My F1 background

For someone who claims to be an F1 fanatic for 8 years now (namely, me!), it sure has taken me a while to go to my first Grand Prix...

See, this is the way it goes...When I was 13, I used to live in Kuwait...I stumbled across F1 by accident really...I was bored and flipping through channels and I saw this car, a really fast one zip past on telly...Curiosity got a hold on me and I lingered on...After sitting through the remainder of what happened to be a Formula One race, I decided that I liked the car in red and that I didn't quite mind that bloke named Michael. After that, well...following races became a necessity for me...I used to get up at unearthly hours, cheer Ferrari with unprecedented passion and seriously pray that Michael and his then crappy Ferrari would last the race in question.

At that time, all the races were held everywhere except the Middle East...so I just resigned myself to watching F1 at home, like everyone else I knew at the time...I joined Michael Schumacher's Official Australian Fan Club (the damn thing decided to close half way through my membership!!) and followed Ferrari's progress via the internet which was still in its infancy.

Anyhoos, years later, what do you know...I come to Australia to study, and the FIA decides that its the perfect time to bring a little bit of entertainment to the Middle East, and so they brought F1 to Bahrain...Since fate was against me, I decided that the only way I would ever be able to do this right, would be to go to Melbourne (not a very enticing prospect, coz my beloved Ferrari don't really have a scintillating track record at Albert Park!)...but yeah...it was either go to Melbourne and see Michael before he retires, or don't bother and regret the fact for the rest of my life...So yeah, I decided to go...a minor question of financing still remained though...

Being a student, I'm always poor, and so my beloved parents stepped in to help me fulfill a dream...Between them, they paid for my Grandstand tickets, accomodation, flights and shopping/other expenses...I am very grateful to them for that...Love ya folks!!

And now, finally, after all this time, I got the chance to go to a GP...I started my countdown six months ago...and on the 30th of March 2006, I was off to my first ever Formula One Grand Prix!!