Love it! The only passion of my life. And this post is to mark 10 years that I have followed it. It all started in San Marino in 1997 rather coincidently I must add. It was in the final third of the race; Frentzen was leading the race (his only ever F1 win). What interested me was the guy in 2nd place. He was driving like a there was no tomorrow, chasing a car that was at least half a min ahead. I could have said 30 seconds, but this was the time when I didn’t know that in F1 time is measured in 1/1000ths of second :-P. In matter of minutes the gap was down to 2 seconds and the commentators were going all ga ga at the drive. They said that it was phenomenal to bring the lead down from 30 odd seconds to 2 seconds and actually go for the win. But, than I learned another important lesson in F1, catching a car ahead is one thing, overtaking is quite another. The man who was in the 2nd scarlet car was Michael Schumacher, and the car he was driving in my dream machine, Ferrari. I sometimes wonder what turned me into a Ferrari/Schumi fan. I think it the color of the car, ‘blood red’. And I guess it was fortunate that the best driver ever was driving the best team. So I never had to choose between Ferrari and Schumi. I fell for them both.
But being a Ferrari/Schumi fan is not easy. I had to wait 4 long years to see the crowning to Schumi as the World Champion. And what a moment it was. It was in Suzuka, and the moment was the final pit stop when Schumi came out ahead of Mika. I was watching the race at a very close friend’s place who is equally passionate about Ferrari and F1. It is one of the most memorable days in my life. Schumi as we all know went on to win 5 World Championships for Ferrari.
There are other moments that stand out. The incident between Schumi and Villeneuve in 1997 at Jerez. Coulthard letting Mika pass during the closing stages of the Australian GP in 1998. The brilliant overtaking of Schumi by Mika with Zonta in the middle. The first US GP. Schumi’s 2004 season.
So who are the other drivers that I admire in F1. Not many actually. Mika is one.
One regret, that I have is never watching Senna racing live. The other one is probably not watching Schumi racing live trackside. I think I should have attended Malaysia last year. Anyways, three cheers to F1.