There is hardly any similarity between a steering wheel and a cricket bat in form or use, except that one can drive with both. So with Gautam Gambhir driving MRF’s Formula Car in numerous promos, why can’t Formula One racer Mark Webber not chance his arm over and practice the sort of drives he is unused to? Drive he did, as both Gambhir and Webber confronted each other for nearly 20 minutes at the Noida International University. Typical of his Aussie mentality, he returned with an enhanced knowledge about the game. “A trip to India is incomplete without the delicious food and a game of cricket. Cricket as a sport requires a lot of concentration and hand-eye coordination, especially under extreme conditions, and so does F1. As an athlete, I am always eager to try my hand at new sports and Wednesday’s experience made it worthwhile,” said Webber.
He is pleased at Sachin Tendulkar being accorded the Order of Australia. “Tendulkar has been an incredible cricketer and one of the most amazing sportspersons the world.”
The Delhi southpaw, too, cherished the opportunity. “It was a rare experience of playing cricket with a F1 athlete, Mark Webber. I am looking forward to watch the Indian GP from the race circuit, with Webber and Vettel battling it out on the track,” he reflected. Maybe, he too learnt a few things of driving in the faster lane from the 36-year-old.