Back then, I tended to sit through it while mindlessly scrolling through my phone, only looking up when a crash happened.
Bottom line? As I'll explain in more detail, it was a fun experience. I'm still learning more about the sport — ask me about what DRS is and I'll just mumble something — but I can begin to see why many people are so obsessed by the roar of the engines and the heady smells of fuel and burning tyres. There are key themes though: The engineering wizardry behind these super-fast cars, the drivers' personalities and the behind-the-scenes dramas.Long-time fan Iman Khaliesah can attest to that. She had watched her first GP on television at the age of six, as her brother was already an F1 fanatic.
“It can be a boring sport if you only watch the cars zoom by. With the Netflix series, it has drawn in new fans and revived the interest of former fans,” said the 23-year-old full-time national serviceman. I was surprised watching Red Bull team principal Christian Horner haggle over his partnership with Renault, then finally end it, after an engine failure as portrayed in Drive to Survive.
And as I grew more interested in the sport, I found myself catching each race, though I had to often refer to Google to understand some of what went down. F1's official social media pages have made their own meme compilations and funny moments from the season. The teams themselves have their drivers featured in challenges or embracing viral moments.While the F1 is doing well online, with the millions of views on their social media accounts serving as compelling proof, getting youths to attend the actual event might be a bigger challenge.
But having attended this race, I finally understood the appeal that drew in more than 260,000 attendees this year, which exceeded organisers' expectations. The sound of the cars zooming past was exhilarating, and the crowds and atmosphere are addictive.Some might argue that attending the F1 is only worth it if you are able to watch a crash happen in person, but I disagree, even though such events definitely generate a buzz in the crowd.