25/04/2005
NEWS STORY
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F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has long held the belief that what will really get F1 back on the front pages of newspapers, if not the back pages, is the presence of celebrities, those wonderful, glamorous, super-rich people whose very presence at the track indicate that it's cool to be into F1.
On Sunday, Mr Excellent was at pains to ensure that the cameras picked up the fact that footballer Roberto Carlos was present, especially as other 'celebs' seemed a little thin on the ground - as did race fans in certain areas of the Autodrome.
Ecclestone 'guided' ITV commentator Martin Brundle in the soccer star's direction and what followed was something akin to the moment in the movie Grand Prix, when Pete Aron, dropped by Jordan-BRM for his deliberate attempt to kill Scott Stoddart at Monaco, is forced to take up a job as a TV commentator.
Brundle knows little Spanish, and Carlos knows even less English, therefore the 'chat' was doomed to failure.
We cannot help but wonder if Bernie, seen here strutting along the grid with his star and his girlfriend, has mastered enough English to discuss the fact that two other members of Carlos' Real Madrid team, Ronaldo and Luis Figo - are heavily involved in the new A1 Grand Prix series, having bought franchises for Brazil and Portugal respectively.
That said, Carlos is involved in racing too. He backs a Brazilian Stock Car team and a world championship motorcycle team, along with Dutch football star Seedorf.
However, clearly the talk in the Real Madrid locker room is of A1 rather than F1.