I've been a great fan of F1 since Stirling Moss and Mike Hawthorn were duelling for the championship. When I worked in Germany I went down to Hockenheim to watch the Formula 2 warm up, but as I had to work at 3.30 pm I was obligated to leave part way through the morning. When I got to work I was told that Jim Clark had been killed in his Lotus and I was totally shattered.
Later I was a fan of Michael Schumacher, as was my wife, and I used to be ceaselessly amazed at his gifts, not just behind the wheel, but in building a winning team from a group that was virtually moribund.
Now though, I've given up watching as F1 is now no longer racing. This season so far we have had Race 1: Mercedes 1,2; Race 2: Mercedes 1,2; Race 3: Mercedes 1,2. You can't call these events races any more, they're more like parades or a series of concourses d'elegances. They're boring and predictable. Add to the mix that Hamilton wins most of the time, a driver I find immature and temperamental. I remember when he was driving for McClaren and had broken up with his girlfriend and was drifting around the paddock like a spoilt child - and driving abysmally. And this was a "professional"? Then there was the time a couple of years ago when he was slower in the race than his teammate Rosberg and was told by the team to move over to let Rosberg, the championship leader through. "I'm not moving over for him," he said in a sulky voice. And refused. Then a couple of races ago Bottas was told to move over for Hamilton, which he duly did and Hamilton went straight past. Hypocrite or what?