Since when have you followed F1?

Started in the early 70's. Went to Watkins Glen 4 or 5 times and continued following it until the mid 80's when work forced me to travel alot and I lost touch. Started following it again in 95, watching the occ. race on tv. For the past 5 years I follow the whole season, watch every race, keep up with F1 news on the BBC sports site and subscribe to F1 magazine, been to Indianapolis the last 2 years. All the neighbors know when its race weekend because I fly the Ferrari flag in the front yard.

 

Started watching F1 when Mario was on the way to his Championship in the John Player Special Lotus 79 at age 13. Been hooked ever since. Now if we could just get Lotus back on the track to harass Ferrari!

Mark

 

That is so cool!

For the 2000 season I put a small size Ferrari flag in the front of the house for each race that the team won. There were 10 there at the end of the season.

 

1962, the year Graham Hill won the championship after a battle with Jim Clark that was decided in final race of the season. I've been following it ever since.

 

Got Hooked Last Year. Kinda Late! Was Planning My Trip To Italy 2 Years Ago & Monaco Happened To Be In The Middle Of Our Drive From Nice, France Into Italy. Was Trying To Work It Out To Get Back There For The Race But Just Could Not Manage It. To Make A Long Story Short, Seeing Monaco 2 Weeks Prior To The Race And 3 Days After The Race I Just Could Not Resist The Temptation To Get Into F1 Being Such A Ferrari Nut From A Young Age. I MUST SAY THOUGH - MONACO IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CITIES I'VE HAD AN OPORTUNITY TO VISIT.

 

That is a great Idea. I really feel stupid about this since my neighbor puts out a Texas A&M flag everytime the Aggies play. It never dawned on me to stick my Ferrari flag out on race day.

I've got to go buy a flag pole today!

 

you guys got out of it cheap!!!

I told the missus we'd buy a bottle of Bollinger for every race they win and then have a party at the end of the year.....

Well worth it though

 

early sixties and have ALWAYS been a ferrari fan. first race i attended was the USGP at the glen in 1967....those were the days....

 

Ever since I saw "Grand Prix" in early 1967. I started going to races in 1975 (Watkins Glen).

 

1974 when Niki Lauda won the Dutch Grand Prix, I was 9 years old and loved the Ferrari 312 B3, could not stop drawing and thinking about that car, until the 312 T, which has to be my all time favorite F1 car. I have followed F1 religously ever since the 1974 season and have every race from 1991 to present on tape, been to 15 GPs including Montreal, Melbourne, Indy and Imola, Monza next year for the 40th B-day! Always a huge Ferrari Fan, but greatest driver has got to be Senna, only saw him once, but I feel fortunate and privileged have seen both Senna and Schumacher during their prime. Forz Ferrari!

 

I first started watching Formula 1 when MS won his first world championship in the Benetton. I have to admit, at that time I wasn't really a big fan of F1. Then in 1997 seing JV and MS fighting for the championship , I became a huge fan of the sport.

 

I was there too. we drove over from School and camped out right by the side of the track. Bunch of drunk College boys meet the immortals of racing. Clark, Stewart, Hill, Surtees, Gurney etc. And the cars were incredibly beautiful - no sponsorship to speak of just beautiful aggression like the Eagle,etc.

 

Hope you didn't do the same this year!

 

My brother kept up with F1 through the early 60's and I remember watching Monaco on the Wide World of Sports during that time. I will never forget in 1967 my brother freaking out about Dan Gurney winning a race in HIS car! I was 9 and started reading his Autoweeks and collecting all the F1 Hot Wheels cars! I also went to the theater with my brother to see Grand Prix and I was hooked. We now make our annual pilgrimage to the USGP at Indy. My daughter is 8 and knows all the drivers, teams, and standings - and (for some odd reason) likes Montoya! I am withholding food and water until THAT corrects itself. She gets up at all the early morning hours to watch the races with me (claims she can't sleep). I need to post the pic of me and her in HER 308 - me with my F hat and she with her Williams Beemer hat with number 3 on it. (I keep telling her there is a good reason there is a 3 on it!) I hope she shares this story to the same question 40 years from now!

Jim feelin' old!

 

Well, I did not have too much money to spare in 2000. But next year I will do that. It sounds like fun.

 

That's well said. My heroes in order: Jim Clark, Graham Hill (post Clark), Jochen Rindt, Jacky Ickx, Jackie Stewart, Ronnie Peterson, Niki Lauda, Alan Jones, Ayrton Senna. End of heroes.

Drivers I appreciated: Damon Hill, Jaques Villeneuve, Mika Hakkinen, Kimi Raikkonen.

Drivers I respect but don't like: Michael Schumacher.

 

Does any of you remember Alberto Ascari, Giannino Marzotto, Jim Clark, Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham and so fort?

That's when I started following F1. TV was at it's dawn back then. Radio and magazines (a few) were the only information sources.

I wasn't even a teen ager at that time.

 

Since I was around 3 years old, I couldn't say Ferrari really well so I'd go red car red car. So that would be for the last 20 years. Been watching it religiously for the last 4 years and I have some rituals that I have to follow before each race.

 

In the neighborhood I have an aggie from Texas A & M, a couple of gators from the U of Florida and a seminole from Florida state. During football season they all have their college flags flying, so I show them my colors during racing season. I fly the ferrari flag from friday (practice day) till sunday night.Here is a question for you all. "Why do aggies display their diplomas in their windshields?? So they can park in handicapped spots." Really my aggie neighbor is a nice guy and laughs at my aggie jokes.