Tom Brooks: My Introduction into Formula 1

Let me take you back 10 years ago to 2004, when I was just 7 years old and I first started watching Formula 1.

My first taste of the sport came one afternoon when I was visiting my Grandfather who was watching the United States Grand Prix, I sat down next to him and watched Juan Pablo Montoya wresting his Williams BMW FW26 around the legendary circuit. I sat there, memorised as to how the Columbian was driving around the circuit with such ease and fluidity.

I asked my Grandfather more about Formula 1, about who he supported and what it used to be like and before I got an answer, he got up, went to a drawer and picked up his '50 Years of Formula One' book. We went through it, year-by-year and he explained to me the rise and fall of Lotus and Vanwall, the introductions to ground-breaking aerodynamics and of course the superb legacy of the Prancing Horse.

He told me about champions such as Juan Manuel Fangio, Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart. He explained about who he had watched and idolised growing up and it immediately peaked my interests, seen as my Father used to be a racing driver. He also informed me of the great peril and dangers of the sport, how in the 50's the drivers basically sat on fuel tanks and that any serious crash would often result in severe injury, if not death. He neglected to tell me about the ill-fated San Marino Grand Prix of 1994 however, that was something I would find out about years later.

We finished the book and continued to watch the Grand Prix, all the while he told me about the smaller teams such as Minardi and Jordan and how their budget was limited compared to that of Ferrari or McLaren.

He was a great fan of David Coulthard and Jenson Button's and I'll always remember how I would be upstairs fiddling away with a computer and suddenly this rapturous cheer would come from downstairs as either one had made an overtake!

Immediately, I became hooked on Formula 1 and found myself Googling different facts to find out more information about the sport. It completely took over my childhood, I watched every race religiously from then-on, sometimes with my Grandfather, sometimes without. I became a complete junkie towards F1, constantly seeking to find out more information and share it with someone. Finding someone to share my knowledge of the sport with over my childhood was very difficult, given that at the ages or 8 or 9, most boys are interested in trading cards or whatever the big hit was back then!

I made PowerPoint presentations on the previous seasons of F1 and asked to show them in class, not having a care if anybody in the room was at all interested; as long as I could share this knowledge with people then it made me feel better in myself for a reason that I cannot fathom and even though there were people who had been following the sport for years and had a far better knowledge of it than me, it never seemed to matter.

I got a PlayStation 2 in 2005 for Christmas, the first game I got was F1 05 and I started on the career mode. I must have played well over 100 hours of that game, working my way up from the Minardi to McLaren, it was pure bliss.

In all honesty, I wish I had taken an interest in Formula 1 sooner. These were the 'golden' years for me; the roaring V10 engines with around 900bhp, ITV's coverage with Jim Rosenthal, James Allen's commentary (I was always a fan!), the BMW powered Williams, small teams such as Jordan and Minardi (who I had such a respect for given their financial issues), the cut-slick tyres and tyre wars between Michelin and Bridgestone.

Those are just a few of my favourite things about Formula 1 from my childhood, I miss them awfully now as I know that nothing will ever occur like that again. Ever.

That was some 10 years ago, and little did I think at the age of 16 that I would be sitting here writing about such a subject and trying to make a career from it! I owe my introduction into Formula 1 to my Grandfather, who sadly died of Cancer in 2007. I inherited his '50 Years of Formula One' book upon his death and it sits in a drawer in my bedside table, I read it occasionally and smile, at the opportunity that I was given!

I hope that has been an interesting insight of my introduction into Formula One. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Tom Brooks
F1 Editor