F1 Regent Street Parade - Pics!

[97paseo]

Mental day - it was absolutely packed solid!

Three & four deep at the barriers when I got there at 4 ish, managed to get a half decent spot in Argyll Street right outside the Palladium.

The pics aren't great as it was so hard to get a good vantage point for the camera & the car's were moving fairly quick!!

The F1 Saftey car stopped right opposite us before it all started, sounded awesome:

Then the drivers did a parade in 'normal' cars - I'm sorry I missed Da Matta in an MR2! He was first & caught me out! They were all so close together going so fast.

Right behind him was Nigel Mansell (he's in the middle :D ) :

I also managed to snap the back of Montoya in a BMW:

Button was in an S2000, Coulthard was in the new SL55 thing & Martin Brundle was in Austin Powers' Shaguar!

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was also there (pic for the benifit of my other half reading this at work :P ;) ):

Anyway after a massive delay the F1 car's turned out one at a time headed by the safety car:

Now I apologise for the quality of these pics (except the last one which rocks!!! :D )

Mansell in Jordan:

Da Matta's Toyota:

Minardi two-seater driven by Zsolt Baumgartner:

[97paseo]

Ferrari driven by Luca Badoer:

Coultards McLaren going 'a bit quick':

& the best til last, Martin Brundle in the Jag.

He was class - did a proper practice start & lit up the tyres down the whole road - anyone passing the Palladium in the next few days check out the two lines down the road!

Quality pic - look at his eyes!

Sorry for the quality but you get the idea! Stood from 4-8PM but some people didn't see anything, there were people hanging out of windows, on top of roofs - climbing scaffolding, standing on bus stops, flower beds - mad!!!

I missed some of the best stuff but it was cool to get so close to the cars & drivers & they sounded amazing - the Ferrari has a completely different engine note to the other cars.

Anyway I'll shut-up now! :D

[Nizan]

wow looked like a great event.

love that last pic

yeah i noticed at silverstone last year the Ferrari and Sauber (Ferrari's old engines of course) sound different and put more pressure on the ears, strange that.

cheers for the write up

niz

[Scottish_SR]

Looks like a great event to have been at!

[97paseo]

It was a wicked atmosphere when the car's came round. B)

Even better when they played to the crowd and especially when the drivers came past in convertables as they were only about 5-10 feet away from you. B)

Anyone seen the footage on the news of Mansell doing doughnuts?!

Shame I wasn't standing there! It was a case of stand where you could though with all the people, they estimated 200,000 but I think you could have easily doubled that, it was crazy busy!

[Kenny]

seems like it was a great event and you must have enjoyed it :D

[gordypix]

Well done Si............

Just how fast were the F1 cars moving at times.......??

Does Mansell still fit in an F1 car Love that man..My F1 hero back in the 80's and early 90'3

[Fidgits]

some nice pics cheers! :D

[97paseo]

Well done Si............

Just how fast were the F1 cars moving at times.......??

Does Mansell still fit in an F1 car Love that man..My F1 hero back in the 80's and early 90'3

Not that fast Gordy where we were - although guess up to 70mph in places.

The problem was i didn't have enough space to follow the cars as I took the pic - so they've blurred.

I was lucky with the last one as someone moved & I was right at the barriers leaning over! :)

Mansell did look a bit tubby & was a bit disappointing where we were - he just went round bouncing it off the rev limiter - the news coverage showed him spinning it around but we missed that!

A couple of my friends could'nt get anywhere near the cars - they ended up watching it on diamond-vision screens - so I shouldn't complain! :D

[Al J]

What a great event! Wish I could have been there. That pic of Brundle is class but the others convey the atmosphere well too.

So, now they're talking about a GP in London by 2008. That would be crazy!

[gordypix]

You did well Si, Diggie cameras are rubbish for moving objects as they take too long to focus and lock on...and the shuter speeds are no way near what my slr's have.........

If it was me in your place the pics would have been very similar - except I may have stood on some kids head - to get a higher vantage point......

[gordypix]

The front wheels of the Brundle Jag look like they are off the ground slightly......

and it's called 'motion blur' Si - pro name - and you meant t do it to convey the speed they were moving.......

[97paseo]

Diggie cameras are rubbish for moving objects as they take too long to focus and lock on...and the shuter speeds are no way near what my slr's have.........

If it was me in your place the pics would have been very similar - except I may have stood on some kids head - to get a higher vantage point......

Yea I was silly really - should have taken my old SLR But I do like the digi :D

Thought of you as there was a guy who looked professional with a telephoto lens & all the kit hanging from a lamp-post opposite me!

What a great event! Wish I could have been there. That pic of Brundle is class but the others convey the atmosphere well too.

So, now they're talking about a GP in London by 2008. That would be crazy!

Thanks! That whats I was hoping!

We were all saying a London GP would be mental - for starters they'd have to resurface the roads & all the people would make it a nightmare but what an event it would be! B)

They actually sent round two road sweepers side-by-side as well before the F1 cars came round - much to the amusment of the drunk blokes down from me who shouted "come on Button"...

[97paseo]

The front wheels of the Brundle Jag look like they are off the ground slightly......and it's called 'motion blur' Si   - pro name - and you meant t do it to convey the speed they were moving.......

Yea I knew I meant to do that :D The wheels do look a little off the ground - probably the road surface & the fact that the cars are so stiffly set-up.

Here's the full size daddy - check out his eyes - they're closed!!!

[alanbradley]

The front wheels of the Brundle Jag look like they are off the ground slightly......and it's called 'motion blur' Si   - pro name - and you meant t do it to convey the speed they were moving.......

Yea I knew I meant to do that :D The wheels do look a little off the ground - probably the road surface & the fact that the cars are so stiffly set-up.

Here's the full size daddy - check out his eyes - they're closed!!!

That really is a cool photo!

Wish I was closer so I could actually get to see things like that... :(

A

[97paseo]

That really is a cool photo!

There's an article here now also. :)

[Chuck04]

nice pics, one of my mates went said it was a wicked day, really enjoyed himself