Best rumor of the Formula One week so far: A guest threatened to buy the Driskill Hotel.
A few of our reported visitors, such as Mexican mogul Carlos Slim, aka the world’s richest man, could probably put it on his JPMorgan Chase Palladium card.
Penelope Hamilton and Andy Jones
Billionaires were in short supply at Formula One downtown events on Friday. The swankiest affair in the early evening was the Best of Britain cocktail party in a pop-up party room sort of behind Lamberts Downtown Barbecue.
Diplomats, politicos and trade types gathered around a sporty McLaren in the otherwise blank space. On hand, of course, were Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Susan Combs, who helped land the United States Grand Prix, Austin Assistant City Manager Sue Edwards, who steered the project through our famous bureaucracy, and Mexican Consul General Rosalba Ojeda.
Given the Mexican presence at the races, Ojeda would love to stage a trade presentation like the one the British gave. Legendary driver Jackie Stewart showed up after I left.
Kako and Kei Iwao
The Mix3r party at Six was a mystery to unlock. Lots of young folks there. Turns out Mix3r is a combination of fitness and entertainment that will make its debut at the Circuit of the Americas in the spring. We look forward to that. Anything to stay fit.
Andrea Trisdale and Ari Witkin
The Fan Fest began to rumble a bit after 6 p.m. The crowds thickened in the Warehouse District around 10 p.m. Let’s not forget that our European and Latin American friends don’t initiate nightlife until after 1 a.m. So the fact that many flocked to this high-octane street festival before I retired for the evening bode well.
Ran into enthusiastic downtowners Linda Ball and Forrest Preece fighting their way across the Fan Fest to Congress, where chef David Bull presented a truffle-themed dinner. If you’ve truffles, serve ‘em.
Jim Nettles and Susana Garza
More that Friday night on the next post: Race Ball at the Four Seasons Hotel, Sapphire Room at Parkside, My Yacht F1 Club at Ballet Austin, Lounge 88 at La Zona Rosa and F1 Temptations at Maria Maria, plus some pop-up bars.