It's hard for me to define the point when I "fell in love" with the sport. Some of my earliest memories are of pushing diecast cars around on the living room carpet - I always thought the racing cars looked the coolest compared to ordinary road cars. I also remember walking to school in a morning and saying what each make of car was, I learnt car badges very easily and I'm even told my first word was "Peugeot". Although whether that completely true, or just a family myth, I don't know.
My dad used to take me to all manner of unusual racing events from an early age. From banger car racing, to Brisca F1 stock cars on short ovals, and various club meetings at tracks like Castle Combe, it's just something we'd do at weekends. I suppose in some ways I was just brought up with it - my dad always liked cars, and watched F1 religiously back then, so it was natural I'd take an interest too. But I don't think there was one particular thing that really triggered my love for it. I was just a kid that enjoyed playing with cars, and would be transfixed by watching cars at tracks, no matter what type of car or what type of racing it was.
I suppose it's just tradition that keeps bringing me back. When you've followed something for your whole life, and it's something that has brought you a lot of happy memories, I'd find it very difficult to suddenly stop watching motorsport. It has been a constant in my life, and, as cliched and cheesy as this sounds, helped me through some difficult times. I've often had an approach whenever I'm coming up to something I'm not looking forward to, whether it's an exam, interview or whatever, and thought "yes, but then after that F1/MotoGP/BTCC will be on". I always like having something to look forward to, and that something is often motorsport related.
F1 will frustrate the hell out of me at times, but I don't think I could ever truly give up on it.
Now, having a career in aviation engineering, the technical side of high level motorsport still fascinates too, and perhaps fortunately, I never managed to get a job in Formula 1. Who knows? It might have turned me off it if it became more than just my hobby.
Exactly this. While at school and university, I had an aspiration of being a motorsport journalist. But I began to feel the same way as you - that it'd potentially start feeling like a chore, particularly at times when I was frustrated with the sport. Plus the travel would be a major buzzkill too. I'm a bit of a homebird, and so much traveling doesn't appeal to me.