27 replies to this topic

[Vielleicht]

Simple question really which has been on my mind. Think people here could have some interesting answers. 

 

I'm interested in what phases people have gone through in their years watching the sport. 

 

When did you start watching? What have been the peak years of interest? What were the leanest years? Have you ever taken a break from watching motorsport altogether? What factors influenced any of these changes? 

 

 

 

[MikeTekRacing]

I did, i used to believe ruthless is cool and grew up with idols like Ayrton and Michael. 

With Kimi and Lewis I got to appreciate a different kind of racing so I am more balanced now..maybe with age too. 

 

My passion for watching motorsport hasn't changed over the years. in 90s-2000s i used to plan all my weekends around the F1 time if there was a race...now recording is king, especially since I moved to the US - but I try not to look at all at social media or news before I watch every Q and race.

[aportinga]

1987/88 - 1995 - My peak

1996-1998 - Took a bit to get over Schumacher displacing Berger and Alesi at Ferrari

1999 - 2001 - Back in and full on as a fan with MS giving Ferrari their first WDC during my time as a fan

2002 - 2007 - Gave up on F1 after the MS/RB issue and prioritized CART/ChampCar

2007-2019 - Basically did other things with my time.

2020- Current - back to a peak again but far more effort spent with the F1 app now being available.

Edited by aportinga, Today, 18:25.

[P123]

I watch a lot less of it compared to the '90s and early '00s.

[IrvTheSwerve]

The biggest change for me in my years watching F1 (since around the mid-90s) has probably been within the last 2 or 3 years. With the over-saturation of the massive calendar, together with the sprint weekends, it’s just too much to take in like I used to. I used to plan my whole weekend around F1, but now it’s kind of ‘meh, I’ll record that session and watch it later’…particularly if qualifying is at an awkward time on a Saturday. I no longer get up at silly o’clock for races, but I think that’s just me getting older and having a young family (I’m always up at silly o’clock anyway with an 11 month old, so treasure my sleep when I can get it!).

 

I’ve also noticed that I enjoy watching GT/Touring Car stuff more than I used to now, feels less ‘circussy’ than F1. I still always watch F1 races in their entirety though and always will. Quite often I skip through the pre-race coverage now, whereas I’d have been primed to watch from the very first minute 10+ years ago.

[Alfisti]

I feel like time is a big issue now with wife/kids/wife/work and the wife. Also for me, the move to homologate V8 Supercars to fundamentally render the Ford V Holden tribalism irrelevant even before Holden was killed off really hurt my interest in that series. I am definitely disillusioned with touring cars and GT3 racing for hobbling manufacturers efforts to create closer racing, I am a purist, if the Audi wins by 3 laps, so be it, come back next yr. 

 

So combine all these factors and I watch more F1 than ever because it is still a legit race amongst car builders and the F1 TV app means I can watch it whenever and wherever I want. I desperately miss smaller cars and angry engines though. 

[ArchieTech]

I still enjoy the racing as much as I ever did. But the presence of tribalism, rage bait and lack of nuance does mean I enjoy the things around the sport a lot less.

Edited by ArchieTech, Today, 18:57.

[Disgrace]

I used to be more emotionally invested, especially in F1. But I've been let down too many times. So when it comes to scandals, drama, incompetence, etc. that previously wound me up, I've instead become:

 

[FirstnameLastname]

‘Joined’ the sport in 1998 as a 14yr old lad. I went from knowing nothing about it to becoming obsessed. Used to cut the news articles out of the Saturday/Sunday papers and make a scrap book each year (we didn’t have much money!) and then I got a paper round so I could get money to buy F1 racing mag and would read it cover to cover and absorb everything I could. Taped all the races on ITV and would watch them over and over…. Man, I just loved it so much.

Back then it was almost impossible to find fellow f1 fans, but I followed it as close as you could in the final years of the pre-internet age. Got the season review VHS and the annual season review annuals every year


Followed it even more closely once itv opened up their ITV-MB and i found a community of F1 fans (nod to Berger & Chips). I’d watch every qualifying and race session, bag of nerves at every race start - huge Hakkinen fan and then Montoya fan.

And I’ve followed it closely ever since - but it feels less special and I’m not as fanatical as I used to be, for a number of reasons;

A) I don’t have a preferred driver… I just follow as a neutral

B) There just too much F1 - never thought I’d say it, but I’m not a carefree 14 year old anymore, I’m a 40yr old father of 4 and i can’t commit the time to it as I used to - luckily there’s sky+ these days so I can watch at my leisure - but in the ‘old’ days if I ever couldn’t watch Live, I’d watch it back ‘as live’ in full. Now if I miss it I’d happily just catch the YouTube highlight reel

Rarely watch free practice sessions now - but used to absorb it all.


I’ve got a sky sub this year - because my wife is now going through her ‘finding the sport’ phase. She’s become a huge fan and I never dreamt of the day that she’d actually enjoy it like I do/did. (It can be annoying to be fair - she doesn’t really know what she’s talking about, but she’s learning )

But up until last year, I was making do with following the news via Twitter, this place, and the YouTube highlights. And I never thought as an adult who can afford Sky that I’d choose to not bother.

The allure has gone somewhat…. However, I went camping with my wife at Silverstone this year (first race since Spa 2013) and we had an absolute blast - she was stoked that she saw Hamilton win that race, and it’s gone a good way to reignite my interest so we’ll see how that goes.

Kinda gone full circle.

Edited by FirstnameLastname, Today, 19:05.

[Analog]

I do not describe drivers as useless, or its synonyms, as often as before. I've realized that since there's several hundred thousands of registered drivers in the world, just being among the top 1000 is a pretty impressive feat. Most of us does not reach the top 0.3% in anything.

[LolaB0860]

Late 90's to ~mid-2000's - Follow F1 only

~Mid-2000's to 2009 - Mainly F1 but also in good amount of Le Mans, ALMS, LMS, FIA GT, WTCC, Supercars, Indycar, GP2, A1GP, random stuff

2010-2013 - Massive focus on Le Mans, ALMS, LMS, ILMC/WEC, decreasing but still moderate F1 interest, and then Indycar, Supercars, random stuff

2014-2017 - Still main interest in Le Mans and to extent WEC and ELMS, very weak F1 interest, only watch 500 of Indycar, not much else

2018-2019 - F1 interest starting to make comeback, still watch Le Mans but interest dropping really fast, only watch 500 of Indycar, not much else

2020 - Notable F1 interest, completely give up on Le Mans and associated series, start watching more Indycar again, watch F2 for the first time since GP2 days...?

2021-2023 - F1 primarily, then Indycar, other single seaters and random things here and there

2024 - F1 primarily, back to 500 only for Indycar, other single seaters and random things here and there

Edited by LolaB0860, Today, 19:23.

[OvDrone]

Fantastic question and thread idea, Vielleicht, appreciate it.

In my case, the two most important things that have changed were 1: to start enjoying it again without getting too emotionally attached to outcomes. 2: find a healthy way of watching races without running myself into the ground by trying to watch every race in every series.

Firstly, I needed those bleak defeats of Abu Dhabi 2021, Truex's travails since Phoenix 2021 in Nascar, Tomac's shock Championship exit in Supercross 2023 and many other defeats that showed me that I am way in over my head with caring too much about my favorites and their results. Why should I care this much about people I've never met before and don't know. How will it change my life for the better if Nick Cassidy wins the 2024 Formula E title ? How ? Why ?

Much better to take a step back, still have your favorites but find the peace of mind of not caring about the results. This way you will not only get pleasantly surprised but also find much more inspiration from other athletes in all the series that aren't your favs. Hell, I got emotional a bit even when Marc Marquez won again this year at Aragon and believe you me, that that thing would've been utterly inconceivable to me. 

Not cool to be a fan - cool to enjoy the show, the utter insanity of what these athletes can do, the rivalries, challenges, dramas, politics, engineering etcetc without caring. This drastically improved my relationship with the sport. Yet I had to endure that ego death of moments like Abu Dhabi 2021 and others   

And secondly, why waste so much of my time trying to watch everything. I am not getting payed for it lol. So it's cool to settle for highlights and focus on a rotating cast of temporary favorite series that you can switch up. Now I focus more on Endurance, MotoGP and GTs but that will surely change and I'll pivot when the time comes. Until then I can miss half of the F1 season, or Indycar or Nascar etcetc without dying. 

I'll also add my Motorsport timeline:

Born in 1989, started watching consistently in 1998/1999 - F1, MotoGP, WSBK, Nascar, WRC, GTs, Indycar 
2000-2005 - got extremely obsessed with most main series, not missing any races, going to live races, playing racing simulators - F1, MotoGP, WSBK, Nascar, WRC, GTs, Indycar, Touring Cars literally everything and anything including Trucks, SIdecars, Offroad etcetc
2006-2008 - fell off of most series as high school happened, focused on social stuff, girls, hanging out etc, so I started cutting away most series but kept WRC close and started getting into Endurance Racing - ALMS, Grand Am, Le Mans Series and also enjoyed the WTCC
2009-2012 - started getting back into F1 with a bang in 2009 and 2010 was my favorite season ever. WEC/Le Mans became an enormous interest with the 2011 24 of Le Mans which is still my favorite race ever. WRC, WTCC, GTs stronger than ever. Nascar Cup got my attention back in 2011 due to Tony Stewart. Indycar was back on my must watch in 2011 also. And started getting back into MotoGP/WSBK again in 2012. Started lurking these forums in 2012.
2013-2018 - My absolute peak. Joined the forums for the Daytona 24 2013 and have been here ever since. A regular of Nascar / Indycar threads. MotoGP, Endurance. Back into anything and everything that could race. Added all feeder series in a most series ladders. Watched arguably WAY too much Motorsports. Everyone in my life knew that Saturdays and Sundays were forfeit to me. WRC, Rallycross phenomenal. Formula E, any open wheels. You name it ANYTHING. Great times.
2019-2021 - Waning and realignment. The season in all series were getting too long. But my favorite series became IMSA, Nascar and 2wheeled racing with more emphasis on Supercross, MXGP etcetc
2022-now - Better balance in my relationship to Racing. My favorites at the moment are WEC/IMSA, MotoGP/WSBK, other 2wheels and GTs. Nascar is suffering, F1 so-so, WRC/WRX are still there but hidden so are many others. Indycar I think needs a complete upgrade. FE is fine. Most are fine, but my main focus is WEC/IMSA & Bikes.

Racing will always be here for me in ever evolving and more sustainable, flexible ways.

Edited by OvDrone, Today, 19:49.

[F1matt]

When did you start watching?

 

July 1973 was my 1st GP,  my mam and dad took me in my pram, apparently it wasn't my first motorsport event. Obviously I remember nothing. The first one I can really remember is the 1983 British GP, I don't think I will ever forget Mansell in the black JPS Lotus, everything else seemed a sideshow. 

 

What have been the peak years of interest? From my profile picture you can probably tell, mid 1980s, cars that were difficult to drive, still dangerous and an era when Prost, Senna, Mansell, and Piquet were in competitive cars. Chuck in Group C in sports cars, Jaguar, Porsche, Lancia (LC an absolute stunner) AM, and Sauber made for an amazing era, Group B rally cars, and a greta period for IMSA and Indycar made it motorsport heaven for me. 

 

 

What were the leanest years? Probably now, I hate what Liberty have done, I switch on hallway through the warm up lap and switch off when the top 3 have crossed the line and double check the results a few hours later in case of penalties and technical infringements. I watch the race but I am not a fan of the oversized cars or playstation driving with the pit controlling the driver rather than the driver controlling the pit. I would ban driver radios tomorrow to improve the show if I had my way.

 

Have you ever taken a break from watching motorsport altogether? No, I have stuck with most of the sports I have mentioned, although rallying has taken a back seat in the last ten years, I haven't attended a rally for over ten years now. I still enjoy Le Mans but miss Silverstone or Donnington sports cars, they were always friendly events. I used to love the Thundersports as well in the UK if anyone remembers that. As lean as times are I still watch the race; I might miss the sprint race or qualifying though, attendance for F1 is way down since Covid as well. 

 

What factors influenced any of these changes? More of a circus (WWE) now and less of a sport, even if things weren't as professional, drivers were more heroic and what they could achieve in the cars was visually scary trackside, the noise probably had something to do with it as well. Looking forward to seeing a lighter F1 car in the future. 

[Afterburner]

I have been more and less invested at various points. In F1 the peak of my interest was from 2003-2013. It’s never been as captivating as it was then, save for perhaps in 2021, but I don’t think I want to see a season like 2021 again. I was explaining what a V10 F1 car sounds like to someone yesterday and immediately got chills watching the video, so I think the sheer presence of those cars had something to do with it. The V8s sounded worse but still like F1 to me. The V6 turbos are amongst the worst-sounding engines in the world to me and I find it hard to imagine there will ever be a formula that sounds worse.

As my interest in F1 waned I took more of a liking to sportscars and IndyCar. Sportscars were most interesting to me from about 2012-2017 (oddly through IMSA’s weakest period), then again in 2023 to now. IndyCar was at its best for me from 2013-2019, but has lost its allure a bit in recent years, though I’d still say it’s my favorite series.

Here’s hoping the new F1 rules in 2026 make the cars a bit more nimble and IndyCar gets a new car soon. As a Honda fan I’ve got lots to cheer for but the formula in each is becoming stale.

[Ruusperi]

I watch a lot less of it compared to the '90s and early '00s.

Interesting. Because, if we're talking about F1, your options of what to watch were limited, as only qualifying and race were shown live back in the 90s and early 00s. So in fact, when pay television became a thing, my viewing hours tripled, as now I had an access to FP1, FP2, FP3, GP2, FBMW/GP3, Porsche Supercup + all extra shows.

 

Chronologically

-1998: No interest in motorsport whatsoever

1999-2001: Watched most F1 races

2002-2005: Watched every F1 race (that was broadcast FTA)

2005-2008 (my peak): Watched every F1 & GP2 & Supercup session, majority of MotoGP and Superbike races (on Eurosport), and also followed WRC, WTCC, A1GP, F3 Euro Series and DTM

2009-2017: Watched every F1/GP2/GP3 and Formula 3 Euro Series session (from streams). Sometimes other races like Indy500 and Le Mans 24h.

2018-2019: Got tired of motorsport. Still, occasionally the old addiction kicked in. Watched most of 2019 F1 races.

2020-today: Watch every F1/F2/F3/Supercup session (if possible), selective races of IndyCar, WEC and Regional formula series from streams.

 

Psychologically I've changed in a way that as a kid I only cared about Finnish drivers and big crashes. Today I can appreciate motorsport as a multi-categorical competitive individualistic team sport and technological marvel that unites fans globally and has gone through century of evolution, economical and political turmoils and involvement of thousands of special spotspersons and businesspeople, all culminating where we are now.

Edited by Ruusperi, Today, 19:41.

[TheMidnight]

I ebb and flow to some degree. I have my driver favourites (Mika, Damon Hill, Lewis, Leclerc, McNish, Davidson, Wurz), and in terms of F1 teams, Ferrari is a constant and the others I drift in and out of depending on the lineup. My peak F1 years were either 1998 or 2008. I'm a big Toyota and Audi team fan for endurance racing. 

 

Watched F1 and BTCC until the late 90's. Then lost interest as I was a student always working weekends and couldn't follow it anymore. 

 

Came back to F1 properly in 2007 when Lewis arrived back on the scene and got back into few other big race events (Le Mans, Indy etc).

 

Picked up a console around 2009 with Forza Motorsport thrown in as an after thought. I became hooked overnight on GT and LMP cars racing on previously unknown tracks to me (Road Atlanta, Road America, Sonoma) and that immediately sparked a massive love affair with endurance racing. I followed ALMS, Grand Am, FIA GT and anything LMP1's would race in (WEC came years later in 2012). Coupled with the BBC's takeover of F1 coverage, I'd watch every bit of TV coverage and used to love podcasts like Sidepodcast and Mid Week Motorsport. 

 

I started to fall out of love with F1 when Lewis and Jenson raced together, I grew really frustrated with the clickbait articles and the tribalisation of the fan groups. As everything around F1 became more toxic/polarised I found myself hate watching it. I didn't enjoy watching it but couldn't avoid a race if it was on. Conversely, I found endurance racing even more appealing as the polarisation and negativity just wasn't there. I got heavily into sim racing and couldn't get enough. 

 

Sky was a breath of fresh air to begin with, especially as I thought the BBC coverage had turned too much into a bit of a JB love fest. I got back into watching every session and enjoyed the Lewis/Rosberg rivalry. 

 

WEC was a struggle after 2018 onwards, I stayed with it, but a pair of Toyota's racing some lonely Rebellion was not much fun! I'm so glad it's back to it's best at the moment. 

 

Fast forward to 2020 and my personal circumstances changed (small people in the house, work etc) and F1 really started to become a chore and I started to drop watching anything but the big races. Too many races, too many bad decisions, too much Crofty, too much gaslighting from Horner, too much liberty razzmatazz. AD21 killed off the final love I had for F1 (not a comment on Max btw, he's a bit of bully on the track but I respect him as a racer and he deserves his achievements). On reflection, I think on balance both Lewis or Max could legitimately be thought of as deserving the WDC, I just don't like how it ended. Since then, F1 only goes on if I have time and I find a stream. I'm not paying for coverage anymore. Also, I stopped watching TV in general and got rid of any 'linear' tv etc  

 

I'm pi**** I missed the group C days, my knowledge of the cars from sim racing is immense, just wish I saw it in the flesh. My favourite cars are not F1 cars, it's Group C era all the way. 

 

As for the rest of motorsport, I'm still heavily invested in WEC but not much else apart from D24, N24, Bathurst. After 000s of online races, endless motorsport on TV I've just got bored, too much of a good thing! I don't even know why I come on here any more tbh 

Edited by TheMidnight, Today, 19:47.

[F1Frog]

I started watching at the age of six and loved every moment of it. I have never missed an F1 race since then, not always live but always as soon as possible (and added the BTCC to my list at age ten and haven't missed one of those since either), but had years when I was looking to pick fault with the sport and expecting not to enjoy races. Now I convince myself that I am watching a golden era and look for things to love about every race, which I think makes me more of a fan than ever before since those first few years. Pretty much the same with life in general.

[Bleu]

Probably I watched it most in mid 2000s. I will watch every race in F1 (sometimes later in the day while trying not to be spoiled) and qualifying in most cases. I watch practice when it suits my schedule otherwise. 

 

I tend to be more neutral nowadays when it comes to drivers.

[aportinga]

The biggest change for me in my years watching F1 (since around the mid-90s) has probably been within the last 2 or 3 years. With the over-saturation of the massive calendar, together with the sprint weekends, it’s just too much to take in like I used to. I used to plan my whole weekend around F1, but now it’s kind of ‘meh, I’ll record that session and watch it later

 

I am wondering how this angle fairs with the US fans vs everyone else. The reason I ask is because for years we had very little anything F1 in the States. I had to drive 5 towns over to just pic up an F1 or Autosport Mag and was thrilled as hell with every one! Now it's everywhere and I smile. I have a GR Merc hat and I get many younger folks complimenting me on it (18-25 age group). That would NEVER happen in the 1990's. Back in 2020-2022 my daughter had a handful of mates on her soccer team who were madly in love with CL/GR/CS - their mothers were as well following the sport.

 

I find it great too see how much F1 has expanded in the US. But I wonder if that feeling may be different in places of the world where all this content and so on, has been saturated already?

[Sterzo]

As OvDrone said, Vielleicht, a great idea for a thread! I like the fact you asked about motorsport rather than F1, because most of all I enjoy going to "live" racing at a circuits. I was at Brands for the Formula Ford Festival a couple of weeks ago, and loved it as always. I also enjoy reading books about racing of any period from 1896, love Olde Worlde printed mags (Autosport and Motor Sport), and watch C4's F1 TV highlights, plus other racing on YouTube.

 

When did you start watching?

1956 and ain't bored yet.

 

What have been the peak years of interest?

Sixties and seventies were the best in terms of being able to attend lots of races, including various non-champ F1, plus GPs in Britain, and one-off trips to Clermont Ferrand, Nurburgring and Spa.

 

What were the leanest years?

Covid and other reasons kept me away from the circuits from 2020 to 2023. (But I'm back now). Even then, I followed racing through mags and TV.

 

Have you ever taken a break from watching motorsport altogether?

Certainly not. I watch "because it is there."

 

What factors influenced any of these changes?

As you can imagine, nearly everything has changed since 1956 but my enthusiasm really hasn't.

Edited by Sterzo, Today, 20:22.

[Anderis]

I started watching somewhere around 2006. Definetely watched the Hungarian GP (Kubica's debut) but I may have watched 1 or 2 races before. I have a very vague recollection of Monaco GP in 2006 and Webber's retirement but I'm not 100% sure if I watched the race in live time or just remember the replays I saw a few months later.

From the 2nd race in 2007 I started watching F1 regularly. Initially it was mainly all about Kubica but around the Canadian GP my allegiance began shifting towards Wurz and Williams and I was becoming a full-blown F1 fan, not just someone who watches because of Kubica. I began playing F1 games, searching for F1 news on the internet, began participating on F1 forums etc. I also become very emotionally invested in the outcomes, experiencing intense joy, sadness and anger based on who succeeded and failed and it went beyond Kubica and Williams, I cared about the outcomes of pretty much every single team and driver. Some I wanted to succeed, others to fail.

Somewhere around 2008/2009 I began watching pretty much all car racing that was available to watch with my TV package: GP2, F2 (those were 2 different series back then), FR3.5, WTCC, Le Mans 24h, Porsche Supercup. WTCC was the one I was the most invested in. I think 2009 was the peak of my "outside F1" racing interest. After around 2011, I barely watched anything else than F1 anymore.

2009 was also the year that I joined this forum. The intensity of my motorsport interest was the primary factor pushing me towards learning to use English fluently. Polish news sources were not enough anymore*, I wanted to know everything there was to know and English was necessary for it.

Around 2014 I had a crisis. Williams went away from my favourite dark blue liveries, Mercedes were dominating too much, the engines were not enjoyable to listen to anymore, the undpredictability levels were dropping. For the first time since 2007 I began skipping races and not caring that much anymore.

Eventually that crisis has passed and now I watch all the races that aren't early morning but I'm kinda not as much emotionally invested as before. I don't experience the same emotional highs and lows based on the outcomes of the teams and drivers as before. I miss some of the aspects of the older F1. Sometimes I feel like somewhere in the 2010's F1 has outdeveloped itself. I think I would enjoy it more if it retained some of the roughness and imperfection of the older eras. Nowadays teams have everything under control, reducing the random factor to minimum and making the races feel repeatable. But I'm also getting older and the same decrease in emotional engagement applies to other sports I followed as a teenager such as soccer (although in terms of soccer I just kinda lost interest but unlike F1, I don't think soccer has lost something important since the 2000's)..

 

*- although there was one awesome Polish website that I think was in some aspects better than any other F1 website I have ever seen, sadly it went downhill after the death of the original creator in 2011.

[HuddersfieldTerrier1986]

This is both a fantastic question and a fantastic thread to read.

 

For me, I started it the mid 90s (I was born late 86, so), got into it through my dad. Can't remember anything in my life (let alone F1) before 1994 but I vividly remember watching Imola 94.

 

Always been one for being up at silly o'clock for quali and races, that's always been the case. Used to be similar for practice, or just watching practice more often, but now I'm married, work, and have a daughter, so the last decade or so it's mainly been the quali and races that get watched.

 

Also alwas used to watch all the pre and post race when it was on ITV/BBC, and was the same with Sky at first, but then felt it became stale, so quite content to miss most of the pre race stuff and at times some of the post race stuff.

 

Used to really like Montoya, mainly because he was a no nonsense driver who was agressive both on the track and verbally.

 

Never had a favourite team though

 

In terms of other motorsport, went to Le Mans for the first time in 2000 (that was a hot one!) with my dad and a load of other friends of his. That carried on for the best part of a decade, but then as my dad became a little less mobile (health issues) that stopped, but even now i watch every Le Mans session including the entire race live (needless to say I book the Monday off so I can sleep!)

 

Always been into touring cars, BTCC, DTM, V8s etc but to a lesser extent than F1 or Le Mans

 

Always taken an interest in F2/GP2/F3/GP3/whatever you want to call it haha to see the possible next crop of F1 driver coming up through the ranks

 

Used to get Autosport Mag weekly and F1 Racing mag monthly, but that stopped a while ago. Not a day goes by though (and this applies for the last 20+ years) where I don't look on a motorsport website of some description at least once a day

Edited by HuddersfieldTerrier1986, Today, 20:48.

[Spillage]

I have less time on my hands than I did before I get married. Although I've converted my wife to the extent that she'll watch F1 with me, she draws the line at me staying up until 3am to watch NASCAR. So I watch less live motorsport than I used to.

On the other hand the digital output of nearly every series has drastically improved over the last few years, so though I'm watching less stuff live, I've anything I'm consuming more content than ever!

[messy]

When did you start watching?
1995, aged 9 or 10.

What have been the peak years of interest?
1997-2006. Maybe absolute peak for me was 1997-1999 because I was a kid discovering and falling in love with so many aspects of motorsport. Started with BTCC and WRC (I liked cars that were recognisable from the road) then discovered F1, then CART, then all the games on my PlayStation, the magazines, books...at its peak sitting at the table reading an F1 magazine was kinda this seminal experience that just took me to such a happy place.

What were the leanest years? Have you ever taken a break from watching motorsport altogether?
2007-2008, for the reasons below. In terms of years where I’ve watched but not been massively inspired by it, in F1 that would probably be the early hybrid years where Mercedes were winning everything, and 2002 which was just dreadful. That year probably contributed to motorsport losing its level of magic for me - I was like 16/17, and it felt like every single series that year was a bit wank. F1, Schumacher dominated. WRC, Gronholm dominated. MotoGP, Rossi won virtually every race. CART was beginning to die. The BTCC was at maybe its lowest ebb and a million miles behind its Super Touring heyday. A terrible year. World Superbikes had that epic finale, but the first half of the year was Bayliss total domination, second half Edwards total domination. Even that wasn’t a classic season, just a classic finale/title comeback.

What factors influenced any of these changes?

In 2007, I decided I was bored and in a rut. I'd just finished uni, moved back home and was doing agency work. Bored and unfulfilled. So I went and took a job in the Valleys in South Wales, moved there, got a circle of friends and discovered I was more interested in drinking and girls than I was in Lewis Hamilton's record breaking debut season, which played out almost unnoticed by me. I remember following text updates on the season finale in Brazil on my phone, though (while on a hike in the countryside, all by myself), so I guess I still kept in touch. 2008 I went to work abroad, in Nigeria. There was no real way to watch it there, and again I was more motivated by 'finding myself', however cringe that is. None of it anything to do with the quality of racing.

Edited by messy, Today, 23:08.

[Collombin]

When did you start watching?
1956 and ain't bored yet

That's 23 minutes. Big deal. It's not as if we're on about cricket.

[NewMrMe]

When did you start watching?

- As a toddler in the early 80s. My Dad is also a motorsport fan. I started watching with him.

 

 

 

What have been the peak years of interest?

- The Senna, Prost, Mansell, Piquet era of the late 80s and early 90s. Four greats who were very different to each other both on and off the track.

 

 

What were the leanest years?

- The years under Max Mosley. There was a moment under him where I noticed that rulings and judgements were about what outcome had the most favourable commercial implications, not what was right from a sporting perspective. By that I mean trying to engineer a close championship battle or favouring the driver or team with the largest fanbase.

 

 

Have you ever taken a break from watching motorsport altogether?

- No, but it did get to the point in the Mosley era where if I had to be somewhere else when there was a race, I didn't bother recording it.

 

 

What factors influenced any of these changes? 

- Partially answered in the leanest years question. After Mosley stood down ruling came more about what is right from a sporting perspective.

[Lennat]

Main phases would be something like:

The Genesis:
Got very into cars in general in 1998, at the age of 11. Ferrari was my favorite brand, and I quickly became a Ferrari/F1/Schumi fan as well. This phase remained until other interests took over for a bit around 2004, partially because of Schumis's domination. I didn't watch many if any races between maybe mid 2004 and all of 2005, or something like that.

Second coming:
I took notice of how there was an actual battle again in late 2005 and started paying some attention again. Even if I didn't like the V8s as much as the V10s, the change itself was exciting, and I was LONGING for the season to start. I was back to watching every race again.

I started watching MotoGP in 2007, but got more properly hooked a few years later, but still not at F1 levels. I didn't really keep track of back markers or watch qualy for instance.

Slight 4-wheel decline:
Mercedes dominance starting in 2014 was a bit boring, but I still watched every race. MotoGP interest grew ever stronger, and probably surpassed F1 in 2022 for me. 2023 and start of 2024 were not great for F1. I've fast-forwarded quite a few races and skipped qualy quite a few times. Never for MotoGP, I watch every qualy, sprit and GP. Also got hooked on WSBK last yearand watch most qualys and every race since last summer. I doubt I will attend another F1 race, as I'd much rather attend a MotoGP one, and have done so every year since 2022. I just find modern F1 cars too on rails, quiet and soulless, plus genuinely prefer bike racing now anyway. A truly epic championship battle would suck me right into obsession mode again, but not quite like before, I think (unless Alonso was involved in it, but time is running out for that...).

I've usually kept up with but not watched the WRC and WEC under it's various disguises, plus watched most IndyCar races for the last 16 or so years after the "merger".

I've come to prefer two wheels over four, plus lost basically all interest in new road cars. My huge general car interest (which was the entry oint for everything) is basically gone, except for classic sports cars.

Edited by Lennat, Today, 23:11.

[TMC44]

Started to take an interest when I was 6 or 7. That was probably through watching Grandstand on a Saturday afternoon, thats if my dad had not taken me to football. They used to show rallycross, scambling and a bit of F1. Seem to remember Nina Rindt receiving  the World Championship trophy on there, that would be my first memory of F1.

The drivers I first took an interest in were Hill and Stewart. Followed a few years later by Hunt, as an impressionable teenager the sight of Hunt with attractive women on his arm, drinking champagne and driving a F1  car had quite an affect on me. I was also fascinated by how cars were made. My dad was a sheet metal worker and once had a chance to work for Lotus, but decided not to as it meant  relocating. Another thing that attracted me was how brave the drivers were.

I first attended  Brands Hatch in 1977, my parents would often drop me off there. I bought my first season ticket in 81 just after I passed my test. Been a regular ever since, cut back a little bit when I lived in east London for a while, and the odd game of cricket got in the way of attending.

Helped someone run a car in the 90s for four season. And when I had an engineering company I used to make bits for cars now and then.

Over time I have been to speedway, rallycross and banger .racing, the only type of racing that I have never liked is drag racing, just cannoot find an interest in it.

In a couple of weeks I will buy my season pass for Brands which covers cars and bikes, even though I miss the Superbikes, BTCC, Trucks and Euro Nascar it still saves a fair few bob.

As for enjoyment, I stiil enjoy going but the number of safety cars and stopages can seem at times a bit too much. And I do miss the times when nearly every meeting had Formula Fords on the bill. Those of you not around in the late 70s to early 90s missed a golden era of Formula Ford racing. The Festivals were truly wonderful.

As for F1. I am slowly losing interest. A grand Prix used to be an occasion, but now there are too many. Then there is  the supporters of drivers, there as bad as football supporters., Only been to a few Grand Prixs and can safely say I will never attend another.