How, when, and why did you start watching Formula One?

[astrosdude91]

This discussion began in the 2011 Australian Grand Prix race thread. So rather can continue to clutter up that thread, I've taken the liberty of creating one for everyone to share their experiences. Before I created the thread, I searched all around and used as many different words, letters, and phrases that I could think of, but nothing came up. So here we go.

To start off, I'll share my story.

In February 2010, my best friend moved into a new place, and his cable setup included SPEED Channel, which broadcasts F1 here in the states. We both decided that we would start following F1. Formula One was something I've always wanted to get into, but I never had SPEED Channel at my place, so I couldn't. I've only even watched a few races throughout the years, but I really liked what I saw each time. Now though, the opportunity presented itself, so I took it. We were originally going to both root for USF1. But we all know how that went down. So we decided that we would root for someone else. I chose Red Bull, because I liked the drink, and the company image. My friend chose McLaren, because he understood that the team had alot of history in the sport. The rest is history, and today I can say that we are both diehard F1 fans.

So what's your story?

 

[Stiggy]

The first F1 race I watched was Melbourne 2002, when Webber finished 5th in the Minardi (I have been a Webber and Minardi Fan ever since then) but didn't start watching it all the time until 2007 when I decided to stay up late to watch a GP on a long weekend and was hooked once again. At the time I was a massive V8 Supercars fan, but now with Webber regularly at the front and Kamui Kobayashi performing his banzai overtaking moves, I'd much rather watch F1.

 

[Grayfox]

I like F1 better the the V8 Supercars which has not changed much in 60 years(still holden vs ford, i would like to see another brand in their), but with F1 it is with faster cars, world tracks, lots of constructors.

I started to watch it around 2005.

 

[IceMan PJN]

I don't know when the first F1 race I ever watched was. When I was younger, back in the early 1990s, our poor family finally got basic cable, with probably no more than twenty channels at that time. One of those channels was ESPN, which aired some races here and there, as I recall. It was either there or perhaps on a major network that I saw an open-wheel race, but at the time I knew absolutely nothing about races so I don't even know if it was F1. I suppose it could have been CART. All that I remember for certain was that it was open-wheel race cars on a road course and I'm pretty sure there was some sort of cityscape as a backdrop, though not immediately adjacent to the track but close enough to clearly make out the tall buildings, and I'm pretty sure it had some grassy areas immediately adjacent to the track in places.

I never really got into watching racing at all until 2008. Up until then I had spent years playing various arcadey racing games by the many dozens, but never watched real racing on television. I never cared for sports and for some reason I decided that I needed something to look forward to on the weekends. Other folks had some ball game or a NASCAR race to look forward to, and I knew for certain ball sports and NASCAR definitely weren't my thing. I decided to give F1 a shot.

I don't remember which race of the 2008 season was the first that I watched, although I know it was very early on. I know it was definitely at least a few races before Canada, which was the seventh race of the season, as by then I was finding myself increasingly supporting Lewis Hamilton, who had been standing out to me as I sat through the races learning the sport, the rules, the teams, and the drivers, and at Canada Hamilton made the pit blunder wherein he slammed into the back of Kimi's Ferrari, which upset me. I'm certain it wasn't Bahrain, because I believe there was greenery and even trees near the track, so maybe it was Australia, which was the start of the season.

Whichever race it was, I've been hooked ever since, and F1's been my sporting passion from then on. I wish I could somehow hop back in time to have been there for the races of bygone eras, and I'd especially like to have watched Senna's years. I have also since started watching some other motorsports (all road racing), but not as faithfully or as intently as F1.

 

[Hun200kmh]

1971 (6 years old) in black&white TV. My father was a fan and I watched F1 with him. He could tell all cars and drivers in shades of grey, I couldn't. Stewart was easy to spot though. White helmet with dark circle ... and he was usually in front my first F1 idol

 

[Lee]

My first memory of watching Formula One was the 1995 season (I was 6), Johnny Herbert in the Benneton was on the screen and I remember Murray Walker going crazy over something.

I got into the sport mainly through my Dad, we'd watch all the motorsports we could on any given sunday. I've been to four grands prixs (handy being a 15 min drive away from Silverstone) and have already warned my girlfriend our first born son will be put into a strict regime in a bid to make him an F1 champ.

I love the sport just a little.

 

[KobayashiFan]

My first F1 experience, seeing the 2001 Monaco GP on TV. Famously remembered for David Coulthard qualifying his McLaren on pole, only for the launch control to bugger his chances at the start of the warm-up lap. During the race, he got stuck behind Mr.Bernoldi's Arrows for 44 laps. Being Monaco, overtaking was rare. But there were plenty of accidents. And the sound of the cars was awesome too, thats what got me hooked to it.

 

[Ardius]

The earliest race I can remember watching is the 1994 Australian Grand Prix. I don't remember any earlier races than that although I do remember the shock around the world over Senna's death.

The drivers names I used to remember back then were Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna, Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher, Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi. I remember Berger and Alesi sticking in my mind because they were the Ferrari drivers at the time and I was a big Ferrari fan.

After that, I only saw the odd race each year as I can only recall the odd race from 1996 and 1997. I do remember a few from 1998 - especially Belgium. I remember watching Schumacher's crash live at Silverstone in 1999 and I remember all of the drama over Hill's early retirement. I then remember all the pre-season news about Jaguar and BMW coming into the sport, I still have some of my drawings from the time that I did of a what I thought the Jaguar F1 car would look like (I used to do a lot of drawings of cars when I was younger).

There was a period when I stopped watching, I wasn't massively interested in F1 from around 2001 to 2004. I didn't really miss much though, the only motorsport I watched in this period was BTCC.

It wasn't till 2005/2006 when I was a bit older that I started trying to watch more F1 races. 2007 was the first year I watched all practice, qualifying and race sessions and 2008 was the first year I kept track of winter testing.

How did I start watching F1? My dad simply watched it and I watched it with him. I inherited a lot of matchbox cars and other stuff from my brothers that I quite easily became interested in cars and motorsport when I was very young. This leads into why I watched it, I loved cars and racing since I was 4 or 5, maybe even younger. My favourite video games were usually racing games, I loved driving go-karts when I could at fair grounds and I used draw a lot of cars and read lots of books on cars. My first F1 book was an F1 Encyclopedia from 1996, which I still have on the bookshelf next to me right now. I used to practice drawing Damon Hill's Williams from it all the time.

I've not yet attended an F1 race yet, but I am finally attending the British Grand Prix this year. The first race meeting I went to was the Eurocar stock cars at Oulton Park around 1997/1998.

 

[CAG_Theory]

The first race i watched was 2005 season it was on albert park australia and just saw mark webber going outside coming into the grass on the hairpin or corner i don't know but i remember visually and my dad was watching it on tv and i have no idea what is he saying to me. and i was so on gran turismo and racing cars back then. But not in f1, if i remember he even said to me that i was better than those all guys and i didn't even care about it. then when i fully watched f1, racing every minute of everyday of my life, he mentioned to me that those are toughest drivers in the world and only some a little super human with reflexes and motor skill can handle it, and i disblieved from him.
2006 Formula One Season really is the only formula one experience i consider gold to my mind. I was new to f1 then, The only season i watched fully. Driver's like Juan Pablo Montoya,jacques,fernando and the old schumacher-ferrari. I even cried when schumacher announce his retirement on Italy, Monza 2006. I was even replicating his jump on podium when he wins!ahhh! i still remember that. I was so in schumacher side back then, maybe it was the combination of him and ferrari not just him. The aggressiveness of montoya. Everything from 2006 was a treasure to me. From falling inlove with each f1 model that year from Chrome Mp4/21 to F248. Nothing will replace my heart with that moment. The 2006 cars where solid back then with v8. even the 2006 TV overlay hud camera was so gorgeous. Then 2007 came along, i can't really pick which driver im on side so i stick to fernando, since he is the last true rivalry of michael schumacher, even though i hate fernando alonso, i swear during 2006 f1 season. then 2007 was pretty much ok, by the end of the year , i still really defending fernando alonso although i came to conclusion that on 2008 lewis hamilton was going to dominate after summarizing the 2007. then 2008f1 season came, the conclusion i expected didn't really come up. and then 2009 follows up until the end of 2010 season. and for the first time i stopped following f1 this 2011, it seems i lost interest.... schumacher was their and all top 5 champions.. but what was missing to me?i don't know. i just lost it, i just even glanced at the f1 website for just a few times. Not like before where i follow formula one on each every progress a driver or a team made.

P S: just trying to make a really bad grammar sentence! just now.. it works! So don't be suprised if this is the worst sentence i ever made.

 

[J-PaP]

I think I started watching F1 at a similar time to ardius. The early 90's F1 cars are distinctly in my mind as my first F1 memories. They are still my favourite. I remember Mansell, Alesi, Berger. Senna's death. I remember the last time Lotus was in F1 as well. I never really watched through the whole season though due to the times it was on tv if it was on at all. I always watched the Australian GP though.

I started to follow the F1 more in the early 2000's as a friend of mine's dad was into it and would take us. Though since 2007 I know I have missed no more than 3 races. Have made a conscious effort to no longer miss another f1 or Motogp race since 2009.

Nobody in my family has even the slightest interest in cars but I've been obsessed with them since at least 4 years old from what I remember. My dad still doesn't get why I spend hundreds to go watch racing live when I could just watch it on the TV at home. lol

 

[Ru-fus]

I think i first watched it in the mid 90's, can remembers the exact details but i think it was the Monaco GP and Damon Hill won it. followed it since up until 2007-2008, the passed few years i've lost the desire to follow the sport, MotoGP has replaced F1 for me

 

[Cap'n Jack]

My first encounter with F1 was in 1995, my dad took me to the Friday practice session of the Australian GP... we left early because the loud noises made me cry (I was only 6 years old, okay!). In the early 2000's I started to get into motorsports, starting with occasionally watching V8 Supercar races on TV. Then thanks to GT3, I became a real car addict and by 2003 I was watching motorsports regularly. The first F1 race I watched in full was the 2003 Italian GP and I found myself following McLaren due to the team being my favourite in the PS1 F1 game based on the 1995 season and with that decision I also found myself following Kimi Räikkönen.

 

[granturismite]

The first race I (mostly) watched was Australia 2007. the one where Coulthard mounted Wurz's car.

then in early 2008 (my last year of high school), my school got some short term exchange students, and a girl I liked was from Italy and liked F1 (even if she was a tifosi!), so I watched the Aus GP that year. It was a great race (Massa was a wrecking ball!) where only 7 cars made it to 100%, and Barichello was DQ'd

I was hooked. taped every race and watched it with a couple of friends during lunchtime over the next few days in the physics room.

It was an absolute cracker of a season, even with the FIA (arguably) supporting Ferrari. We all got so mad at the FIA for Hamilton's penalty at Spa '08, and we all went crook at Raikkonen for hitting Sutil at Monaco! We watched webber with anticipation, and we cheered Vettel winning at Monza. I still have Brazil on DVD (can't transfer it to PC, it won't read the format). I break out the DVD every so often, for one of the best races I have seen.

So, in conclusion, I started to watch it because of a girl, and fell in love with 2.4 litre V8 powered single seaters that seem to go faster than light! (and for the record, she left before I plucked up the courage to talk to her, especially because she had a boyfriend)

 

[prisonermonkeys]

How did I start watching F1? My dad simply watched it and I watched it with him.

I have a similar story. Some of my earliest memories are of watching the races with my dad. The earliest, I think, was 1989. I don't remember it at all, but my dad did say something about it once. From then on, it was usually a case of watching the Australian Grand Prix with him. As I got older, I was able to watch races that were in our time zone (ah, but for the days when regional races - like Japan - were broadcast at a reasonable hour!). And I was also able to tape races if the VCR wasn't being used to record something else that night, which was only occasionally. It was usually a case of being able to record whatever I could; there was no rhyme or reason to it. I have a half-formed memory of not being allowed to watch the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix the day after I taped it; I remember really looking forward to it after school the next day, and coming home to find that it had been taped over. That night my dad had to sit down with me and explain that something had happened. I still didn't really understand what was wrong, and it wasn't until years later that it occurred to me that my parents were not okay with me watching the death of a sportsman, which I totally understand.

It wasn't really until late in 1997 that I got seriously into it. I think the first time I was allowed to stay up past my bedtime was to watch a race. Someone also gave me a copy of F1 Racing from that year. I still have it; Schumacher and Villeneuve were on the cover, with the title BATTLE OF THE CENTURY in big, bold letters. I never really read the articles except for the race reports; I just looked at the pictures during recess and lunch. I do remember the school bully catching me reading it. There was a picture of a woman with rather large breasts sitting on the nose of a Jordan. The bully told me to show the picture to his friend, or else he'd tell the teacher that I had dirty pictures at school. I showed him, but ot out of fear - the woman's breasts had never even occurred to me. I thought he was interested in the cars.

After that, I started following the sport religiously in 2000. Until then, I had been a fan of Michael Schumacher, but I decided that if I wanted to follow the sport seriously, then I needed a driver who was just beginning his career so that I could follow him from start to finish. That driver was Jenson Button. I still had to make do with taping whatever races I could and tuning in for the Australian Grand Prix; by this point, it had become something of a ritual in my house, and one of only two days that my mother was willing to put up with the noise (she absolutely hates it), the other being Bathurst. It wasn't until 2008 that I started tuning into races regularly (provided one of the college televisions was free), but I missed Brazil because I had an exam the next day. I finally got a television of my own before the 2009 Australian Grand Prix, and have watched every race ever since. The only exception was the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix; I had another exam the following morning, so I had to go into a full media blackout the next day. It was very difficult to sit through a two hour exam and four hours of RF training without giving into temptation and finding out the result. I finally managed to catch the race replay - as per my plan - at 6pm that night, before collapsing in exhaustion.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

the woman's breasts had never even occurred to me.

What are these words, they don't make any sense to me!

 

[Dotini]

The first Formula One race I clearly recall watching (on ABC's "Wide World of Sports" TV show) was the thrilling 1964 Gran Premio de Mexico. This race was the season finale and decided the 1964 World Championship. Going into the race, Graham Hill lead the points with 39, followed by John Surtees with 34 and Jim Clark with 30.

Hill in his BRM was on course for the crown until he was rammed from behind by Bandini's Ferrari. Clark in his Lotus then appeared set to win and take the Championship, but on the last lap his Coventry-Climax V-8 seized up due to an oil leak, allowing Dan Gurney in his Brabham to win the race. Bandini slowed to allow his team leader Surtees through to take the Championship by a single point!

Why was I watching? I had been following GP racing since Phil Hill won the title in 1961, and was a rabid fanboy from 1963 on.

 

[Northstar]

Back in 2006 I had just basic over the air TV and the only thing that was on was the Canadian GP, I figured might as well watch it and try to get into it. I realized I did enjoy it a bit nut unfortunately I was only able to watch about 3 races a year through '09 as that's all they broadcast on Fox. Thankfully last year I started getting Speed so at least I can watch all the races.

 

[Wiegert]

I vaguely recall watching F1 before 2003 on the TV we had in our Motorhome back when I used to go to Motocross events. The first F1 race I remember watching from start to finish was the 2003 Austrian GP on ITV, but I kind of stopped watching F1 until the start of the 2004 season. I still remember watching the Monaco GP that year when Jarno Trulli won from pole and Jenson Button keeping the pressure on him until the very end of the race. I've followed every F1 season since and i've only missed about 5 races altogether.

 

[-Fred-]

First race I remember watching was the Monaco GP in 1987, I remember waking up early and getting up to go to the bathroom, seeing my father already up, coffee in hand, reading the paper with the tv on, waiting for the race broadcast to come on. Senna won it, I remember it so well. My father, back in those days, used to work for Tag Heuer, and Tag used to sponsor McLaren (and still do, I believe), so McLaren has always been a favorite of ours. But I remember that morning, while my father was cheering on Prost, I was deeply amazed by how quickly that yellow Lotus was going, and just like that, that tiny Brazilian with a yellow helmet became my favorite driver. And just imagine how thrilled I was in 1988, when it was announced he would join McLaren. My favorite driver versus my dad's favorite, racing for our favorite team. Sparks flew that year, both on the track and in the living room!

First race I attended was the 1991 Canadian GP. We were given VIP access to the McLaren paddocks and hospitality area during friday's practice due to PR relations at Tag, which even included a brief meeting with Berger and Senna, only a few minutes, but I was starstruck and in total awe. I think Mansell won it, I can't remember, being so dissapointed McLaren didn't win. The next 3 years would be immensely captivating, with Mansell, Prost, Piquet, Senna and that new kid I already didn't like, who was driving for Benetton. I remember Donington '93 and Senna's performance in the pouring rain in what could only be qualified as a dog of a car. It was now clear in my mind, I was going to be a racecar driver.

And then came '94. April 30th, May 1st. So deeply engraved in my mind forever. Suddently, I didn't want to become a racecar driver anymore. I had no reason to watch Formula 1, Schumacher was reigning, and I didn't like him. I turned my attention towards CART, where a young Canadian rookie was impressing everyone. Didn't watch too much F1 in 1994 and 1995, didn't really care for it. I remember Zanardi's crash at Spa, Coulthard's massive brainfade at Adelaide in 95, and that's pretty much it. When Williams announced in late '95 that Villeneuve was going to race for them, it grabbed my attention. It had been 14 years since a Canadian had taken part in an F1 race, and furthermore it was Gilles' son. And he had a good shot at success. And he did have success, relatively at least. I remember being on the tip of my seat for the Jerez GP in '97, shouting something along the lines of "the ****ing German **** did it, I can't believe he'd just go and prove to everyone he's such a ****!!!" Then McLaren came back to form, with Hakkinen and Coulthard.

From 2000-2005, didn't watch much again. It was a one man show, I thought it was a farce (Austria 2002 anyone?) and nearly gave up on it. I haven't watched all the races since 2005, I still catch a few here and there, but somehow, I feel like I've lost my passion for it. I just don't feel like waking up at 6 am anymore just to watch a bunch of guys that don't captivate me go around a track... Kind of sad, really.

 

[PeterJB]

I watched it occasionally for most of my childhood. I saw several races in 2007 but only started watching it properly from Bahrain 2008 onwards. Haven't missed a race since.

 

[CarolinaBlue704]

I was flipping through the channels on a Sunday afternoon in 2009. And to my surprise I came across the beginning of an F1 race on Speed. At the time I wasn't even aware that Speed broadcasted F1 races. I knew very little about F1 - I knew of Michael Schumacher and that's were my knowledge of F1 stopped. I had heard about F1 since a child and remembered seeing a few highlights of races. But I had never caught a race on TV. So I was under the impression that no one aired the races in America.

Anyway, the race I had come across that Sunday afternoon was the beginning of the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix. Of course, as you may remember that race was shorted because of heavy rain. But I saw enough racing to know that I would tune in for the next race. From the very beginning I was intrigued by the cars and drivers.

Two weeks later it was time for the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix. This would be my first full-race as an F1 fan. That whole weekend I got up in the wee hours of the night to watch practice, qualifying, and the race live. At this point I was hooked. I haven't missed a qualifying session or race since then.

I naturally became a Ferrari supporter since I've always been a fan of their road cars. But at the end of the day, I enjoy a good race no matter who wins.

Also, over the last 2 years I've done a great deal of research about F1's history. And thanks to a great channel on JustinTV I've managed to watch dozens of old races from the 80's and 90's. Because of this I became a big fan of Jean Alesi (see my avatar). So even though I'm new fan, I feel as though I've been following the sport for years. 👍

 

[BlacqueJacques]

Gilles Villeneuve (local hero) winning 1978 Canadian Grand Prix (Fall leaves and wet even!); attending the actual races in Montreal in the mid 80's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWwz-AUu6Ko

 

[Terronium-12]

First time I can remember seeing F1 was when Honda still had a place on the grid during 2006, the RA106 chassis (a livery I absolutely love by the way) but that was merely a glance because at the time I was more infatuated with the cars themselves as opposed to the complete package; they were loud, fast, and could take corners like I can't remember seeing outside of a video game. It really wasn't until 2008 when I saw the occasional odd race that I'd become interested in the sport, and once 2009 came around I just sat down and watched the entire season, amazed at how one team could dominate the field several races in a row (controversial or not) with two extremely talented drivers at the wheel.

I was always familiar with the driver's names, especially Massa, Barrichello, Hamilton, Schumacher (perhaps the name I remembered most for obvious reasons), Raikkonen, Kubica, Webber, etc., but during the '09 and especially the '10 season I began to notice Mark (another person whose name I knew), and really got behind him after seeing and hearing how much talent he possessed, yet, never held a title or a podium victory to his name - the latter of which changed in '09 and put a smile on my face.

As far as my allegiance to any one team goes, I still can't back any one team but I'm behind plenty of drivers...some more than others, and some I want to win because they have such a great track record but was told to ease back so a certain other person would remain top driver (go on, guess who I'm referring to in both instances). I love F1 now and can honestly say I'll be watching it for the rest of my or it's life.

I could go on about Jordan and my backtracking to the point of finding out about Damon, Gilles, Mika, etc...but I'll stop here.

 

[Amin1992]

My first F1 memory was watching some onboard footage of a stewart gp car in the middle of a race in the late nineties. At the time i would have been 5-7 years old and i have no idea what race and what driver it was. I watched the occasional race whenever my parents put it on tv, but i wasnt really that intrested in the sport.

The season that i became a diehard follower of F1 was the 2003 season. It started, when on christmas 2002, my brother received a review of the 2002 f1 season as a christmas gift. That afternoon i skimmed through it and, for some reason, I took a shine to Kimi Raikkonen. When the first race of the season came along, I watched it as a Kimi fan and even though Kimi didnt win, I was pleased with what turned out to be David Coulthards last win. Of course, Kimi won his first race in the next round in Malaysia and from then on, I was hooked.

Some stand-out moments for me have been the 2003 Malaysian GP, 2003 Brazilian GP, 2004 Belgian GP, the whole of the 2005 season, 2006 Hungarian GP, second half of the 2007 season, 2008 Brazilian GP, 2009 Malaysian GP, 2009 Belgian GP and the 2010 Korean GP.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

What are these words, they don't make any sense to me!

I was in year five at the time!

 

[lbsf1]

I have been watching f1 as long as I can remember, my first memories are in about 2000 watching the Monaco Grand Prix.


My dad and his dad were always interested in motoracing, my dad used to race karts, I love technology aswell as motoracing. I guess its just in my blood.

 

[Rossticles]

For me it was kind of a fluke that I came across F1. I was staying up late one night flipping through channels and came across the Australian GP on Speed live in Melbourne 2002. The cars going so fast blew my mind. I instantly became a Ferrari fan because their history is familiar to myself and I believe they went 1-2. Their drivers, Schumacher and Barrichello, for one reason or another I didn't care for. Remembering correctly Raikkonen set the fastest lap which I liked more important than an overall win. His character and charisma also won me over. Kimi was just so passive in interviews and never really showed believing he was any better than any other driver on the grid even in 2007 when he won the driver's crown. I followed him until his retirement in 2009 and somewhat follow his career at the Citroen Junior Team and his own team ICE 1 Racing.

 

[Alex.]

My father always watched it, and then we bought F1WGP for the N64. That season we watched a lot, and the season after I got majorly into it, I remember being mega pissed because our VCR didn't record the Japanese GP properly. Back then I was an avid MS fan, I followed it loosely through the next few years and in 2004 began to support Renault, with a dislike for MS. 2007 came and I supported Massa and Alonso, soon realised Alonso was a tosser though and supported Kimi to come back and win the WDC in the final half of the season. Since then it's been Vettel and Massa, I'd like to concentrate on FM this season, and see Massa or Webber take the WDC.

 

[PiRacingChamp]

All I know is, THE F1 WEEKEND, AND SEASON, STARTS TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GO VETTEL AND SCHUUMY....... AND BUTTON.

That's what is so cool about F1. There are very few to dislike, and many that we hope do well. So much skill!!

 

[tankuroded]

Around 2001-2002.