• The Inside Line

Kate Walker's alternative season review

Kate Walker December 24, 2014

There are a lot of very good, very thoughtful season reviews out there. This is not one of those.

The best car was obviously the W05, the best power unit can only have come from Brixworth, and while the likes of Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo delivered some sterling performances, when it comes to best driver how can you vote against the Lewis Hamilton we saw fight from the back in Germany and Hungary?

This is my season review, the bits that have stuck in my head after far too many early mornings, late nights, and uncomfortable sleeps in economy seats. Yup, it's a little bit nonsense.

Best "pinch me, this can't be real" moment

Whatever we learned in the aftermath of the race about engine and power settings, while I was watching the final ten or so laps of the Bahrain Grand Prix I had goosebumps.

As someone far too young to have seen the 1979 French Grand Prix duel between Gilles Villeneuve and Rene Arnoux via anything other than YouTube, watching Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg dance wheel-to-wheel under the desert sky was awe-inspiring. While watching I was aware of the privilege of being there, of being able to bore young F1 fans decades into the future by recounting my overblown memories of the race.

At some point this season Hamilton was asked how he felt about making history, and he said that he and his colleagues just went out there and got on with the racing. But for those of us in the press room on that April evening, there was no denying that we were watching a duel that would go down in F1 history as being one of the sport's most beautiful balletic battles, one made all the more stunning by the backdrop of the darkened desert sky.

Best place to party

Formula One may not be all about the parties, but having the chance to let your hair down at the end of a long day in front of the laptop is no bad thing. But I joined the sport too late - since the financial crisis there has been a definite decline in the amount of sponsored debauchery the paddock can get up to. Rather than an endless pile of invitations, post-tobacco, post-2008 F1 saves up its partying for the likes of Monaco and Singapore.

But if you want a little old-skool endless champagne and ice statues and the sort of hedonism that would make Madonna blush, there's only one port of call on the calendar: Shanghai.

The old city with its new skyscrapers has always been said to have had something of a fin de siecle vibe, whether we're talking the Opium Wars, the 1930s of a Shanghai in transition, or the modern city we see today. A trading post where cultures have long met and clashed, with money both old and new, Shanghai is a city which has always enjoyed a good party. And the party to end all parties this season? Let's just say it was morning rush hour on Monday when we staggered onto the Bund at last…

Best surprise

No one expected to enjoy the Austrian Grand Prix. Well, that's not strictly true - the Austrians told us it would be fantastic, but the rest of us were expecting one of "those" rural races with nowhere to stay, nowhere to eat, and nothing to do. Rural circuits may make for some fantastic elevation changes, but not all of them offer much in the way of fun at the end of the working day.

Spielberg was a surprise for those of us who'd missed the Austrian Grand Prix last time around. Not only was Styria so picturesque we all kept looking for the brushstrokes in the painted scenery, but the race itself was a blast. Those interested in roughing it could attend free concerts in the campsites while overindulging on beer, while those in search of a decent meal found a variety of options thanks to restaurants with the nous to extend their opening hours for the week F1 was in town.

It may sound simple, but it's something the bulk of Europe's rural circuits haven't managed to figure out since the world champion kicked off in 1950…

Best place to eat

There are some cities that are just perfect for Formula One. Monaco may be the only place that is entirely given over to its grand prix, but unless your salary is in line with the drivers' it's not really the best place to try to eat and drink. What F1 needs from its city hosts is a place that can offer a variety of entertainment and dining options at a range of price points, and the city that does that best is Montreal.

To be fair, Montreal is the city that does most F1 things best.

Whether you want to bury a hangover in breakfast doughnuts (hello, Tim Horton's!), or pay a bit more for high-end local cooking, Montreal has you covered. Chain options abound, as they do everywhere, but whether you pitch up at a greasy spoon in Chinatown or aim for a high-end joint in Vieux Montreal, it's very hard to eat badly. And because Canada seems to take its portion-size guidelines from its southern neighbour, even the broke among us can eat well for less by sticking to the appetizers.

Whatever you do, don't leave town without trying some poutine. I'd tell you where to go, but the lines at my favourite place are already long enough...

Best freebie

You know how a picture is worth 1,000 words?

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