Albers a Hawk? — show him the money

It was a different kind of lap training for the Spyker F1 drivers today at Waverley Park. Looking at life from behind a wheel, traveling at 300km an hour is somewhat different to doing laps on foot and trying to kick an oval shaped ball.

Once Christijan Albers and Adrian Sutil donned their Hawthorn kits and pulled up their brown and gold socks, it was time for some one-on-one coaching from Hawthorn champion Peter Knights.

Both drivers picked up the concept of kicking the football quickly, albeit some individual style was introduced.

The 30 minute practice session was all that the racing duo needed before meeting the players and leading the team onto the ground for some real skills training.

Albers was more than impressed, and surprised, by the size of our elite athletes.

“I can’t believe how big they are,” Albers, who weighs about 64kg, said.

“I have a deep respect for them, they must be very fit.

“You would have to pay me a very very big salary for me to do what they do.”

The Spyker F1 team concluded its final testing a week ago in Spain in what was the team’s last official test before the Australian Grand Prix.

The difference in pace between the two sports will be proven this weekend as Albers and Sutil take to the track at Albert Park on Sunday 18 March while Hawthorn’s 44 players wind-down from Saturday’s clash against Essendon at Casey Fields by joining their fans at Glenferrie Oval for the Hawks’ 2007 March Family Day (Sunday 18 March).