Formula One Features — April 2008

The Spanish Grand Prix was a bitter-sweet race for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team. On the one hand Lewis Hamilton returned to form, finishing third and adding to his score in the Formula 1 Drivers' World Championship, but on the other hand, Heikki Kovalainen crashed heavily.

What with Robert Mugabe defying the wishes of the Zimbabwean people and clutching fast to his country's discredited presidency, not to mention Vladimir Putin's dubious plan to stay in charge of Russia, dictators are much in the news right now. A curse on them all.

Sunday™s during the winter are, it has to be said, generally rather pleasant affairs. They are the high point of the week and during the dark months they usually follow the same pattern.

Vijay Mallya says that his mother told him that the first word he ever uttered was not "Mama" or "Papa" like the rest of us. Apparently the bouncing young baby Vijay came up with the word "car". Since his days in nappies, Mallya has been passionate about cars.

These are exciting times in Dubai. The entire emirate seems to be under construction. Buildings rise from the ground with alarming speed. The more one looks, the more amazing it all seems.