Racing fans go home disappointed

Racing fans go home disappointed By Andrew Franczak SO that's it then. The teams are packing up their multi-million pound motor homes and are off to he next F1 circus in Germany. If this was Silverstone's last staging of the British Grand Prix you can't help but feel it's all been a bit of a damp squib. The fans have done their best to cheer on Button and Hamilton, but with neither anywhere near the podium and the race a procession for Red Bull, they're all going home disappointed. Once again Lewis tried to hide his disappointment by keeping his usual smiling demeanour, but it must be very difficult to grin and bear it. It's been like chalk and cheese to last year, the celebratory parties at the McLaren motor home replaced by shell-shock and a sense of why on earth has it all gone so wrong. Politics have dominated the British Grand Prix, and the scenes this morning outside the FIA base when Max Mosley emerged were quite farcical. He was chased all the way down the paddock by the world's press like a pack of wolves hunting their prey. It all made for quite surreal viewing. Oh, and I saw Eric Cantona as well. That's the glamour of F1 for you. 'I hope I get a point for Father's Day' Lewis' father Anthony has just said that he hopes to get at least one Grand Prix point from him for father's day. Speaking a few hours before the start of the British GP at Silverstone Anthony said: "Lewis has had a couple of great years and now he's going through a bad patch but he can pull through. "I just hope he can get me a point as a present for Father's Day." Lewis received a rapturous reception from the crowd during the drivers' parade, and still managed to find time to sign a few autographs on the way back to the McLaren garage. 'Dad's always been there for me' ONE of Lewis Hamilton's great strengths has been the closeness to his family, and the special bond with his father, Anthony, ever since he started his motor racing career in karting. Anthony's face became as familiar as Lewis' last season as he watched his son's progress from the pit lane. In almost every interview he conducted in his world-championship winning season, Lewis sang the praises of his family. So I wondered what his father was telling him now to help him through such a challenging season? I got the chance to ask him late this afternoon at the McLaren motor home in another meet and greet session specially arranged for the media. "My dad's always been there during my career, he's been very vocal," said Lewis. "Just his presence helps me, he's been to my every race. I love him being there and giving me support. To see him in the garage, he understands what I'm going through. "I'm trying to do him proud in the way I come across and conduct myself." Hamilton was understandably frustrated with the way things had gone during qualifying. "Just getting into the top 15 tomorrow will be a bonus. To be 19th is a long way back. Every car around us seems to be faster, even the Toro Rosso and Force India are faster than us. "Our aim is always to win, but it's tough and we're under a lot of pressure. We need to get a good result and work as a team, that's what we hope for." The Herts racer said the team were doing as much as physically possible to improve on results. "Myself and Heikki [Kovalainen, his McLaren team-mate] are in the simulator every week working flat out, so are Pedro [De La Rosa] and Gary [Paffett] (McLaren's test drivers). We are continually pushing for new developments to the car, trying for more parts - whatever may be better for the car. "All the engineers are just as committed as before. But the error [he corrected himself to say 'unfortunate route'] was made a long time ago. "In Barcelona were were two seconds off the pace, we're still in the same position, whereas Red Bull have gained half a second. We gain a tenth of a second if we're lucky." The best job in Formula One? RACE day at Silverstone is something to savour. There's a special atmosphere about the place as thousands of fans make their way from camp sites adjoining the circuit and into the stands. There are lots of British flags, and punters are snapping up merchandise at a rate of knots. It's noticeable the Brawn shops are doing a roaring trade, while the McLaren ones, although busy, are not as jam-packed as the past two years. Hardy race fans get to their seats early, and at 8am there's plenty of action on track with the Formula BMW Europe race in full throttle, while the entertaining GP2 Series, which Hamilton won here to propel him on the road to super-stardom, is under starter's orders. Our view of the racing from the media centre is superb. We're right above the pits, so from behind the glass we look down on the cars as they come in - and look across the grid at the start line. Who has got the best job in Formula One? I reckon it's the guy who hands out the hats, towels and water to the top three on the podium. You've seen him on television, he's the bearded chap who is always smiling as the drivers are about to go out onto the podium. So is that all he does - travel the world courtesy of F1 to hand out three bright red Bridgestone hats? I was dying to know so I asked him when doing a pit walk yesterday. He's an affable Frenchman, and no, actually he does a lot more than hand out hats to Button, Webber & Co. It turns out he works for a sports management company and is responsible for making sure everything runs smoothly behind the scenes on race weekend - from setting up promotions around the track, to unpacking the winner's trophies and sorting out the champagne. 'It's a great job, but it's a lot of hard work," he said.

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