MUMBAI: On most mornings, Bandra Bandstand witnesses a sea of joggers going up and down the promenade. At each end, fans of Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan wait outside Galaxy and Mannat to get a glimpse of their idols. On Sunday morning, though, people of all age groups — 20,000-plus according to the official estimates — took the vantage points between those two landmarks to see what Formula One is all about and to get the adrenaline rush during the Red Bull Showrun.
A group of friends had come from Pune to watch David Coulthard burn the rubber.
Rayan, 12, donning a Red Bull Racing jacket, urged his father to walk fast so that they can get as close to the action as possible and watch the Briton land those perfect doughnuts. An autorickshaw driver was curious to see how a Formula One car looks like. They returned with memories to cherish and to share it with their close ones as Coulthard enthralled them as he zoomed past the 1.2km stretch and made perfect doughnuts in his RB7 which was powered by a 2,400cc Renault V8 engine.
The car was used by Sebastian Vettel to clinch the 2011 World Championship.
The Briton, who has raced with Williams, McLaren and Red Bull in Formula One, did three sets of two laps each before his car stalled due to overheating. Later, he went up and down the stretch, waving an India flag, signing autographs, and obliging selfie-seekers.
He was disappointed that he couldn’t do more laps but hoped that those gathered enjoyed what his team dished out and learnt a bit more about Formula One.
“I’m sweating but it was great to see an enthusiastic crowd,” said an excited Coulthard. “Obviously, the run was a little bit short because the car was overheating in these conditions, but I think it was an entertaining Sunday morning in Bandra.”
This was the fourth such showrun conducted by Red Bull in India. The first was conducted in Mumbai in 2009 while the next two were held in Delhi (2011) and Hyderabad (2015). This was Coulthard’s third visit to the country having driven the Red Bull cars in 2009 and 2015.
