One could have easily mistaken the packed visitor stands at Rajpath on Saturday for a Republic Day gathering, but for the strong afternoon Sun. Instead of drums and marching soldiers, the traditional parade ground played host to the speed machine —Red Bull Formula-1 car.
The vroom and the lightning speed of the F-1 car sent the crowd into a tizzy. At the centre of all this madness was a blue Renault zipping across the central vista in New Delhi at 250-270 km an hour.
Delhi got the first taste of F1 on Saturday, ahead of the real thing — Grand Prix — to be showcased at Greater Noida from October 28 to 30. Red Bull, one of the participants of the upcoming race, presented a car show — Speed Street — here on Saturday in a flag-off event.
Braving the scorching sun, Delhliites made the most of it this festive weekend. Spectators included die-hard motor lovers, school and college students and professionals, who had taken a day off, and even curious onlookers. Of course, celebrities and corporate biggies occupied prime seats at the venue. But the excitement kept them on their toes.
Rock band, Indian Ocean, built up the mood, while daredevil bikers wooed the crowd with their life-cheating stunts. Besides going in circles on front wheel, rapidly emitting thick smoke, they also displayed some breathtaking stunts, including the stand-up wheelie.
But the excitement hit the crescendo when Red Bull-supported racer Daniel Ricciardo stepped on the gas.
The crowd went berserk when he accelerated the machine within seconds after leaving one end of Rajpath, racing to the other. Though it was not a new machine, the car managed to touch 250-270 km, crisscrossing Rajpath — the majestic road that connects Rashtrapati Bhavan with India Gate in the capital.
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Even in its old body, the racing car was so fast that the humble mobile phone with its 2.5-megapixel camera failed to capture a shot.
When the brute sound of the F1 car was out and gone, all that one was left with was a collective ‘wow’ from the boisterous crowd.
Even as the venue was quite chaotic and people had to walk miles to reach there, the pain was worth it.
After all, it is not every day that you can go vrooming!