The 24 Formula 1 drivers face a barrage of serious questions at each grand prix - , the pros and cons of an and the art of tyre management - but every now and then the media conferences throw up an entertaining rogue theme.
With two weeks to go until the opening game of the , football's premier global championship provided such a diversion in Turkey.
Surely the chances in South Africa were preying on the mind of Australian more than his own hopes of a hat-trick of race wins in Istanbul?
Not according to , who turned to the Red Bull driver at his side during the official driver interview session and muttered, "Did you even qualify?"
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Monaco just isn't Monaco without a walk up a gangplank for a peek inside one of the luxury yachts fringing the famous harbour.
Luckily, breakfast with driver Vitaly Petrov on board a boat hired by one of Renault's sponsors ticked the requisite box on Friday's rest day for the Formula 1 fraternity.
While the media scurried around the table laid with , and , Petrov stood like a figurehead, alone at the bow of the boat watching the cars hurtle out of the tunnel and along to the Nouvelle Chicane.
The broad, 6ft tall Russian is an imposing figure in the F1 paddock, where most of the drivers are not much bigger than jockeys, but he is a hard person to get to know.
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Monaco, where is your magic? What has happened to your sense of poise and sleek elegance?
The media had to rub their eyes as they arrived in Monte Carlo expecting to find a well-turned-out paddock ready for its VIP guests.
Instead, they found fork-lift trucks trundling along the harbour and ladders propped unceremoniously outside Ferrari, normally the epitome of impeccable.
For the first time in its history, which dates back to 1929, Monaco Grand Prix weekend kicked off just three days after another race.
The result is a sense of dazzle and disarray, summed up perfectly when a member of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ team was almost taken out in style by a fork-lift carrying crates of champagne.
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driver revealed in Barcelona a novel approach to learning one of the upcoming circuits on the Formula 1 calendar.
Unlike the high-tech top teams, the Spanish rookies don't have a to school their drivers so Chandhok has been taking matters into his own hands.
Last Friday evening the 26-year-old got on his bike to get a feel for the .
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has used his brain instead of brawn this season to charge back to the top of the championship.
The defending world champion's twin victories in Australia and China were down to his smart strategic calls and won him plaudits for out-thinking his rivals - not bad for the boy from who left school with one GCSE to his name.
On Tuesday, Button returned to the market town to visit his three former schools and share his wisdom in the classroom.
The first stop at the Vallis First School, the seat of Button's early learning between the ages of four and nine, brought some tough questions from the floor during morning assembly.
"Were you naughty at school?" asked a little girl in her best voice.
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People often ask how I came to be the Formula 1 lady for the ´óÏó´«Ã½ website. Well, after being dragged around vintage car rallies and auto jumbles by my Dad, motor racing got under my skin. I am now a fully paid-up member of F1's travelling circus after a year on the road as part of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ team. I look forward to bringing you more on- and off-track adventures here. You can also follow me on .
