Readers may remember stories about Nikodim Nalimov, a fictional character who shares with us all a passionate love for Formula 1. But if the first two were just New Year’s fairy tales, then the third story already has some connection with reality, albeit conditionally. ..
I.
Nikodim Nalimov’s head was spinning a little and there was even a feeling that he was a little cold, although there seemed to be no health problems or to be foreseen. And he snorted for a reason that had nothing directly to do with all this dull gloom that covered Moscow in the last days of December – Nikodim was so emotional after seeing the new Ferrari biopic that… Well, you understand well.
And so he wandered home with wet eyes, devouring one disposable tissue after another, the supply in his jacket pocket almost running out.
“About the supplies, by the way,” thought Nicodemus. “The stock of red wine in the house has dried up and Klava and I haven’t bought Italian for a long time.” But after such a film you should definitely meditate with a glass of something like that, and preferably of the right origin, from Emilia-Romagna, and ideally from Modena in general…”
Experiences overwhelmed him while he was still in the cinema hall, and closer to the end of the film he reached for the first handkerchief, when the intensity of the passions approached a peak. What is it called? The highlight?.. By the way, he also got emotional for a very specific reason – sometimes there are such coincidences that you are amazed!
Of course, Nicodemus once read a detailed biography of Enzo Ferrari without stopping, it was so interesting, but he did not know that the house of the Commendatore in Modena was in Piazza Garibaldi in 1957. But Nalimov lived on Garibaldi Street in Moscow!
Being so thoughtful, he pulled open the door of the Fragrant Planet wine boutique, and a helpful sommelier immediately jumped over.
Nalimov cringed, because he could not stand the intrusiveness of clerks, but this was the case when a consultation would not have hurt him.
– Yes, yes, hello! Can you tell me if you have Italian wines from the Emilia-Romagna region and specifically from Modena?
– Naturally! What are you interested in: red, white, sparkling?
– Red dry.
The sommelier led him to the shelves in the far corner of the store and waved his hand like a conductor to the upper floors in an attempt to immediately draw attention to the containers with four-digit price tags. But Nicodemus, knowing the ways of these people, firmly stopped such ambitions and began to peer defiantly at the labels on the shelves below.
The sommelier resumed the dialogue, but the disappointment was clear in his voice: “Unfortunately we only have sparkling wine from Modena, including red. But just dry, sorry, no, times are such that there is no time for a rich range these days. Be grateful that at least there is something left. But if sparkling wine does not suit you, then among the still wines there is a selection of Italian wines from Emilia-Romagna. For example, I can recommend…”
He carefully took out a bottle from one of the middle shelves that cost less than four thousand rubles, and then Nalimov almost gave in to his gentle pressure, but over time he thought that he had already paid 500 for the cinema ticket.
Without paying attention to the clerk, he stooped to the “clothing circle”, took from his hand a liter box with a proven and reasonable budget product, which he saw for three euros in the supermarkets of Monza when he and Klava went to the Italian Grand Prix Price. Alas, now all that remains are memories of that life… The box says Prodotti in Emila Romagna, and there was no reason to doubt the wine’s correct origin.
An expression of alienation appeared on the sommelier’s face, as if to convey that he and the customer belonged to different levels of society.
II.
At home, Nikodim first scratched the cat Fast, who usually greeted his owner with his tail, behind the ear, after which he unscrewed the cap of the box and poured some of the contents into the glass. Of course, it is not a masterpiece, but it does not offend the taste buds, and the somewhat neutral taste parameters even had their own plus: the linear range did not distract from the thoughts.
And this is where his thoughts flowed: the New Year was approaching, and Nalimov reluctantly admitted to himself that it was unlikely that he would be able to celebrate it in a normal mood. For the first time in many years he was completely uninspired by the prospect of doing what he usually did on the night of the 31st to the 1st, namely: watching the best moments of the past Formula 1 season, collected in chronological order in a video overview of several hours.
We remember what season it was, right, Fast? Everyone was dancing on the tracks to the tune of Max and Red Bull Racing, and although he definitely became champion for the third time, I somehow didn’t want to repeat this story about the glorious son of the Netherlands, or Belgium, or both to look at. instantly.
At the same time, it seemed that there were no alternatives. It’s just that Nikodim has not watched TV for a long time, although he suspected that on New Year’s Eve all the channels would be the same as always: “Irony of Fate” (how can we live without it), “Straw Hat”, “Just miracle ”, “Formula of love” “…
“Love of the Formula…” Nikodim thoughtfully rearranged the words, and then his face lit up. -Eureka!
Nikodim poured himself some more and cut off several slices of cheese, one of which Quickly ate immediately.
After all, you can do without TV at all if you make a program yourself for the entire New Year’s week – the main thing is not to limit yourself to Formula 1, but to include films on racing topics. Something is already in the collection, something has been downloaded but not yet viewed, something can be downloaded in time.
Take for example the recent masterpiece: a four-part documentary series about the amazing history of the Brawn GP team!
III.
The premiere of this miniseries was only in mid-November, and Nalimov was able to watch only the first part, but it turned out so interesting that he is ready to start everything from the very beginning. Just think, the team lasted only one season, but immediately won the championship in every respect. That. in both competitions: Jenson Button took the title and together with Rubens Barrichello they clinched the Constructors’ Championship for Brawn GP.
Additionally, the absolutely amazing Keanu Reeves acts as author-host on the series, he was also one of the producers. And the first words he says off-screen sound something like this: “I want to tell you a story that is hard to believe…” Well, why not a New Year’s fairy tale!? It all started there in December 2008, and then all winter this amazing mess was brewing, which Formula 1 was untangling in 2009.
And that story also raises thoughts about our current times, because it started against the backdrop of the global economic crisis, and now it is not just winter, but ‘The Winter of Our Fear’ – it seems that was the name of the last novel by Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck. And this name well reflects everything that is happening in this world today.
However, we will start working on the books during the holidays, but now we need to develop the theme of cinema, ”Nikodim admonished himself and began to go through in his memory the episodes of the first part of the series about Brawn GP.
He was particularly impressed by the story about one pound sterling. For this amount, the Honda factory team was sold to the then management, led by Ross Brawn and Nick Fry. While this is completely true, the film presents it with typical Hollywood tricks.
Hiroshi Oshima, who was running Honda’s racing programs at the time, talks about one pound sterling there, and years later he talks to Keanu Reeves and asks, “Do you still keep that coin?”
– But of course! – the older Japanese man answers and takes the same pound from his jacket pocket…
IV.
Cool! Well for art! – Nikodim exclaimed out loud, theatrically raising another glass and winking at the cat.
He took a piece of paper and a pen, thought for a moment and wrote: “Selected films…” And then he came up with the funny idea that he could call his own program for the New Year’s holidays, starting with the fantastic story of the team from Brackley: “SelectedBRAWN”.
So on December 31 we say goodbye to the old year with the first part, and in the evening, with champagne and Olivier, you can master the second. You don’t have to watch all four episodes in succession; you can also break it off with something. For example, on the day of January 1, we will lazily enjoy the leftover Olivier salad and other snacks with something nice – the first part of the legendary cartoon “Cars” is perfect!
The puzzle slowly started to take shape.
In the evening with Klava, if we are not visiting, we will watch another part of the Brawn GP story, and the next day some timeless classics. As an option, let’s revisit John Frankenheimer’s Grand Prix, a film shot in 1966 and still considered one of the reference films on racing…
On January 3, we will again invite Keanu Reeves and Jenson Button to visit us, or even Bernie Ecclestone himself can be “invited” – there is an excellent series Lucky!, filmed a year ago by Manish Pandey, and there are generally 8 episodes, enough for the entire holiday!
V.
In general, Nicodemus, under the Italian red, in about forty minutes thoughtfully sketched out on a piece of paper a program for the coming week, arranging everything, as it seemed to him, in a more or less logical order, alternating documentaries with feature films. Of course there was “Ford v Ferrari” and “Race”, also known as Rush, a beautiful film about Niki Lauda and his confrontation with James Hunt; The 1971 Le Mans with Steve McQueen was also not forgotten.
Nalimov even included pop songs like “Days of Thunder” in the list (which was well made at the time), but firmly pushed aside the flashy thought about Stallone’s film, which was originally called Driven. known as “The Racer”.
“This is too much,” he thought. “And if you want something lighter and more fun, there are always multiple seasons of the endless series Drive to Survive, otherwise I never got around to watching it.”
When the list of “From BRAWN” was completed, satisfied with his choice, Nikodim sat down more comfortably on the sofa, the cat immediately began to snuggle against his side, it became warm and cozy, all worries temporarily disappeared into the background, and Nalimov did not even notice how he was overwhelmed by sweetness.
He still had time to think that somehow things weren’t going well – Klava was coming, and there was almost no Vino Rosso from the Emilia-Romagna region left in the liter box – maybe he should run to the store again? he never took action, he was an exhausted dream. He dreamed of red racing cars.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
