The F1 Moments That Made Me Become a Fan in 2020

2020 AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX -- 5 July, Red Bull Ring

"Scenario 7. Scenario 7. Two to go."

They say you never forget your first time.

Eleven of 20 drivers were left on track at this point -- which feels pretty spectacular in and of itself, and Lando Norris was the only one we cared about. I didn't know anything about any of them, and I certainly didn't know what was happening. Lewis Hamilton, king of Formula 1, had a penalty. And Lando was close.

It wasn't clear what Scenario 7 was, or what overtake did, or how Lando could possibly make up the gap that would see him on an F1 podium for the first time. As a complete novice, despite my lack of clarity on what's happening, I was absolutely transfixed. 

And that's how I fell in love with Formula 1.

For starters, it's really easy to root for a single person with a single goal. It sounds like it'd be fun to see someone come from behind and usurp the best, so I wanted it to happen. But as a NASCAR kid, I had never really seen a chase quite like this before. All these weird terms become secondary as you watch a car go wickedly fast through all these turns and undulations. If you know how to count, which I thankfully do, you can watch the seconds tick down on the interval. You watch with bated breath and hope he can pull it off. He did. Hell, it's probably why I'm a McLaren fan now. Two nice guys in bright cars going fast, and proving themselves to me right away.

Don't get me wrong, I had a lot to learn from here. Even throughout this race, I was being given a rundown of who's who and what things mean and the significance of this and that. I was yet to get caught up on all the lore and drama thanks to Drive to Survive (regardless of how you feel about it, it's a great way to get into the sport, okay?).

I know all that stuff now, but I learned the most important lesson first. When it comes down to it, good racing is good racing. This was that, and I wanted more.

2020 BRITISH GRAND PRIX -- 2 August, Silverstone Circuit

"This is now Lewis Hamilton praying that the chequered flag comes as soon as is humanly possible."

One of the first things you hear about Formula 1 is how unbearably dominant Lewis Hamilton is at Mercedes.

Yes, Lewis had like a 20 second gap already, I know, please don't tell me. You know what he didn't have? Four functioning tyres. His fate was that of Valtteri and Carlos, with the tire deciding it was time to just sort of give up.

Motorsport is unique for having absolute chaos be able to occur suddenly that redefines everything -- be that a major accident taking out several drivers, or suddenly having to face the question "is Lewis Hamilton good enough to drive a car all the way to the end that is literally non-functional?"

Turns out the answer is yes, because of course it is. The man's tyres are perpetually gone, and Bono got sick of hearing it and wanted to teach him a lesson or something.

There's a lot to be said about Lewis, his career, his dominance, and the kind of legacy he's going to leave in the sport. But things like this (and more recently his absolutely charge in Bahrain) are important reminders that while we're tired of seeing him winning, he is winning for a reason. Oh, and it's extremely exciting when things explode.

2020 ITALIAN GRAND PRIX -- 6 September, Autodromo Nazionale Monza

"We've got DRS on-board the McLaren at the moment... it will be very close but I doubt close enough."

As far as I can remember, that was the first time I had screamed VAMOOOOOOOOS at a small TV while jumping up and down, but I don't remember every high school party I went to, so who can say for sure.

Formula 1 may be a complex and intimidating sport at first blush -- and even after a few races of getting adjusted -- but some things are obviously, transparently great. I was fully hitched on the McLaren bandwagon at this point, a historic team on the up and up with two thrilling young drivers. And against all odds, Carlos Sainz was within striking distance of winning the Italian Grand Prix before he departs for the Scuderia... if Pierre Gasly doesn't get his Cinderella story.

I have never been that invested in the outcome of a sporting event. Ever. I can't think of a time, even as a kid, that I was truly this heated about sports. I think a chair got thrown when the race ended (Callum, please confirm). It was exhilarating. Of course, I was sad Carlos didn't pull it off, but how could you not be utterly obsessed with the duel we got to see and what it means for Pierre: a man who, for all intents and purposes, got dragged through hell, persevered, and took an underpowered car to glory.

(Quick note: team radio is like, the greatest shit in the world. I can't believe we can actively hear the team and driver work through the process of trying to hang onto a win, or chase one down. That's truly exceptional.)

It's worth talking about Drive to Survive again, I think. The only reason I even know the saga of Pierre Gasly is thanks to DTS. In an oversaturated media climate where literally anything you could imagine is a click away, I think it's a necessary evil to get people into the sport, and the bottom line is that it's a damn compelling show that presents the storylines in a digestible and dramatic fashion. Formula 1 relies significantly on the politics, drama, and interpersonal connections of its athletes more than any sport I can think of. And on top of that, it's a pretty tight knit community. So, while the racing was obviously spectacular and the aforementioned "love it when an underdog" achieves angle applies here, it was so fraught with tension because the stakes are elevated by everything outside the race itself..

I think those last laps would've captivated even the most casual passerby, but by this point I had done my homework and I was absolutely bananas over this finish. I re-watch it all the time. It's euphoric.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?"

For one, Pierre, you shocked the world. For another, you crafted another perfect reminder of why F1 rules.

2020 PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX -- 25 October, Autódromo Internacional do Algarve

"But look at the McLaren! Sainz right -- he's past! He's through, Sainz into the lead!"

This one is probably the simplest here. The opening of this race was chaos. Traditionally slow cars -- on soft tyres, to be fair -- were absolutely flying through the field. The track is the definition of moving up and down, side to side, like a roller coaster. Cars are touching and spinning and zooming around and then, to top it all off, rain on only part of the track.

Of course the McLaren fanboy in me obsesses with how Carlos ripped through the front of the grid and managed to get into the lead for several laps before everything came back to reality. 

The opening laps of the Portuguese Grand Prix were straightforward, fun chaos. It's hard to argue with that. Sometimes I just want spectacle and it's not about the trials and tribulations of a young man trying to prove himself to the world, or the world's best driver reminding us why, or any of that.

Sometimes bright car just go fast. And then I go caveman brain, hooting and hollering like an absolute fool. And that's fine.

2020 TURKISH GRAND PRIX (Qualifying) -- 14 November, Istanbul Park

"Brad, I wanna hear you say it mate! That's pole position!"

What would soon to become known as Valtteri Bottas's greatest ever ballet performance started as a bit of a farce. It was only about 10 seconds total from Verstappen exiting the pit lane to being completely sideways, and the track conditions never got any better.

If Portugal provided a teaser of the chaos even partially wet racing can create, Turkey brought everything about it to the logical extreme. Cold tires on a wet and recently resurfaced track in the rain is great for all the sbinalla fans out there, but it didn't really seem like something that created good qualifying (or racing). But it is good for surprising results, and as I learned that day, sometimes that's better than anything else.

Enter Lance Stroll, everyone's favourite driver to hate. Yes, he has a supervillain billionaire dad. Yes, he sort of bought his way into the sport. Yes, he seems to lack the welcoming personality of some of the other drivers. Even with all of those things in mind, I was fucking psyched for the Stroll on pole. 

There's so many amazing details here. For one, what an incredible fuck you to everyone who says you lack talent. Those track conditions were made for ice skates and drivers with nearly a dozen world championships between them looked completely out of their depth, but Lance was assured. He rocketed that pink beauty around the track with (relative) ease, and, rightfully, sent Crofty and the rest of us into hysterics.

Lance wasn't supposed to be there. And what's better, in sports or life, than an "underdog" being somewhere they shouldn't? Nothing. That's the magic of Stroll on pole. A bunch of professional drivers got on a race track that was impossible to drive on, basically all of them failed to achieve anything, and the resident daddy's boy with the lined pockets finally got to have some fun for the first time in forever and stunted on everyone (Monza notwithstanding, he fell ass-backward into a podium in a race he could've easily won).

I can't think of many sports that work quite as well when literally nothing is working how it's supposed to and you still get a great story out of it. That's something else.

If only his race engineer would lighten up for once. Like, shit dude, would it kill you to be happy for once?

I doubt he wants to talk about the race though.

2020 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX -- 29 November, Bahrain International Circuit

"My god, it's torn the car in half."

I don't need to tell you what happened here. What I do need to tell you, is that this was a hard reminder -- especially to someone who doesn't know the long history of the sport -- that spectacle is more than fun and games. It can be life and death. 

My first reaction was to burst into tears. I suppose that's normal when you think you've watched a man die live on TV. The roughly two minute span Romain was in the car were certainly the longest of his life and some of the longest of mine. Harrowing is the word that comes to mind.

I know what you're thinking: "Corey, how could this possibly make it onto your list of moments that made you become a fan???? It sounds more like you got traumatized, and frankly, maybe you should talk to someone about it. I'm here if you need it."

While I appreciate you saying that I think it's important to consider the worst case scenario and how a sport is able to adapt and react to something that, in this case, is potentially deadly.

What's incredible here is the technology and the response. The simple fact that the monocoque of the car can successful plow through a metal barrier at 50Gs with the halo in tact is fascinating. The fire-retardant suits are a marvel. The medical team was there in what is really an instant all told, though it felt like an eternity. Everything was in place to make this survivable. I think that's really important to note.

All of this somehow ignores Romain in the whole scenario, who had the will and presence of mind to get himself out of the vehicle in the first place, a beautiful and triumphant human story profound enough to make you cry all over again when you see or hear it.

Moreover, it's remarkable to me that when the pindrop silence cleared, it was interrupted by the sound of engines as we go racing again. There's something to be said for having it in you to do that, and 19 people did that day. I don't know if I mean this in terms of like "the sanctity of the sport" or whatever, but it's amazing to see. You get out there and race because, well, what else are we going to do? We're all here.

In a way, it's touching. And it speaks to the spirit of the sport and what it means to people. That's worth a lot.

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I'll be the first to admit most races don't have moments like these, but they're why I stick around. Even the most mundane race has an impressive overtake or a touchy pitstop or something to evoke one or all of these feelings. If we're lucky, they all happen at once.

And that's why I'm an F1 fan.