Funny man is dead serious For almost an entire minute a long time in the world of Formula One no one in the semi-full grandstand paid heed to the cars participating in Indias first qualifying session. Rather,all eyes were focused on Rowan "Mr Bean" Atkinson. Sitting in the Mercedes McLaren pit garage,Atkinson was captured on the giant timing monitor doing something he probably hadnt done in front of a camera: keeping a dead straight face. As he was seen speaking with Lewis Hamilton,there was speculation on the nature of the conversation. Some said he the comedian,who crashed his McLaren sportscar in August,was taking notes from the 2008 world champ as to how to keep the machine on the road. In the mix Unlike during Fridays practice session,the 50,000 odd fans seemed to be in the thick of things on Saturday,enjoying every spin,crash,curve and roar of the 24 cars howling up and down the start-finish tarmac. The crowd was an eclectic mix of first-timers and diehard fans,celebreties and wannabes. Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Robert Vadhera spent considerable time in the F1 Paddock club,watching the qualifying. Felipe fizzles out High speed crashes are a part and parcel of Formula One. So as Brazil's Felipe Massa crashed into the pit wall after losing his right wheel over a kerb,the crowd broke into a collective gasp. It soon cheered when it emerged that the Ferrari driver was all right. However,the Scarlet Fevers a traveling posse of Italian race fans were still disappointed as they had hoped Massa to produce a flying lap,like he did on Friday Practice. They were last seen dousing their sorrows in many jugs of beer on the periphery. For them demanding tifosi,more is less. MSs second preference is NK Indian skipper MS Dhoni has hinted that he may attend the Indian Grand Prix on Sunday. I always wanted to see a Formula One race. Lets hope for the best. I am a speed freak myself in the sense that I love bikes. The only race that I witnessed was a superbike race in South Africa." Dhoni said he would be cheering for Force India. I want Force India to do really well in the inaugural Indian GP. My second preference will be Narain Karthikeyan.
