Grapevine: Final News from the Paddock - San Marino GP

Bring it On

Jenson Button's girlfriend Louise Griffiths remained calm and cool after her other half created history and secured his first pole position on Saturday. In the aftermath of his perfect qualifying lap of the Imola circuit, pop singer Louise promised she would not provide any distractions overnight on Saturday - despite wanting to celebrate herself. "He's worked so hard and this is a long time coming," she said. "Now it's a case of 'Bring It On', as he would say. I'll stay out of way and support from behind the scenes. I don't want to take his focus away from the race." Ironically, Button seems to have picked up his phrase 'Bring It On' from his trips to see Louise perform in BBC's Pop Idol house, because eventual runner-up Alistair Griffin released the hit 'Bring It On'.

Zanardi's Back

A welcome visitor to the Imola paddock for the San Marino Grand Prix was former Grand Prix driver Alex Zanardi. The Italian, who lost both of his legs in a horrific accident in the ChampCar series at the Lausitzring in Germany in 2001, was a guest of BMW and he bravely walked into the paddock with the aid of two walking sticks. "It is good to be back here as a visitor," said Zanardi, who drives for BMW in a specially adapted car with hand controls in the European Touring Car Championship.

Jule in the Crown

Following Jacques Villeneuve's departure from Formula One at the end of the 2003 season, his former press assistant Jules Kulpinski has moved into a new office - and she is being overworked in her role working with BAR-Honda's Jenson Button. Kulpinski has been inundated with interview requests to speak to the 'new kid on the block' at Imola this weekend following his podium finishes in Malaysia and Bahrain. It could be a coincidence that Button is enjoying his biggest success in Formula One or it could be that she is proving to be a 'Jule in the Crown'.

Storm in a Tea Cup

While Michael Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya may have been involved in a spat in the post-race press conference, a real storm of a different kind had kept journalists in the media centre on Saturday evening. Those working late into the evening were unable, or downright refused, to leave the press room after a two-hour torrential downpour hit the Imola circuit. Thunderstorms arrived as many of the workaholics were leaving, and those refusing to brave a 20-minute walk to the car park were left to wait for their evening meals until the rain abated. It has yet to be confirmed whether noises heard were thunder or merely the cumulative rumblings of journalists' empty stomachs.