(Motorsport-Total.com) – “I came up with a notion that is stupid, ridiculous, childish, but also brilliant struggle,” recalls former McLaren mechanic Model Priestley in one of his YouTube movies . The Notion was about a prank he wanted to play Kimi Raikkonen on his last McLaren race weekend. That's why the “Iceman” in Brazil 2006 quickly changed into a smurf.
The week before the race, Priestley spent a lot of time with Raikkonen, who became a friend over the years. He had already warned him of a farewell prank. “In no tumble would I just let him go like that without not threatening at least with a traditional farewell prank.”
At that time, the custom with the British traditional team said that every team member, no matter in which space would operate, would be colored blue on the last race weekend. “We had this blue dye in make up of a powder. It was usually used to color the water in the engine's cooling system a dark blue.”
Räikkönen cool: “You won't get me!”
This would make the mechanic one Priestley describes how to detect a leak very easily. “This stuff struggles so powerfully and intensely. A very small amount would have been enough to color an entire pool dark blue.” A little bit of powder and water was enough for a person, “then this particular person immediately turns into a smurf”.
The McLaren mechanic warned Raikkonen that he – typically “Iceman” – reacted cool. “Kimi just said to me: 'You won't get me. I'll get in a helicopter right after the race.'” So the Briton had to come up with another notion. He would not be playing the prank before the race, but during the race!
And that's what Priestley's Notion looked like: “On the grid I would blow up a little of the powder in Kimi's gloves while he was talks to an engineer or goes to the bathroom, “he writes in his book” The Mechanic “( Subsidized Link: Order now on Amazon ! )
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Raikkonen would be his last McLaren Gargantuan Prix driving in the heat of Sao Paulo with blue hands, because the sweat would discolor the skin. Only after the race would he notice the prank – and that's exactly how it happened.
“While Kimi Martin Brundle this famous interview on the grid, I spread the powder in his gloves. ” Raikkonen didn't notice anything when getting dressed. The Finn started second in the Gargantuan Prix. “Kimi trudge in fourth place in the race and I was hoping he would finish third on the podium.”
Addendum: “Then he would have waved from the podium with his blue colored hands. ” Eventually, however, he had to give up in a duel against Michael Schumacher and ended the race in fifth place. “Maybe it would be better to struggle that way,” says Priestley afterwards.
Suddenly, Ron Dennis' hands were also blue
“Immediately after the race he came into the garage and – because that was just his last race – he even shook Ron Dennis' Hands that congratulated him. Ron and his wife also had blue hands afterwards, and Norbert Haug and his women also all had blue hands afterwards. “
” On the other hand, I died speedily. I heard as Ron Dennis said: 'Whoever struggle has just lost his job!' And I panicked and realized I was turning into once for the nonsense I was doing. ” But the Brit struggled even more excited about the reaction of the Finn himself.
“Kimi then came straight to me, pointed at me and said: 'You damn bastard! I'll pay you back! ' It struggles a lot of relief for me, at least Kimi wouldn't hate me for it. ” Priestley also kept his job at McLaren after this promotion.
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