Formula 1

Once all the marketing and competition is distilled out of it, sport is really just about family. A shared experience that bridges generations and draws us together.

My relationship with F1

My earliest memory of Formula 1 is watching races after sunday lunch with my dad. He wasn’t particularly interested in the championship or individual teams and drivers. Rather, he would say, “Shall we watch the crashes?”. This was the 90’s and every F1 race was a spectacle of speed, drama, engine failures and, yes, crashes.

My dad remembers being 8 years old and going to watch Grand Prix (1966) at the cinema with his father. The story of how this film was made is fascinating. Each year, when we watch the Monaco Grand Prix, he recounts how he sat on his dad’s lap, ducking and covering his eyes as the cars took high-speed twists and turns around Monte Carlo.

I’ve been watching as a fan since 2001. Schumacher was king and my friend at school loved Ferrari. Naturally, as a contrarian teenager, I picked McLaren and cheered for Coulthard and Häkkinen. I drifted away in the early-2010’s at the height of Red Bull’s first era of dominance but the returned in 2014 thanks to a new job and some colleagues who were fans. I’ve watched every single Grand Prix since.

And now I watch with my kids. And sometimes we all go over to my parents’ house. Three generations, sitting together on a Sunday afternoon, watching cars go around in circles.

Observations and Preferences

• I love the historical tracks – especially Spa-Francorchamps (setting and nostalgia), Monte Carlo (bad racing, but dripping in the magic dust of F1), Monza (speed), Imola (poignancy – Senna), Silverstone (quality racing, summer feeling), and even Zandvoort now that it’s back on the calendar.
• Outside of Europe, I love São Paulo, Albert Park and Suzuka.
• Like Monaco, Singapore’s Marina Bay Street Circuit doesn’t tend to produce great racing… but it has a special place in my heart. It’s the only race I’ve attended and, after Cape Town, Singapore is my favourite city.
• My forever favourite driver is Lewis Hamilton.