Max shoots clay pigeons for a solution
Published on 07 July 2016 by Niels Hendrix
Ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix stars of F1 and beyond took aim at finding a solution to spinal injury-related disability, with drivers, team personnel and special guests taking part in a star-studded clay pigeon shoot in aid of the Wings for Life charity.
Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo, Christian Horner and David Coulthard were joined by Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz, ex-F1 stars turned TV pundits Damon Hill and Martin Brundle as well as teams from Pirelli, Manor Racing and Tag Heuer to lock and load in a highly competitive shoot out at the beautiful West Wycombe estate in the UK.
The 30-strong band of shooters arrived at the 6,000-acre estate at Wednesday 10am with the sun beating down for a full briefing on how the action would unfold and also for an all-important morning cuppa and a biscuit. Then, divided into teams of five, they hopped aboard a fleet of 4x4s and were whisked to different locations around the grounds to undertake simultaneous shoots.
Three shoots took place before they squads broke for a traditionally tea break next to the Cascades in the centre of the estate and after the midday treat there were two more shoots before a final shoot in front of the main house to establish just who were the day's crack shots. In the end that turned out to Red Bull Racing Team 1, headed by Christian and featuring Daniel and Max as well as Aston Martin Chairman Dr Carlo Bonomi and Sky TV F1 expert Martin Brundle.
The other teams, which also featured Fabiana Ecclestone, Manor Racing owner Stephen Fitzpatrick, Manor Team Principal Dave Ryan and Tag Heuer Chairman Robert Diver, didn't leave empty-handed however, with plenty of other team and individual awards being handed out to keen-eyed marksmen and women.
“It was fun to shoot for the first time. I wouldn't say I was very good. I had one round in which I think I did pretty well, but the others I was pretty hopeless”, admitted Daniel afterwards. “Actually, as a kid I was afraid of loud noises. I was actually quite a fast runner but I would always lose in 100m sprints because I'd just stand there with my ears blocked and wait for everyone else to start to running. True story!”
The Aussie was pleased too that the event had been attracted competitors from across the F1 paddock. “That was the nice thing about today. There were all different people from the sport – drivers, team managers, commentators, ex-drivers you name it. It was cool. I always enjoy it when different groups get together for a cause. To be supporting any charity or good cause is great but Wings for Life is a particularly close one to Red Bull”, he said. “Spinal cord injury is very serious. You take these things for granted for sometimes - that you can get up and go for a run – so yeah it's nice to support something and try to have a positive influence on it and try to find a cure.”
Max, too, enjoyed the saying: “It was really good fun. I wouldn't say it's too similar to F1 but it does need good hand-eye coordination and all the F1 drivers are good at that. It's really important that we support Wings for Life”, he added. “It's great that they invest so much time in events such as this and at the end they generate so much money for research. It was a really good day.”
Click here to enter our competition with a chance to win a Red Bull Racing teamline polo!
