Six F1 fans at U-High were asked four questions about why they enjoy watching F1 and what started their F1 journey. They also offered some advice to new fans.
Why do you watch the sport?
“I like cars and I like watching them race. It’s exhilarating.”
— Adi Shukla, sophomore
“It combines the intense physical exertion of a regular sport with incredible engineering feats, so it’s this really cool intersection in between engineering, math, and all these physics concepts, like who can build the fastest car as well as who’s the fastest driver.”
— Maya Livni, senior
“Just the overall competitive nature of it, I find it really interesting. Also, the fact that there’s an engineering perspective, too, which I’m really interested in.”
— Ronen Malani, junior
“I watch the sport because my brother and dad introduced it to me, and also because it’s exciting.”
— Myra Shetty, sophomore
“I watch F1 for the excitement, and I like supporting my team.”
— Tanvir Singh, ninth grader
“I like cars a lot, and then racing is just an extra to it. I love the complexity behind them, and I love following the drama of the drivers.”
— Aariz Omar, sophomore
What got you into watching the sport?
“I started racing at a racetrack in the suburbs of Chicago. I raced Mazda Miatas, and I raced two-cycle and four-cycle go karts. After picking up racing, I found a love for Formula One as well, as well as my F1 in Schools club contribution.”
— Adi Shukla, sophomore
“I mean, Lewis Hamilton was at Mercedes at the time. My brother was a fan of them, and I love Lewis Hamilton, so I also became a Formula One fan, and we would watch races on the weekends.”
— Maya Livni, senior
“Through the Netflix show, ‘Drive to Survive.’ I saw my friend was watching it, so I went and watched it, and I basically got hooked, and I got interested and started watching races.”
— Ronen Malani, junior
“Mainly because my family likes watching F1 sometimes, so I just see it on the TV and they also talk about it.”
— Myra Shetty, sophomore
“Friends and family.”
— Tanvir Singh, ninth grade
“I just saw it on TikTok, and I realized that I should just wake up early one day and watch it, and I did that.”
— Aariz Omar, sophomore
What is your favorite part of watching F1?
“The drama. Something can go wrong at any second.”
— Adi Shukla, sophomore
“You get to see different drivers battle it out. It’s super exciting when there’s, like, an overtake or especially within a team, you see how the strategists might ask one driver to let another one pass them, and so for the benefit of the team, that one driver might have to pass.”
— Maya Livni, senior
“Watching the on-track battles and seeing how close drivers are getting to each other and like $10 million cars going 200 miles an hour to fight for positions.”
— Ronen Malani, junior
“Just watching the different events, I guess, and also just like the excitement of which team or person wins.”
— Myra Shetty, sophomore
“Just like the excitement and how things can just change so quickly.”
— Tanvir Singh, ninth grade
“Supporting my team, Ferrari, because I want them to win every time.”
— Aariz Omar, sophomore
What is one piece of advice you would give to new fans?
“Watch the sport.”
— Adi Shukla, sophomore
“Watch the race recaps because I think they cut out a lot of the more boring parts of Formula One.”
— Maya Livni, senior
“Don’t just be a fan of whatever the best team is.”
- Ronen Malani, junior
“Just keep watching it for a while because it gets more entertaining the more you watch it.”
— Myra Shetty, sophomore
“Stay loyal to your team, and don’t change teams.”
— Tanvir Singh, ninth grader
“Wake up early — it’s worth it — and then download the F1 app on your phone because then you can just follow the races if you forget to watch them.”
— Aariz Omar, sophomore
