F1 News
Blundell: "I used to call him the fastest garbage guy in the west!"
- GPblog.com
Former Formula 1 and Champ Car driver Mark Blundell has a special relationship with two-time Indy500 winner Arie Luyendyk. The Brit is one of his best friends and they lived close to each other in their time in the US. Blundell let us know that Luyendyk even put out his garbage for him!
Blundell, who finished on the podium three times but never won a Grand Prix in his four years in Formula 1, moved to the United States in 1996 to try his hand at CART. That is where he met Luyendyk, who was already known there as 'The Flying Dutchman'.
In conversation with Dutch publication RTL GP, Blundell says that Luyendyk and he are very attached to each other. The Brit lived in the US for 17 years but moved back to his homeland. Luyendyk still lives in Scotsdale.
"Arie is one of my best friends ever," Blundell said about Luyendyk. "Arie is a fantastic guy, [he lived] very close to where I lived [in Scotsdale].
"Arie used to put my garbage out for me you know. I used to call him the fastest garbage guy in the west!"
Luyendyk's legacy lives on in the world of Formula 1, even though he never drove in it. Zandvoort's famous banked final corner is named after the 66-year-old.