Ann Bradshaw, a journalist and press officer with three decades of experience in motor racing, and one of the most respected workers in the F1 paddock, follows the 2002 season in her post-race column, offering F1 fans an insight into the life of those who spend the GP weekend inside the paddock

Last year it was all doom and gloom in the UK as everyone was certain the British Grand Prix was going to be taken away and given to some country where it was not necessary to have a master plan to get the traffic in and out as no one went to watch. There was the sword of Damocles hanging over the Silverstone track and rumour was rife that due to the traffic congestion experienced getting in and out of this Northamptonshire track, the FIA was going to take the event away.

The "Save Our Race" campaign began, and when the meeting was held to discuss the race's future, it was almost an anti-climax when very early on the agenda it was agreed that, as long as the road improvements were completed in time, the threat was over. The circuit lodged a bond against not completing the work and I am delighted to say it was returned well before this year's race as the necessary work had been completed. The British Grand Prix was well and truly saved and there was a collective sigh of relief from everyone except the teams!

If you can't understand why we don't all love our home race let me explain. For years we have had to suffer long traffic queues to get in and out of the circuit and no one will forget the 2000 event, when the race weekend grounded to a halt due to weeks of rain in the run-up to the Easter date, causing the circuit to become an enormous quagmire. Things got so bad that it was decided to refuse admission on Saturday to anyone in a vehicle who did not have a car park label.

It was a sad place as the fans, who are some of the keenest in the world, were denied the chance to see their heroes qualify, and also for the teams it was strange to look across and see empty grandstands. As a sport we were made to look stupid with news crews rushing to the circuit to do stories - after all they didn't need to pay millions of dollars in rights fees to the FOA to film car parks, and this was where the story was!

Also, you have to understand that the pressure at a home race is great both from within and without. Everybody you have ever met over your years in the sport rings and asks for a pass, and also those who do get a pass are hopeful of being offered hospitality, despite the fact the teams are already packed to the gunnels with guests from the sponsors.

It was then no surprise to me when at the time of the "Save Our Race" campaign I came across an article that I had to ask to be sanitised as I did not want to upset the public, while privately I would have loved to let it go. I was asked to check an article to be printed in one of the BMW magazines and there was an interview with WilliamsF1's ever-honest technical director Patrick Head. The opening paragraph started with the words 'I hate the British Grand Prix at Silverstone'. I have known Patrick for years and apart from considering him a very good friend, I admire him for his honesty. He is usually absolutely right in what he says, although sometimes we have to admit honesty is not the best policy. Sadly, in this case it was not as feelings were running so high that I had to ask the publishers to remove this quote. To this day I feel embarrassed about it and wish to publicly apologize to Patrick, as from a team perspective it is a hard race and a weekend we all wish to be over as soon as it starts.

Having said this, WilliamsF1 have had some great results at the British Grand Prix and this year is the 24th anniversary of that first ever win for the team by Clay Regazzoni in 1979. Since then, the team have won a further nine British Grands Prix. I remember the emotion in the 1994 race, when Damon won for not only WilliamsF1, but also for British Motor Sport. However, for sheer crowd excitement, 1992, when Nigel Mansell won and then broke down on the slowing down lap and was mobbed, was, I am sure, the crowd's favourite.

The crowd just rushed onto the track and the car that was still going slowly had to come to a halt after running over one of the fans. I have to say in some countries this would have resulted in an expensive lawsuit for imagined injuries received. Not in the UK, the fan was so excited that he wanted to thank Nigel. Our wonderful tabloid press made sure he was an instant hero and arranged for him to personally meet Nigel.

My first race working for WilliamsF1 was 1985 and to this day that year's pole qualifying lap is still one of the most amazing I have seen. Keke Rosberg was our driver and, like most Finns I know, he is cool and quick. We had suffered a shower in the morning and in some places there were still some damp patches on the track. This didn't stop Keke, who just got in the car and gave it his all. At the end of the lap he had done the first 160mph average lap of a Grand Prix circuit and got the crowd on their feet. Keke was a 'seat of the pants' driver and I can't ever remember him complaining, like some do, that he couldn't do this and couldn't do that because the car was not right. He used to just get in and drive, and on this July afternoon at Silverstone he even ignored a deflating tyre that made the car slide as he came round Woodcote to complete the lap. He got out of the car and, as usual, put on the thickest anorak he could find and lit a cigarette.

The journalists came rushing down, out of breath from both unusual exertion and the sheer brilliance of the lap. At the head of them were Nigel Roebuck and Alan Henry - two of Britain's best motor sport journalists. They were so excited that they instantly started going on to Keke about the lap and describing it to him. When they finally came to the end of their narrative Keke just looked at them, took a drag on his cigarette and said 'It wasn't that exciting'.

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This year it was again the turn of a WilliamsF1 driver to take the coveted pole slot and, after what can only be described as a 'surprising' result for a session that had been dominated by the two Ferraris, it was Juan Pablo Montoya whose name was at the top of the timesheets. As the session was into its closing minutes there was the usual last-minute rush to get out on the track when it was at its quickest. The traffic going out the pitlane was reminiscent of a rush hour motorway.

No one really expected much in these conditions when suddenly the sector times relating to Juan Pablo turned purple - the colour that says you are quickest. Everyone held their breath and both in the garage in the various motorhomes associated with the team there were scenes of jubilation when he crossed the line and the number one position came up. For me, it was deja vu and I immediately thought back to the Keke lap. It was, therefore, no surprise to me when I was talking to Nigel Roebuck a few hours later that he also had the same thought. In fact, it was acknowledged in the paddock that this was, perhaps, one of the best qualifying laps round the circuit since 1985.

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It is hoped Silverstone has been assured a place on the Grand Prix schedule for the foreseeable future, but it came as a surprise to read in the press on Monday morning that Bernie Ecclestone thought it was badly organised. Due to bad weather conditions he had been forced to abandon his helicopter at a local airfield and finish his journey by car. His outburst after what must have been a traumatic journey was "It's a county fair masquerading as a world event." Let's hope this will not affect its standing after the running of 53 British races.

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Sadly some countries' World Championship races have been short-lived and among them was the Swedish Grand Prix at Anderstorp that only lasted for six years from 1973 to 1978. I was lucky enough to attend this race and the weekend before Silverstone was reminded about it when I went there again for their ETCC race. Nothing had changed on the track but a concrete roof had been put over the pitlane to afford some cover from the rain that came on and off over the weekend.

The Swedes are very hospitable and did a first in my motor sport career: put the media centre in a hostelry, the Stop and Go Pub. Sweden is a lovely country but a traffic jam is two cars at a junction. It was a very relaxing weekend and brought back memories of the famous Brabham fan car that ran here and was then banned, and how the members of the Grand Prix paddock who had their own planes - you could count them on the fingers of one hand in those days - had to wait for practice to finish before landing them on the main straight.

The surprising thing about this weekend for me was how many Swedes actually braved what turned out to be a very wet Sunday to watch the sports cars and touring cars. Mind you, I suppose when you live not far from the Artic Circle in a land where the sun shines all summer and it is night all winter a little bit of rain is not a problem. Also most of them were driving their sturdy locally built Volvos. I have always been a fan of what was once unfairly nicknamed the Swedish Tractor.

A great racing programme has elevated it from being an old man's car to a smart sporty model for the young upwardly mobile man. However, I have to say I found its slogan plastered round the racetrack a little out of kilter with its new image. 'Volvo for Life' rather reminded me of the sort of dull but reliable car that you bought and kept for ever, rather than something you showed off to your envious mates down at the local pub and swapped every time a new model came out.

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Anyway, enough of Sweden, now to this year's Silverstone. My run-up to the race was flat out working alongside Compaq, now merged with Hewlett-Packard, with the plans for the rebrand of the BMW WilliamsF1 Team. It was two months since the merger and since then we had been working nonstop to make sure on American Independence Day not only was there not a Compaq logo to be found anywhere, but also there was a new television advertisement ready to air, there was a new website ready to go live, there were new shots of the cars and drivers in every pose possible, and there was a new motorhome ready to welcome everyone at Silverstone. I am delighted to say this was achieved and I even spent the day before, which incidentally was my birthday, stuffing press packs and putting the finishing touches to the plans alongside the HP Formula One Manager, Kelli Bartlett. It was hard work but fun, and I have to admit when the car was unveiled in all its finery on the 4th I felt quite proud.

As usual we had a photo shoot with the car and Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher all in the new livery. The two drivers had to stand side by side and have their photos taken like any mates having a good time together. Last year much was made of the war between these two and a frequent question to either was 'how do you get on with your teammate?' One thing I am happy to report is this fierce rivalry is confined to the track and recently Juan Pablo told me how much better they were getting on this year, even though the rivalry had been overplayed.

One demonstration of how friendly the two camps are came on Thursday when I saw a delighted Cora Schumacher (Ralf's wife) in conversation with Rick Jones (a delightful businessman from Florida who as well as being Juan Pablo's father's neighbour is also the young driver's confidante and manager). Rick had noticed at the previous race that Cora used Bobby Brown make-up, which it seems she was telling him was almost impossible to get in Austria where the couple live. Rick filed this information away in his memory bank and on the way to the UK stopped at Miami duty free and bought her the biggest selection he could find. Needless to say Cora was delighted with this.

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Before signing off this column I must tell you all about a new book that has hit the shelves and I am told is a great read, although have not been able to start it myself due to the busy past week. Perry McCarthy, one of the most unlucky drivers in being in the wrong place at the wrong time, has put pen to paper and come up with a great read called Flat Out, Flat Broke. I was lucky enough to be invited to the launch of this in London on 1st July and had a great evening reminiscing about the old days.

Perry was part of a Rat Pack made up of the likes of Damon Hill, Martin Brundle, Mark Blundell, Julian Bailey, Martin Donnelly and Johnny Dumfries, who all had great fun driving in the 80s and 90s but differing amounts of success. The nice thing was all these guys turned up to toast Perry as even though he was not the first of them to write a book, he was the first to do it himself. It was a great evening which ended up with about 20 of us descending on the very smart Langan's Brasserie to continue telling stories from the old days and drinking drinks that ranged from Pimms to Beer.

As you can imagine I could go on for ever with this column, but after seeing my great mate Jo Ramirez at the weekend and being accused of writing a lot here I shall stop.

For me it is a trip to a strange circuit in Germany I have never heard of before for the ETCC and then it is the French Grand Prix. I can promise you some great tales of parties in the south of France before this lovely event was moved to Magny-Cours, a circuit that makes Silverstone on a wet British Summer weekend seemed delightful!

About the author:
Ann Bradshaw - Annie - began her motor racing career as a teenager, helping out her brother in local rally races in England, where she grew up. In the 1970s she organised motor racing events in England, and was later the press officer for the RAC MSA - the motorsport governing body in Britain. In mid 1980s, she became press officer to team Lotus, where she worked with Ayrton Senna. Shortly after, she moved to the Williams team and was working there for several years, when once again she found herself working with Senna. She worked with Damon Hill after the Brazilian's death, and moved with the British Champion to Arrows. She also worked with the Panoz team in the United States, before becoming a freelance press officer, now working with Compaq and BAR among others. Annie joined Atlas F1 as a regular columnist in April 2002.