MONACO FEELS THE PINCH
Credit crunch starting to bite in F1's glamour world
YOU know the credit crunch is serious when even Monaco starts to feel the pinch.
Hotel and restaurant owners have been left scratching their heads as GP fans swerve the glamorous race in a bid to save the pennies.
A half empty harbour and loads of vacant hotel rooms have meant the usually packed Principality looks more like a ghost town than the hottest place on the planet.
Former F1 driver and hotel owner David Coulthard is also feeling the pinch with his normally sold-out swanky Columbus hotel offering cut-price rooms.
Fredrik Aspegren, manager of the Columbus hotel said people have stayed away: "It is amazing, during the Grand Prix we normally have a waiting list of people begging to stay here - but this year we have lots of rooms available.
"We have all the drivers here but still we are empty - I think the global recession has now come to Monaco."
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HI, BERNIE
HERE I am cosying up to the most powerful man in Formula One, Bernie Ecclestone, in Monaco late on Friday night.
We were both at the Onlookers at the The Amber Lounge fashion show, where Bernie's daughter Petra showed off her latest collection.
Formula One's great and good, including Prince Albert of Monaco, Liz Hurley, Little Britain star David Walliams, Virgin boss Richard Branson, Princess Beatrice and Sir Elton John's partner David Furnish, all turned out to support the charity event.
John Button had yet another reason to be proud of son Jenson, who strutted his stuff on the catwalk along with Lewis Hamilton.
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GIB HIM A GO
JINXED MOTOGP rider Sete Gibernau insists he will be ready for his home race despite breaking his collarbone for the THIRD time.
The unlucky Spaniard, who suffered the injury in practice at the French MotoGP, says he should be fit to compete at the Cataluyna circuit after undergoing surgery.
He said: "I'm mentally strong and I would love to be ready for Mugello but I think it is too soon, we have to look to Barcelona. Hopefully we can get ready for that. The surgery was good.
"The collarbone is OK as they were able to see that it has no problems from the previous surgeries and the other broken part has now healed perfectly
"I have broken the bone in a new place and afterwards they could see that the new plate and the screws have been fitted well to the bone. So now we just have to wait, prepare physically and that is our main goal."
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DAVIDSON'S MANS-SIZE JOB
BRITISH Formula One reject and commentator Anthony Davidson has landed a dream Le Mans 24-hour drive with Aston Martin Racing.
Former Super Aguri driver Davidson will partner F1 veteran Jos Verstappen and experienced sports car racer Stuart Hall in next month's legendary event.
Hemel Hempstead-born Davidson, who competed for the Prodrive team at Le Mans in 2003, said: "As a British driver, racing for a team as prestigious as Aston Martin is a fantastic opportunity.
"I know the team and its capabilities extremely well and I'm convinced there is nobody better prepared to tackle all the challenges that Le Mans will present us with.
"At the test I felt comfortable with the car straight away and now I'm looking forward to taking the fight to the other teams. I'm certainly aiming for us to be the quickest petrol car there and hopefully we can get in among the diesels as well."
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