Yoong's ride provides F1 lessons

While Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber were battling for supremacy at the Brazilian Grand Prix last Sunday, the man who has the unique experience of being team-mate to both of them in F1 was co-driving with this correspondent (and Hong Kong's Marchy Lee Ying-kin) in the Zhuhai 1000km sports car race.

Alex Yoong became Malaysia's first (and still only) Grand Prix driver at the Italian Grand Prix in September, 2001. The then-unknown Spaniard in the other Minardi (now called Toro Rosso - Red Bull's "B-team") was Alonso.

For 2002, Yoong found himself with a new teammate: Mark Webber. While ostensibly a rookie, Webber had actually covered many thousands of kilometers the previous year as test driver for Benetton (now Renault). This was a luxury Yoong never enjoyed. He had moved up to the sport's pinnacle somewhat unprepared because, ironically, it was easier to find sponsorship for F1 than the lower rungs. In all his time in F1 he had only a few days testing (and at that time did not even own a road car!).