The Formula 1 summer break is in full swing. The resultant lack of news has freed up some time, and I’ve put it to good use – by playing Formula 1 Google Auto-Complete Word Association. Snappy title, eh?

It’s easy: type something F1-related into Google, and see what the top auto-complete suggestions are. I’ve done it for all the drivers. It’s quite illuminating. Sort of.

Twitter

The suggestions for most drivers feature twitter somewhere, and it’s the most common top suggestion. Proof that fans are indeed clamouring to ‘engage’ with F1 via ‘social media’. Which equates to following drivers on Twitter – Facebook doesn’t get a look in, as far as Google’s concerned.

Relationships

The next most common top suggestion is girlfriend – often for drivers whose private lives are actually private. Evidently salacious gossip is in demand in F1 circles as it is elsewhere. Personally I couldn’t care less who, if anyone, Sebastian Vettel might be having relations with.

There’s obviously speculation of another kind going on too, with gay cropping up four times. Adrian Sutil is the only one for whom it is the top suggestion – surprising, given the interest around his activities in a Shanghai nightclub, which account for the next suggestions (eric lux and fight).

Small men

Another word that crops up a lot is height. Often for the shorter members of the paddock – take a tiny bow, Nick Heidfeld – but also the taller likes of Mark Webber and Vitaly Petrov.

At least Heidfeld can be satisfied that, with goodwood, he is also remembered for setting the fastest time on the hillclimb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 1999.

Specific events

A lot of drivers are remembered for specific events. Some even older than Heidfeld’s: Rubens Barrichello’s horrific crash at Imola in 1994 (imola crash 1994), for example.

Others are very recent: Pedro de la Rosa driving for Sauber with ten minutes notice in Canada this year, and going out in McLaren overalls as a result (mclaren overalls).

Improbably, hits marshall is a suggestion for two drivers.

In the case of Sebastien Buemi, it refers to this demo run in Japan earlier this year when, for some reason, a marshal ended up trying – and failing – to jump the car.

The other is Pastor Maldonado, in relation to the 2005 incident under yellow flags in Monaco.

Unusual associations

I’m not sure if people are querying his nationality, or whether they’re interested in the pronunciation of his surname (he drops the second ‘i’), but italian is a suggestion for the definitely Australian Daniel Ricciardo.

Spare a thought for actual Italian Jarno Trulli, for whom wine is the top suggestion. He must be pleased by the interest in his wine business, but would perhaps still prefer to be thought of first as a racing driver.

The full list

Continue reading for the full list. The suggestions are constantly changing, so it’s very much as at the time of writing.

Look out for Pastor Maldonado’s braces, Jenson Button’s endorsements, signs that Jerome d’Ambrosio’s nickname is sticking, and how boring Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher are.

Sebastian Vettel: girlfriend, twitter, top gear, salary

Karun Chandhok: twitter, f1, karting karnival, lotus