One of the highlights of a Formula 1 weekend beyond the race itself are the related concerts in the F1 Rocks series. Not every race is special enough to have one, but the lineups tend to be huge.
The inaugural Indian Grand Prix this weekend was supposed to feature a Metallica concert on Friday night, but it was cancelled for technical reasons. It was going to be the band’s first concert ever in India. A couple of the F1 Rocks events have had their share of problems: Eminem’s concert for the 2010 Brazilian race went on as planned in the rain, and David Guetta had to go on an hour late because of software problems at Valencia this year.
Luckily, Lady Gaga was also booked for Sunday night after the race so all was not lost. I was honestly glad to find out the concerts were not together, because Metallica and Lady Gaga is something I’m pretty sure everyone expects only in mashups.
Several drivers took to Twitter to express their excitement for Gaga’s concert. In the case of Jenson Button, this might be a little too much.

For those unfamiliar with John Button, the father of the 2009 world champion, the man is never seen without a pink shirt or a giant smile. But Lady Gaga fan? I hope he made his son join him! Rubens Barrichello retweeted this with a “me too,” but that wasn’t his last mention!

Rubens Barrichello: precious enough to let you know where he’ll be at all times.
Lady Gaga also happened to be performing in Melbourne around the time of the Australian Grand Prix in 2010, so a few lucky driver fans have seen her a couple times now. One of those men is Heikki Kovalainen. Despite his claimed preference for Nightwish, he is clearly a Gaga fan. Don’t deny it, Heikki. Embrace your guilty pleasure.

Best of all, Heikki even provided a quick review of the show.

It’s only fair to assume seven time world champion Michael Schumacher joined him for this concert too. I have a feeling some of the boys may fess up on their attendance soon enough!
F1 Rocks currently has plans for Melbourne and Malaysia next season. Since this event started with the first Singapore Grand Prix, it could be likely we see one of these big concerts with the 2012 United States Grand Prix, just over a year away. If anything, the Austin, Texas, location means there’s music all around anyway. Sometimes you just need more than the sound of 18,000 RPM.