How did you become an f1 fan and what made you stay?

[mjo]

How did you get involved with the greatest sport in the world? And what drew you to it?
For me, it was the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix while channel flicking which really hooked me (even if I did have to put up with James Allen) and what drew me towards the sport and what made me stay a fan was the dramatic moments (Brazil 2008) and the amazing car control,great drives and bravery (2007 Japan, 2008 Britain, 2008 Italy) and the bonkers GP's (2011 Canadian Grand Prix, 2010 Korean Grand Prix). As you can probably tell from the GP's I've put up here, my favourite races are wet ones, just to admire the level of skill involved and the knowledge that anything can happen at any time (more likely in wet races).

I'm just interested to know what drew people to the sport that we all love and watch religiously (well, until Sky take over in 2012)

 

[no-FIAt-please]

One boring day I turned on ITV. It just happend to be the 2006 Hungarian GP, the races after I watched when I could but it wasn't until 2007 that I was hooked. At Oz 2007 I decided whoever impressed me most would be my driver, after turn 1 that was Lewis Hamilton and the rest is history.

When Sky takes over next year I don't know what I'll do... I guess I'll watch the races on BBC and try and find a stream of the the other races or if there are complete deferred broadcasts I'll avoid the news and watch them.

 

[MCLS]

2001 German grand prix, I guess the sight of cars flying in the air (literally if you are in a Prost) is rather exciting for a 7 year old kid

 

[Jos the Boss]

I first saw Brazil 2008, then next I remember is Malaysia 2010, then Monaco, Turkey, Canada, Valencia, Britain, Hungary, Spa, Monza, Singapore and waking up early for Japan and Korea, seeing Brazil and an epic title decider in Abu Dhabi. So 2011 I was 'hooked' as they say!

 

[Dario Resta]

My late dad. A huge motor racing fan, got me into F1 in about 1973, when I was a lad of 6-7 years old. Sadly, the closest I came to being involved was a spot of Motocross in the early / mid 80s.

I reckon I could have been a contender though......

 

[cider_and_toast]

Two words, Lotus and Senna, then I was hooked.

 

[Josh]

My dad and my brother have pretty much always watched it, so I watched it with them since I was six... Didn't really get it back then, I was mainly watching because of the crashes! I started watching regularly back in 2005 and have been getting into the more technical parts of it ever since I joined this forum.

 

[The Artist.....]

2 words - Nigel Mansell.... (I know!?!?)..... - The first race that I have absolutely clear memories of was Estoril 1990 - praying for the race to be stopped early since I had memories of Mansell's car breaking all through the season!

 

[z24]

While I always loved cars, and like many boys I started playing with toy cars before even walking, when I was a kid I never watched races because nobody in my family was a motorsports fan. That was until I "discovered" a tourism race on tv: it was the italian championship and the race was very exciting: overtakes, oversteering, door to door contacts, and crashes.
Since then, I began watching f1 races too, expecting the same level of excitement (which I didn't find)... It was around 1993-1994, not so long before Senna accident, and I was a Honda fan (McLaren-Honda at that time) because I loved Honda car models.
Even if I've always preferred tourism races (wtcc, btcc) and rallies, I never stopped watching them, maybe because of habit, maybe because f1 have always had more tv coverage than other categories, and maybe because it was quite exciting, at least before Ferrari started to dominate in 2004 and the increase in performance reduced the number of fights and overtakes. Fortunately, the last 2 or 3 years have been a lot more exciting!

 

[ATL11]

Watching James Hunt mid 70's, what drew me to it, just the speed, the noise, the cars & Murray Walker.

 

[Bill Boddy]

I was brought up in a family involved in motor racing, mostly bikes when it came to going to a circuit to watch. My first race meeting was bikes at Esholt Park, now defunct and the home area of Emmerdale!

Having copies of Motor Sport lying around and getting books from the library about the sport (great ones about Bira) helped. Eventually F1 was available on tv so that we could see races that we couldn't hope to get to.

 

[Abnash24]

f1 came to melbourne-where i live and i was at a school swimming carnival which convieniently borders the track [im 14]. Basically i was not swimming the whole day and F1 cars was the only interesting thing to watch and so i sat at the top of the massive grandstand and watched ad got hooked

 

[GermanF1]

I was brought up in a family involved in motor racing, mostly bikes when it came to going to a circuit to watch. My first race meeting was bikes at Esholt Park, now defunct and the home area of Emmerdale!

Then you might like this one, and haha look at the amazing "driver tracker"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve5coEhtiTU

 

[teabagyokel]

1999

 

[siffert_fan]

I first saw F1 drivers when they came down to take part in the Tasman series in the early 60s. That's when I first met the great Jim Clark. We then started to attend races in Europe, both sports car( when it was really a Manufacturers championship) and Formula One races as well. The first F1 we attended was Spa which hooked both of us (me and my future wife). The same drivers competed in both series, so the worlds best were REALLY there, no like today where the disciplines are mutually exclusive.

I prefer sports cars today, as the featureless Tilke tracks and drivers that seem to be as much corporate schill as racer have really dulled my interest.

 

[GermanF1]

My dad watched most of the races on TV when I was a kid. So when I was 8 years old, in 1995, I went to the living room for some reason and watched the German GP with my dad, which was won by Michael Schumacher. I did not watch another race of the 1995 season, but all of the races in 1996 (including the races I had to get up for early in the morning, even my dad thought I was crazy). From then on I've been loving this sport

 

[Il_leone]

Two words

Nigel Mansell - I think despite the fact that he was not considered in the same league as Senna and Prost - you knew if the car was up the job he would be there fighting both and make some fantastic passes

Why stick with the sport ?
When Mansell retired - 1993 was a let down although Prost did make a meal of it. Schumacher's dominance was boring to watch because of all the politics

But I still watch it because of all the pyschology, preparation and understanding the different mind sets and approaches of drivers and teams to races plus off course there is always the politics to debate about as well

 

[mjo]

I was mainly watching because of the crashes!

Weren't all of us watching because of that when we were young?!

 

[Slyboogy]

I have always been fascinated by cars before I could walk! When I was younger I loved any type of motor racing, now it's mainly just F1, can't remember my first ever race though.

But the first race that comes to memory is the 1999 Australian GP, I watched F1 a year or two before too, I know that since I have video cassettes with races recorded from then, and everyone else in my family telling me I that I watched it before. Schumacher nursing the and getting points while Irvine winning in a Ferrari, and most of the cars dropping out, I still remember that only 9 cars finished that race!

I just remember cheering for Ferrari, don't know why I liked Ferrari, and I don't know why I liked Schumacher, but I just remember cheering for them even before the race started

Didn't like McLaren, because they had rocketships, and I never liked Ron Dennis from the get go, plus Schumacher always somehow managed to challenge the McLaren's, and the Williams before.

My two memorys were I probably rank at the top would be Brazil 2007, and 2008. 2007 just the sheer joy of Raikkonen and Ferrari winning out of nowhere, Alonso not becoming the worlds youngest triple champion therefore not beating Schumacher's record (again), Hamilton losing as I totally did not like him one bit from the Monaco race onwards, arrogant, cocky, smug, his actions on track and off track, I actually liked this guy at the start of the season. Finally Raikkonen won the title he wanted...looked like a new era for Ferrari.

Then there's 2008, being a die hard Ferrari fan from what I can remember, seeing a Ferrari car win was great for me, I supported Raikkonen and Massa, then Raikkonen was out of the battle, and Massa was left, Massa was proving everyone wrong in that 2008, some of his drives where just amazing, to see him where he is now, is a pain. But the emotions when Vettel passed Hamilton, I got the goosebump feeling, out of nowhere in that race, Massa might actually become champion?

He crosses the line...and wooow! The roar from the crowd when he crosses the line! Then confusion...camera is on Hamilton and Vettel, Hamilton crosses the line in 5th, both Ferrari and McLaren garages celebrating, who won?

Hamilton

And who lost in a cruel way?

Felipe baby

Not a Ferrari fan anymore for some reason, and now I support a driver that's half man and half moose

 

[Galahad]

My father was a passionate motorsports fan going back to the 1960s, and he took me to the British GP at Brands Hatch in 1982. Pretty much from that day on I've been hooked - the sights, sounds and smells were all equally intoxicating! Ever since I've voraciously devoured as much motorsport as I can take, and for all the changes I still get the same shiver of excitement when the red lights come on!