The first time I went to a Formula 1 race I believe I was around 9 years old; I remember vividly it was one of the coolest events I had ever attended, and I just fell in love with it. Our tickets were at the Hotel de Paris, and the seats as I recall were on the terrace where the Louis XV restaurant terrace is situated now, the cars were incredibly loud and I was offered one of those headphone looking ears shields (I am not sure what the correct term is and I wouldn’t google it in order to keep this article authentic), what mesmerized me was the power, the speed and dare I say it the luxury. The feeling of something exclusive. After all, I was only 9 years old or even younger and to me this was forbidden territory and it was the first time my parents took me with them. The one thing that I remember perfectly was the red car and I believe it was Michael Schumacher driving it – it was a Ferrari. I did not know who he was, I did not know the rules of the race, but I knew one thing – I now support Schumacher and that ‘red car’.
Fast forward 10-15 years, and I was still supporting that red car – Ferrari, and funnily enough many believe I supported Ferrari because my husband did, some still believe that, but in fact this is the “true tale of my F1 experience”. When I returned to Formula 1 as an adult, the Ferrari lead driver was Sebastian Vettel, who reminded me of A. my childhood Ferrari hero, and B. his being a 4-time World Champion was not lost on me either, in fact the first race I watched after such a long break was in Monaco with Vettel leading the Grand Prix 7 seconds ahead of all other drivers, and that is when I realized that, THAT is MY driver. Contrary to the romanticism of my childhood depiction of the ‘red car’, I was disappointed with the team that replaced Vettel as the lead driver so easily and sneakily for the likes of Charles Leclerc, who is a great driver in his own right, but I believe Vettel being a great Champion in the history of the Formula 1 deserved more from Ferrari.
However, looking back while I was fixated on Vettel and his rivalry with Lewis Hamilton, it did not go unnoticed, that there was someone special already on the rise. I remember telling my husband I think this guy will have a big future, and even though he was not the lead driver of his team at that time, I said it even back in 2017, he will be champion one day and might even become one of the greatest. That drivers name was Max Verstappen. Coincidentally, the year MY driver retired from a leading team (and is still very much a driver I support) time gave way to the new drivers to come forward, so that was the year Verstappen became World Champion and ultimately MY driver! The new battle being between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, with Max already have taken a World title in 2021, I am curious to see the result of the Grand Prix de Monaco 2022. With Charles being Monegasque and the point leader of the Championship as of today – the pressure is on for him to take the podium as the winner of the Monaco Grand Prix. However, I do hope to see a Red Bull on the tallest point of that podium on the 29th of May.
Follow @Lifestylepopmedia instagram page for comments on comforts, seats, tickets and other luxuries our ???? tickets offer (I will reveal which tickets we have this time on the day). I already reviewed the Salle Empire tickets for the Historic Grand Prix, stay tuned for a more detailed review for the F1. xxx
