centre, and struggled to find his way back to the paddock. We heard that screech and familiar thud again when Charles Leclerc went off at the same point a session later, and then witnessed Mercedes playing some pretty risky games by running Bottas just ahead of Lewis Hamilton<\/a> and releasing both into traffic for their final Q3 runs \u2013 fascinating to behold. We all live it and love it together, whether you\u2019re a Brit, a Brazilian or a Belgian.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt was suggested that Kubica got lost in the maze that is Baku city centre\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The press pack in F1 is immense. At Baku we were sat in a cavernous conference centre in a trackside hotel, which doubles up as the media centre. There\u2019s a blend of journalists and photographers from almost every country in the world. A few of them root for their national drivers but, equally, there are some stories that suck you in irrespective of your provenance \u2013 and Charles Leclerc\u2019s is one of those.<\/p>\n

I remember standing in the Baku paddock in 2017, when Charles won an F2 race just days after his father had died\u2026 it was at that moment I realised what a special guy he is. The sheer strength of character it took to turn up in the paddock without the man who had always been by his side is hard to imagine.<\/p>\n

When Charles crashed in Baku this year, everybody looked at each other with a raised eyebrow and a sense of disappointment. Here\u2019s a  <\/span>young man who could so easily have been on pole had he replicated his pace from the earlier sessions. The incident was made worse by Ferrari having new chairman John Elkann watching on from its pit. Is this why team principal Mattia Binotto has said to us that Sebastian Vettel is categorically Ferrari\u2019s number one driver? Could Leclerc\u2019s qualifying mishap cost him a real shot at taking team leader status from Vettel?<\/p>\n

The fact that Charles was on the radio calling himself \u201cstupid\u201d and then saying he \u201cthrew it away\u201d means this is a kid who is honest, frustrated by his mistakes and utterly grounded.<\/p>\n

Charles\u2019s story, the death of his godfather Jules Bianchi, then his father, <\/span>and his rise to a Ferrari race seat, perhaps to oust Vettel from the Scuderia and become a future world champion, make him headline news in almost every country. One German colleague told me: \u201cIt\u2019s very hard to find a reason not to like Charles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another man endearing himself to the media this year \u2013 a total change from 2018 \u2013 is Max Verstappen. I sat down with the Red Bull driver in Baku to chat about all things F1 and he was a revelation. Open, fun and far from last season\u2019s angry young man, who threatened to head-butt anyone who asked about his driving style.<\/p>\n

It turns out that Max hated school, which isn\u2019t a huge surprise. He\u2019s gone cold turkey on the FIFA computer game and is now sim racing instead. In fact he recently won a sports car race on rFactor 2 \u2013 the Eight Hours of Silverstone, an official esports endurance event in which he teamed up with fellow countryman, World\u2019s Fastest Gamer winner and now McLaren simulator driver Rudy van Buren.<\/p>\n

Verstappen has modest tastes \u2013 he\u2019s happy feasting on tomato soup and carpaccio, for instance \u2013 and overall he seems to be in a really good place at the moment, both on and off the racetrack.<\/p>\n

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Jennie Gow has formed a staple of the BBC\u2019s Formula 1 broadcasting team since 2011, working across both TV and radio
\n<\/b>Follow Jennie on Twitter @JennieGow<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n