Monaco Wide World of Sports did me in at a very tender age ;)
I was 6 - the year Black Jack Brabham won his third championship. First race was the British GP at Silverstone in 1969 - epic drives fron Stewart and Rindt! Bruce McLaren was third that day and , incidentally it is 46 years today since his fatal crash at Goodwood. John
Now that you guys mentioned it, we also had a local version of Wide World of Sports so I would be been introduced to F1 at a much younger age. I always watched the local motorsports every Saturday afternoon on TV There is always 1
19ish. Always loved cars and racing and slowly got more and more into it with zero influence from any people or events. I just wanted to see cars race in what was considered the ultimate formof motor racing. Pretty amazing actually.
My first full season of following f1 was 1976. The lauda/hunt battle. If that didn't get you hooked on f1 nothing will. That said, more aero and the halo for next year tells me it is going to be tough for me too follow as driver skill into the equation will be even less than it is today, and it is virtually nil. Lack of development and the cost cutting fly in the face of what the original F1 philosophy was about. So I've been following f1 for 40 years, seen some amazing tech achievements including the lotus 78, 6 wheeled Tyrell, brabham fan car, the original Renault turbos, paddle gearboxes, etc. it's gotten too regulated today. After 40 years it's become an engineering exercise, not a driver's championship, and the one area that could have road car relevance, the engine, can only be developed on a controlled basis. Massive fail IMHO, and I'd fire the whole lot of the rule makers at FIA. Rant over.
+1 An engineering exercise is what F1 is now. Good for the nerds, the boffins and the technophiles, but absolutely disastrous for the enthusiasts. The rules are absolutely bonkers!! I still watch the highlights on the TV (for free), but I wouldn't spend a penny or waste a weekend to go to a Grand Prix now.
Attended my first Race at Watkins Glen October of 1968 - at the age of 10 Months old. the firs race I remember is probably the 1970 race, I remember seeing Fittipaldi's 72 sitting off the side of the track at the old "big Bend" part of the track. that and seeing Jack Brabaham's car flying past - blue green and yellow. its more like flashes of memory. As for watching F-1 Wide world of Sports was the only way to see it, they usually showed Monaco, and Watkins Glen - some time they showed the British GP or Canadian GP. we were usually at the race & they would show the race a week later. I'm a Ferrari fan from about 1973 - once Matra stopped racing on its own.
I agree, I'm not a Boffin.. nor nerd per se, but I like the technology but the rules have strangled F-1. As for going to a race. Unless I get Paddock Access ... I don't go. F-1 is so much better from home. until the early 90's at least the vendor areas at an F-1 race were interesting but from about 1997 or so - FOM controls all that stuff.... so its all the same. we went to Canada 2 years ago - my wifes first and only F-1 race ... she will not be going back. even in the paddock she was bored... the girls were stuck up and too much botox!
Actually, I did get to watch Monaco on Wide World of Sports for a number of years, but living in P.R. at the time, it often didn't air until a month after the race. Unfortunately, my earliest memory of that is seeing Bandini's Ferrari burning.....
My last GP was Kubicka's and BMW's only GP victory-Canada 2008. I would have continued to go but raising kids, sport weekends, travel teams, etc. ("real life") took up my time but now that they are older I have no interest in going to an actual GP under the current format. I DVR the races now.
A sport to fascinate the young and ignite passions that will endure for a lifetime. All the best, Andrew.
My very first Motor Race was in a pram at 1½ months old. Transport was the Family 1951 Ford Custom Deluxe Tudor V8. Saturday 26th December, 1953 Christmas Twenty-Fives (25 Mile-long Races) Roy Hesketh Circuit Hay Paddock Pietermaritzburg Natal (Now Kwa-Zulu Natal) South Africa My first Non-World Championship Race was at 7 years old. Transport was in my Paternal Grandfather's 1958 Plymouth Belvedere Sport Coupe (350 ci Big Block Golden Commando). 1960 VI South African Grand Prix - 1st January 1960 - 60 Laps East London: Track - 2.44 Miles / 3,926 Kilometres 1) Paul Frere - Cooper - Coventry-Climax 2) Stirling Moss - Cooper - Coventry-Climax 3) Syd van der Vyver - Cooper - Alfa Romeo 4) Lucien Bianchi - Cooper - Coventry-Climax 5) D. W. Philip - Cooper - Coventry-Climax 6) Ian Fraser-Jones - Porsche Spyder RS 7) John Love - Jaguar D-Type 8) Sam Tingle - Connaught 9) Dick Gibson - Cooper - Coventry-Climax My first World Championship Race was at 8 years old. Transport was in my Paternal Grandfather's 1958 Plymouth Belvedere Sport Coupe 1961 South African Grand Prix - 26th December, 1961 - 80 Laps 1) Jim Clark - Lotus - Climax 2) Stirling Moss - Lotus - Climax 3) Jo Bonnier - Porsche 4) Tony Maggs - Cooper - Climax 5) Edgar Bath - Porsche 6) Syd van der Vyver - Lotus - Alfa Romeo 7) Louis Doug Serrurier (LDS) - Cooper - Maserati 8) Sam Tingle - LDS - Alfa Romeo 9) Bob van Niekerk - Lotus - Ford 10) Helmut Menzler - Lotus - Borgward 11) Adrian Pheifer - Cooper - Alfa Romeo
I saw a few Tasman races at the Farm, great noise and no wings ..... late 60s ?? Would that be right ? Huge fan following that as well
I recall watching the races in B&W on the Beeb, Ascari and Moss plus Hawthorne drew my attention......
Early 20s. But only because US F1 TV coverage was even more dodgy before that.... Schumacher was in the process of rescuing Ferrari from years of drought.
