I have always been an F1 fan. I remember being fascinated by the sound of the engine of the cars as they sped around the tracks. Even at a very young age, I remember watching with trepidation for the red lights to go off, and as the cars sped towards the first corner, jostling for positions - my stomach would literally curl. The dry lips, the clammy hands. Funny, I didn't even personally know anyone in those cars. It was such a thrill.
My elder brother loved cars too. We did not have many toys, we were not rich... but we used to sit down for hours and draw F1 cars over and over on pieces of paper. My world grew wider when I learnt how to read and discovered the Encyclopedia Britannica. Whatever information I needed to know, there it was. So I read about the famous drivers of the past, the history of F1 - to a certain extent, the engine models etc. Not that I understood half of what I read. Just the thought of reading those words and looking at the diagrams or pictures, made me feel that much closer to the mystical realm of very fast cars, and the pinnacle of racing.
As a young girl, I developed a sad, but very real crush on Ayrton Senna. I never hero-worshipped anyone before. I didn't even know what I had was called a "crush" - but I spent whatever I had on magazines with pictures of Senna, reading hungrily of his latest news. As by then I was a school girl, we had very strict bedtime routine. However, my dad is a sports fanatic - all I needed to hear was the sound of an F1 race starting, and I would be out of bed, hidden on the top floor landing, peeking a very distorted view of the race on tv. However, the day Senna died, something inside me died too. I stopped watching F1 for a while. Concentrated on my own sports and school achievements, studied abroad, graduated and came home to a new life.
My elder brother loved cars too. We did not have many toys, we were not rich... but we used to sit down for hours and draw F1 cars over and over on pieces of paper. My world grew wider when I learnt how to read and discovered the Encyclopedia Britannica. Whatever information I needed to know, there it was. So I read about the famous drivers of the past, the history of F1 - to a certain extent, the engine models etc. Not that I understood half of what I read. Just the thought of reading those words and looking at the diagrams or pictures, made me feel that much closer to the mystical realm of very fast cars, and the pinnacle of racing.
As a young girl, I developed a sad, but very real crush on Ayrton Senna. I never hero-worshipped anyone before. I didn't even know what I had was called a "crush" - but I spent whatever I had on magazines with pictures of Senna, reading hungrily of his latest news. As by then I was a school girl, we had very strict bedtime routine. However, my dad is a sports fanatic - all I needed to hear was the sound of an F1 race starting, and I would be out of bed, hidden on the top floor landing, peeking a very distorted view of the race on tv. However, the day Senna died, something inside me died too. I stopped watching F1 for a while. Concentrated on my own sports and school achievements, studied abroad, graduated and came home to a new life.
I decided to lay off F1 for a while. I was busy with work, trying to claw my way up the corporate ladder, until one day, I accidentally flipped channels around, and fell upon the start of an F1 race. The rest is, as you say it.. history. Once again, I have relinquished my sanity and decided to put F1 up there in one of my list of top priorities. This blog is more of a self-indulgent past-time, marrying my passion for the sport, with my passion of communication.
Why does Fernando Alonso's name become the title of my blog? Because of all famous sports personalities of his generation, he seems to be one who is frequently misunderstood, misquoted, misinterpreted - which is a pity because behind the headlines lies a humble, shy, funny human being with an excellent sense of humour, not to mention his more than a gallon of talent. Without Fernando Alonso, the world of F1 would indeed be a dull place. Even if Bernie wants us to believe that Hamilton saved F1.... without Alonso's contributions, Hamilton's rookie year would have been less dramatic. He probably would not have received the kind of frenzied adulation from the public as he did, if not for Alonso.
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