Vodafone brings F1 car run in India as Hamilton enthralls crowd

Its one thing to see a Formula 1 car blitzing the tracks around the world, but imagine seeing one on the very roads you commute on. That’s exactly what ten thousand fans witnessed at Nice road, near Bengaluru as Lewis Hamilton stormed through the city. Now this wasn’t the first time that India is witnessing an F1 car on the road, with David Coulthard scorching the streets of Mumbai last year. With the first Indian Grand Prix, just round the corner, this was just what the people needed to get an idea about what these cars will be like in their natural environment, on the track. As if that wasn’t enough, a lucky few even got to experience hot laps with the master of speed himself and also visit the pit garage to experience the functioning of an F1 team.

The screaming V8 from Hamilton’s 2008 championship winning McLaren Mercedes MP4-23 and Lewis’ brilliant driving skills simply left the crowd mesmerized and asking for more.  The atmosphere at the NICE road was so electrifying that one felt as if the Grand Prix had come to Bengaluru. The road looked like a Formula 1 track complete with grand stand the pit garage and the roar of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes car was rivaled by the loud cheers of over 10000 enthusiastic fans across all age groups comprising a mix of socialites, celebrities and event college students in the stands . MTV VJ Ran Vijay kept the audience on their toes during this edge of the seat thriller. Lewis Hamilton also interacted with the finalists of the on-going Vodafone Race to Fame contest which is giving them a chance to join the team and live the weekend of their lives during the race weekend of the Indian Grand Prix.

This was the first time that Lewis was driving an F1 car on Indian streets and he was pretty kicked about it. “I’ve visited India many times over the last couple of years and it’s never been more exciting to be here than now: the inaugural Indian Grand Prix is only weeks away and you can really feel the growing passion of the people and the excitement levels continuing to build.
 “Vodafone has been supporting our team and Formula 1 for many years and they’ve always brought grand prix racing to the people: getting to drive my Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 car on India’s public roads today was an incredible experience and I really hope it gave people a taste for the incredible spectacle of Formula 1.”
 “There’s no better way to experience F1 than up-close, so I think today’s event was a huge success. Next month’s Indian Grand Prix is going to be a fantastic event for our sport, but also for the whole Indian nation, who are incredibly passionate about sport. Through Vodafone, I think this is going to be the experience of a lifetime.”
We hope more F1 teams take a cue out of this as this serves as a brilliant exposure of the sport and in a budding motorsport country like India, the more the better.