Lewis Hamilton takes to the streets in Mumbai in his F1 car

The stage was set; his arrival was announced way in advance with banners, hoardings and TV advertorials. While F1 fans knew they would get to have a glimpse of their favourite racer, what they got was a whole lot better. The concrete roads of Banda Kurla Complex in Mumbai not only witnessed an F1 car but also got to feel the fury of it as Lewis Hamilton took to the streets in his current MP4-26 F1 car.

The excitement could be seen amongst the thousands who had turned up with some on rooftops, trees and not to mention, on the buildings around under construction. And it wasn’t just about seeing the F1 car, Vodafone turned the event into a carnival of sorts with African dancers. Stilt walkers, the pretty cheer leaders and the football dribblers. However this was just the build up to the main event as the crowds waited patiently for Lewis to arrive. And arrive he did much to the roar of the crowd.

It was already past 7 pm as daylight faded and the flood lights took effect. And just as he was about to start, the rain gods obliged as well. Thankfully the rains did not postpone the even further and we could hear the MP4-26 idle almost a km away. As the countdown began, so did the heartbeats as Hamilton took off sideways thanks to the wet roads. While I’m sure he barely gave 1/4th throttle, even then, the noise that the MP4-26 made was enough to leave the people mesmerized. Hamilton made sure the crowd got its worth and even performed doughnuts at intersections which totally got the crowd going. The second run however was in the dry and that’s when the 2008 World champion really gave it the beans. The noise from the 2.4 litre V8 at a dizzying 18,000 rpm surely told the people why they need ear muffs when a F1 car is in action.

A set of 3 runs in the F1 car along with a few runs in the mighty C63 AMG’s for the lucky winners, the Vodafone Speedfest on Sunday not only delivered what it promised but also provided a whole lot more. Hopefully other sponsors will take notice and we will see more events like this in the future. At least I’m keeping my fingers crossed!