The F1 British Grand Prix: The most memorable moments from Silverstone

It's almost that time of the year again for the most exciting race in British motorsport, as Formula 1 turns its attentions to the United Kingdom and more specifically, Silverstone. The world-famous and historical track will once again play host to the British Grand Prix on July 14, whereby Lewis Hamilton will be looking for his sixth win on home soil.

By Carlina Xavier from London, England -
It's time for a comeback, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://
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The Stevenage-born driver is arguably one of the finest to represent Britain in F1, and he has often been the focal point of Silverstone's finest moments. 2019's race will be the 55th time that Silverstone has held the British Grand Prix so ahead of the spectacle, let's take a look at some of the most memorable moments from Silverstone.

Hamilton's first win at Silverstone – 2008
There's no better place to start than remembering Lewis Hamilton's first-ever win at Silverstone in 2008, which was the same year he won his first drivers' championship as well. The 23-year-old had endured a difficult qualifying which meant he started in fourth position, but the latter stages of the main race demonstrated what Hamilton was all about. He took a commanding lead early on but the maturity in his driving in such bad conditions was a joy to behold, and he duly crossed the line to a rip-roaring applause from the home faithful. Think he'll do it again this year? British Grand Prix Betting is available right now for the latest and best prices.

Mansell’s 1994 Comeback, by Ibrar Malik

Nigel Mansell won the 1992 F1 world championship comfortably before announcing his shocking switch to American Indycar racing for the following year. He had become fed up with protracted contract renewal negotiations so departed his beloved Williams and F1 on sour terms. Given these circumstances, it makes Mansell's return to both for 1994 all the more remarkable.

Mansell (pictured in 1994) won the Indy Car title during his rookie year in 1993. It was an astonishing achievement. 

The upcoming book provides more detail, but essentially Nigel's return to F1 in 1994 was a direct result of Senna's tragic accident. Because F1 was left without any world champions on the grid and Schumacher was dominating races, Bernie Ecclestone needed to bring some positive news to a sport in crisis. F1's commercial supremo, therefore, engineered Mansell's return believing it would give Schumacher a worthy rival whilst also increasing television ratings.

The Most Successful and Worst Car of 1994, What Do They Have in Common?, by Ibrar Malik

Answer - they shared the same ancestor. The Pacific PR01 car failed to finish a race in 1994 whereas the Benetton B194 won eight Grands Prix, yet amazingly the two cars originated from the same 1991 design. It's just the Pacific was a less refined version of the Benetton.

In 1991 a high-quality design team headed by Rory Byrne and Pat Symonds secretly worked on a Reynard F1 car. However, the project was eventually shelved and the team moved back to Benetton for 1992. "I was a director of the Reynard F1 effort so knew a lot about it," explains Willem Toet, Benetton's Head of Aerodynamics in 1994 and one of the key contributors towards the upcoming book. "Pat Symonds, Rory Byrne and Adrian Reynard were the other directors. Afterwards we all went back to Benetton because Rory did a deal for the whole group. I don't think there is a person on the planet who knows the story better than I do." Their 1991 Reynard design morphed into the race winning 1992 Benetton and the B194 car, which Michael Schumacher used to win the 1994 drivers' championship, was an advanced evolution of it.

Some extremely rare photos of the 1991 Reynard F1 project conducting wind tunnel testing with Willem Toet. 

Monaco GP Report - Righting a wrong

It was the Monaco Grand Prix in the here and now. But, throughout, many minds were on that two years ago.

Daniel Ricciardo got his Monaco redemption, two years on
Photo: Octane Photography

Then Daniel Ricciardo dominated the Monaco weekend, but lost the win due to Red Bull botching a pitstop. This time he dominated if anything to a greater extent - topping every single practice and qualifying session. Again he led the race. Again though he met problems - this time with his engine. But this time he overcame them to win. In more than one sense he righted a wrong.

To begin with the race was typical Monaco. The poleman Ricciardo led from the line and looking untroubled. Then after the round of what was predicted to be the solitary stops all among the frontrunners stayed in the same order. And track position is ten tenths of the law here.

But another thing typical of Monaco is that it can bite. Things, somehow, happen here. Ricciardo knows this better than most.

In Retrospect: The 1999 European Grand Prix, by Steven Critchley

F1 action will return to Baku's treacherous street circuit on 25 June, after a successful hosting of last year's European Grand Prix, which returned to the calendar after a three-year absence. This time, it will be host to the inaugural Azerbaijan Grand Prix, once more testing the technical abilities of constructors in a more diverse way, while also forcing drivers on the circuit to time their overtakes to perfection.

As a street circuit, Baku offers little margin for error from anyone, regardless of how experienced or decorated they may be. Another battle of Ferrari versus Mercedes is expected, but the negation of the disparity that once existed is reflected by Mercedes's Valtteri Bottas being priced at 28/1 on bet365's F1 betting odds to win this year's title. However, the unpredictability that typically characterises a new F1 circuit was in full evidence last year, when Sergio Perez enjoyed a rare moment in the sun in an unfancied Force India car and finished third.


19 June 2016: Drivers speak to press after the inaugural F1 race in Baku. 

Inside Line F1 Podcast - Nico Hulkenberg Gets Funny On The Inside Line

Nico Hulkenberg debuts on the Inside Line F1 Podcast! In the off-season, we will bring to you a few Formula 1 drivers talking about their favourite radio messages and jokes from the sport.

After Nico Rosberg and David Coulthard's successful interviews on the Inside Line F1 Podcast, we now have the famous 'Hulk'. In this week's episode, Hulkenberg tells us his funniest radio message, how he found Juan Pablo Montoya funny in Austria in 2001 and his struggles in trying to remember his favourite Formula 1 joke.

Apart from the Hulkenberg special, we talk about Mercedes' overdrive to find Nico Rosberg's replacement and cashing in on the positive PR around it. Strangely enough, 'overtaking' was not added as a skill in their much-publicised advert for a Formula 1 driver. Get the hint?

If Fernando Alonso doesn't fill the vacant cockpit, does it indicate a decline in Bernie Ecclestone's control over the sport? And in no way is Valtteri Bottas a brave choice, Mr. Wolff. Let's hope that all the powers combine bring to us a Hamilton-Alonso pairing in 2017!

And finally, remember to subscribe to us on iTunes or Audio Boom as we bring to you Sergio 'Checo' Perez next week.

Tune in!

(Season 2016, Episode 43)

A Positive and Responsible Start For Heineken - a guest article by Gemma Gale

Heineken's new Formula 1 partnership means the brand will be the title sponsor for three Grand Prix each year as part of a huge multi-million dollar deal. What's more, Heineken's bid to extend its reach into F1 will also see it become involved with two teams: these teams are yet to be officially announced but one is strongly tipped to be Red Bull. Heineken has vowed to 'drag F1 into the digital age' and is certainly set to make the most of its new sponsorship opportunity, recruiting F1 legends Sir Jackie Stewart and David Coulthard to serve as its ambassadors within the sport.

The Right Fit?

F1's sponsorship tie-up with Heineken 
was announced with much fanfare
Photo: Octane Photography

When it was announced that Heineken would be the latest F1 sponsor some may have doubted that the brand was the right match. After all, a motor sport, a culture where drinking behind the wheel is strictly discouraged and widely prohibited, and a beer brand simply didn't seem like a natural fit. However the brand has silenced the naysayers with its first campaign since the sponsorship deal was announced that encourages responsible drinking and uses F1 race legend (and road safety pioneer) Sir Jackie Stewart to star in a TV advert that tells fans 'When You Drive, Never Drink'.

Inside Line F1 Podcast - Will The Real Lewis Hamilton Please Stand Up

If he has any hopes of winning his third championship on the trot, the real Lewis Hamilton needs to stand up - show us the quick racer he is, minus the distractions (music, movies and Penelope Cruz). Meanwhile Niki Lauda was spotted sharing ice cream with Nico Rosberg, where was Lewis in all of this? Maybe they made Lewis wait in the car!

Hamilton is smartly planning his retirement with Mercedes - he will be building supercars and doing demos, basically becoming the next David Coulthard? With autonomous cars likely to be the biggest threat to Formula 1, guess all drivers need retirement plans (not just Fernando Alonso!).

Apart from hanging out with Lauda, Rosberg has been doing various other things we thought are Hamilton's speciality. This includes hanging out at exotic destinations (Ibiza), posing with private jets for no apparent reason, fanboy moments with Hollywood stars and pissing off Formula 1's sponsors. Hopefully, the next Lewis-inspired move he pulls off is winning a World Championship.

Strange things are happening in Formula One. Hamilton and Rosberg's relationship has never been better, thanks to some dubious bonding in a Monaco swimming pool. The poster boy of capitalism, Bernie Ecclestone, is planning to do away with bonus payments for the big teams. The silly season rumours continue to fly, will Kimi stay or go?

More speed but less races, should we be excited about the 2017 season? Or is it all a marketing hoax? Britain may have voted to Brexit, but when will Formula One get the big Ecc-xit? Mclaren-Honda and Fernando Alonso continue to make a joke of themselves on and off track and we are happy to laugh along. With the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix coming up, we predict that the Red Bull Ring might need to be renamed as Mercedes Ring.

Tune in!

(Season 2016, Episode 22)

Tyre wars - such a good idea?

"Did tyres play an important part today?" asked a typically self-important Mark Thatcher - working for American television for some reason - of the victor of the 1981 Las Vegas Grand Prix just finished. That victor was Alan Jones, who couldn't believe his luck that Thatcher seemingly was unaware of the trap he had just laid before himself. "Oh, absolutely" replied Jones. "You see, they keep the wheels from touching the ground".

Alan Jones - knew the value of tyres
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Yet even Jones when not being facetious appreciated the real importance of tyres in F1. "Goodyear are letting us down" he said of his rubber to journalist Nigel Roebuck at the Austrian Grand Prix earlier that same season, "we need some proper qualifiers. If it was up to me, I'd go back to Michelin tomorrow". And when it was pointed out that such things often are preceded with 'don't quote me' or similar, Jones was resolute. "Write it" he said. "It might get someone angry - and then something might get done about it".

Yet for all that we scarcely seem to stop talking tyres in modern F1, specific talk as Jones' is now a relic of the past. Now we are in the age of the single tyre supplier supplying its product to any and all competitors. Many ages of F1 past have had but a sole supplier too but nowadays is different, as only one is allowed. Brought in as a cost control device from 2007 onwards tyre suppliers periodically tender to be the sport's solitary chosen one. While you or I might go to visit National Tyres and Autocare or Tyre Shopper to chose their road tyres, F1 teams do not have a say on their rubber.

A decision on the latest contract, for 2017-2019, is expected soon with the incumbent Pirelli and Michelin the two companies that have pitched. It's now in effect an arbitrary Bernie Ecclestone decision as the FIA has approved both tenderers and simply he now does the deal that he chooses. And even though reportedly teams have been putting pressure on to ditch the controversial Italian supplier, as well as that no one's got rich by second guessing BCE, the smart money remains on Pirelli hanging around. Bernie wants to continue to use the rubber as a means of spicing up the show via deliberate degradation it is thought; Michelin is more cool on the idea. So that presumably is that. His rather earnest defence of Pirelli in Monza seemed to rather cement the idea.

Nico Rosberg - failing on the rules of politics?

Right, I'm going to let you all into a secret. For my sins, I actually like politics. Not merely F1 politics, though admittedly that's an admission it itself. I actually like the party politics that in the main (and with justification) inspire much derision. Yes, I'm one of them.

Nico Rosberg has had to watch his team mate do a lot
of winning this year so far
Photo: Octane Photography

As an auxiliary benefit it comes in handy for interpreting F1 sometimes too. There often are parallels, and it shouldn't really surprise either. The manoeuvrings; the deals; getting the right people around you; getting people onside; getting 'messages' out there - all to the detriment of opponents, are clear examples of common ground.

And it's come in handy once again what with Nico Rosberg and all that, following his much wrestled over comments following last Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix.

They'll be familiar to you by now. As will many of the theories on what inspired it. Of course, it remains possible that it was all no more complex than simple sounding off, as Niki Lauda indeed insisted afterwards. And us sports observers don't half have a weakness for applying cod psychology regardless of its actual applicability.

But still, there are reasons to suspect that it instead was part of a plan. With three defeats from three to his team mate and nominal biggest rival in 2015, and that team mate/rival looking serene, the need to change things somehow presumably are at the forefront of Nico's thoughts. Further, given who he's up against too - and without disrespect - he's unlikely to win out in a straight battle of driving talents.

Inside Line F1 Podcast: At the Red Bull F1 Showrun in Hyderabad with David Coulthard

The latest Inside Line F1 podcast is here. And this one is a cracker, as Kunal and Rishi have a coup of an interview with David Coulthard, who was at an F1 showcar run in Hyderabad driving the Red Bull.

It's a great interview, which covers what Coulthard gets up to with Red Bull these days, 1998 in Australia and all that, the current formula and the competitive prospects for this season among many other things. It's excellent and fascinating and well worth a listen below. They also report from the showcar run and explore F1's promotion and support in India:

The Inside Line F1 podcast is produced and hosted by Kunal Shah and Rishi Kapoor, and is one of the most listened to podcasts in India and Asia. They are looking to expand elsewhere, and here on Talking about F1 I'm delighted to help share it.

Kunal has been writing on F1 for eight seasons, you can visit Kunal's website at: http://www.kunalsf1blog.com/ and you also can follow him on Twitter here.

Smile of Lewis

The Malaysian Grand Prix just passed may not have been an enthralling one, but it could well have been an important one. Its outcome felt rather a lot like a signpost of what is to come.

Is the sun to shine on Lewis Hamilton in 2014?
Photo: Octane Photography

Yes, the Mercedes being the class of the field part was expected, but the bit wherein Lewis Hamilton wiped the floor with Nico Rosberg was less so. Perhaps much less so.

Indeed, we were all familiar with the narrative expressed in the off-season: there was little - surprisingly little - to choose between Lewis and Nico in their first season as team mates in 2013; the new complex formula of 2014 would suit Nico and his cerebral, engineering-led, approach; Lewis by contrast would find the nuances beyond him and the requirements to fuel-save at cross purposes with his press-on style.

Of course, last Sunday was but a single race. Further there may have been details explaining at least some of the Lewis-Nico chasm that Mercedes isn't letting on, such as Nico entering a set-up blind alley during the Sepang weekend or having a technical problem. But on the basis of what we know last Sunday's action indicated that Lewis Hamilton will take some stopping this season, as much as for his team mate as anyone else.

Further thoughts on the the Indian Grand Prix

The most valuable man in Formula One
Martin Brundle after the Indian race called him 'the most valuable man in Formula One'. And not for nothing, last weekend he increased his personal count of world championship crowns to 20, claimed in a mere 22 season spell and with three separate teams. He's not a driver, nor is he a team boss. Heck with this attempt to create tension, you've probably long since worked out who I'm on about: one Adrian Newey, Red Bull's Technical Director.

The days of an F1 car being the creation of one guy at a drawing board are long in the past; modern design teams encompass scores of people and Newey more than anyone resists the idea that - at Red Bull or anywhere else he's been - it's all about him. But even with this the magic dust that Newey sprinkles is obvious; for various reasons he more than deserves to detain us for a few paragraphs.

Adrian Newey - an astonishing man
with astonishing achievements
Credit: Morio / CC

Of course, I was cheating ever so slightly with the championships total above, in that Newey unlike a driver can aim for two crowns per year (drivers' and constructors'). But close to a 50% strike rate is not to be sniffed at - not even Schumi matches it (though he wasn't too far off pre-comeback). And even the equivalent totals of other revered technical heads from F1 history pale somewhat: Colin Chapman has 13 championships; Mauro Forghieri 11; Ross Brawn 16; Rory Byrne 14. It doesn't seem hyperbole to state that Newey is F1's best and most remarkable technical brain ever. Bar none.

And his title total has been accumulated despite a conspicuous fallow period. It seems scarcely believable, but for the whole of the 2000-2009 decade for Newey there was not a single title. There were of course mitigating circumstances: he was up against the mighty Ferrari 'dream team' for much of it; moreover Newey and McLaren were hardly helped during this period by many of Newey's ideas being shot down by the FIA, some before they'd even been raced (including something akin to KERS long before it became famous). This was the same FIA that just so happened to have a close relationship with the Scuderia at the time, as well as a highly adversarial one with McLaren's head honcho Ron Dennis. We found out some time later that the Italian team had a technical regulation veto too (and indeed still does). Not that I draw conclusions from this, you understand.

What is right and what is wrong on team orders?

It was possibly the most glum podium in F1 history. Red Bull had claimed a one-two finish on a day it was expected to struggle, after an exciting wheel-to-wheel battle for supremacy. Winner Sebastian Vettel in so doing put clear points over those he's expected to be in a title fight with this year. While Lewis Hamilton finished in third, his new team's car showing that it has potency on race day and is much more competitive than many had thought/feared in advance. Yet, you'd never know it. Of the three drivers' faces two were sheepish and the other angry.

Sebastian Vettel won today, but that
was only the beginning of the story
Credit: Alex Comerford / CC

It was team orders what did it. Both Red Bull and Mercedes, whose cars had ran in close formation at the front for most of the Malaysian Grand Prix's duration, chose to enact a 'hold station' order from the pitwall after their final stops. This should have meant that Mark Webber finished ahead of Vettel to win and that Hamilton finished ahead of Nico Rosberg in third and fourth. Rosberg chose (however reluctantly) to obey the order; Seb didn't and won the race.

So, Vettel did wrong? It seems so. He confirmed after the race that he heard the instruction as well as apologised for making a 'mistake' in taking the lead to win. But it's hard to believe that Seb didn't know what he was doing. It appears most likely that his competitive instincts took over and he couldn't resist seizing the extra seven points on offer, regardless of everything else.

Retro F1: 1996 Monaco Grand Prix

Hello you. The first Retro F1 in a while took place yesterday. And we had a great race to watch, the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix. It's a race that has lived long in the memory due to its drama and surprise result.

For those who don't know, Retro F1 is watching a classic F1 race in full on YouTube and chatting on Twitter with like-minded F1 people as we go using the #RetroF1 hashtag. All are welcome! The highlights of yesterday's Twitter chat are below.

Here’s the Retro F1 YouTube link: Now clicking play :)

It’s in several parts, it's a playlist so it should automatically move onto the next part when one ends.

The 1996 Monaco Grand Prix was a dramatic and memorable one
Credit: Steve Gregory / CC

Not much of a backstory to this race. This is race 6 of the 1996 season, Damon Hill in the Williams has won 5 out of 6 races so far, and leads the table by a country mile. Indycar champion Jacques Villeneuve, arriving in F1 to be Hill’s team mate, is next up, winning the other race.

Looking back: 1997 - an underrated classic

A F1 season in which grids and races were tight and we'd enter weekends with no idea who would be on top; it could have literally been anyone from more than half of the grid. It was also a season with a close championship battle. And one in which tyres would often fall apart quickly and would have to be nursed through a race stint.

No, it's not now. It's fifteen years ago: the year of 1997.

When classic seasons in F1 history are discussed I often think that 1997 is curiously rarely-mentioned. It was an underrated classic. While much of F1 in the 1990s was characterised by only a small number of likely winners at any given moment, and often one team dominating, 1997 represented something of a renaissance. Perhaps part of the season's not getting the credit it deserves owes something to its being poorly served by statistics. For all of its competitiveness, it can only claim to six different winners (from four teams) in 17 races. But with cards falling the other way it could easily have boasted anything up to double those numbers.

Jacques Villeneuve,
some years later
Credit: Rick Dikeman / CC

In this year Williams Renault was the dominant force, but the Schumacher-Ferrari double act, joined this year for the first time by Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne, was getting into its stride and more than capable of making a thorough pest of itself. Then there was McLaren who, with Mercedes engines, was finally emerging from its post-Senna/post-Honda trough and was an increasingly consistent front runner as the year went on. Benetton and Jordan were both credible contenders for wins on occasion.

And further was the variable brought in by the Bridgestone tyres. For the first time since 1991 Goodyear had opposition in supplying F1 teams, and it could be argued that for the first time since 1984 (when Michelin left the sport) Goodyear had a serious threat to its pedestal position. If anything the Bridgestone was the superior tyre, certainly the more durable. And in this its debut season it could only count midfield runners at best among its customers: Prost (née Ligier, just bought by Alain), Stewart (also in its debut season) and the like; but the Bridgestones could, on occasion, bring these guys right to the sharp end. Heck, even Arrows nearly won a race on them. And Goodyear in response sometimes got its sums wrong, the resultant gumball rubber meant that 'blistering' and subsequent pace variation returned to the F1 parlance with a vengeance.

Hockenheim Qualifying: Alonso rules the waves

Another weekend, another country, same story. F1 has decamped all of the 500+ mile distance from Silverstone to Hockenheim over the past two weeks, yet you'd hardly know it. The weather for one changed little, with qualifying proceedings disrupted by rain showers. And the outcome is exactly the same: Fernando Alonso topped the times imperiously and will start on pole position tomorrow.

Fernando Alonso ruled the wet
conditions once again in qualfiying
Credit: Ryan Bayona / CC

It probably hasn't escaped your attention that Alonso, to coin the British phrase, isn't necessarily everyone's cup of tea. And today on his radio at the end of the second qualifying session he (in effect) communicated to Charlie Whiting that he felt the conditions were too wet for matters to proceed. Just like Jackie Stewart before, Alonso's usually being among the first to raise the safety issue doesn't always win him fans in the strange world of F1. But also just as with Stewart his bravery absolutely cannot be called into question and is as committed as anyone when called upon to drive in such streaming wet conditions. There was no delay to the itinerary and in such treacherous conditions today in the final session Alonso was consistently the fastest of anyone and took the pole by a clear four tenths of a second. As David Coulthard noted: 'I think the other drivers would also give Fernando Alonso a round of applause. That is a sizeable gap in very difficult conditions'.

Harnessed to Alonso's skill was a Ferrari pit wall which got its approach spot on today. I, and others, haven't always been complimentary of Ferrari on the strategy front in recent times but today it was as sharp as a tack. It centred on two pivotal calls: one that Alonso changed wet tyres partway through the final session, giving him vital extra grip for his crucial last efforts, and the other that from an early stage it was clear that timing would be all, in that who was last over the line before the clock hit zero would have the driest track to set their time on and thus have a vital advantage. And so it proved: Alonso crossed the line last with but seven seconds to spare, and he then set the fastest time by a distance (though it transpired that his previous effort was good enough for pole anyway).

Retro F1: the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix

Today was witness to my second ever Retro F1 event. Retro F1 is where I watch a classic F1 race in full on YouTube, tweet updates as I go and have some Twitter chat (using the hashtag #retrof1) with like-minded people!

The race in question was the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos, from the 2003 season.

If you want to watch the race in full the first part is here. And you can read through the chat on Twitter here. Highlights of the updates and chat is below:

Righty-ho, I'm clicking play now. Off we go.

We're clearly getting the Australian coverage, we'll be getting the James Allen/Martin Brundle partnership in the commentary.

A little bit of scene setting. This is round 3 of the 2003 season. In 2002 Ferrari dominated, but have struggled in first two races of 2003, and McLaren have won both. Kimi Raikkonen leads the table on 16 points, David Coulthard is second on 10, then Schumi and others are on 8.

@SartoMutiny Kimi looks about eight years old.

That's because he is, I think. 

Retro F1: the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix

Today I tried something new. YouTube features some full length F1 races from the past, which, given my interest in reliving F1 history, I've taken an interest in watching. Today I watched one of these classic F1 races in full and posted Twitter updates on it as live (under the hashtag #retrof1).

The race was the 1995 Canadian GP. If you want to watch along with the full race the link is here. And the #retrof1 twitter timeline can be viewed here.

An edited timeline of my tweets is below. This may become a regular feature with other races available in full online. Though if it turns out that I achieve little beyond annoying people by clogging up their Twitter feeds then I'll abandon the idea.

Anyways, off we go.



The unmistakable tones of Bob Varsha kick us off. It's ESPN's coverage, and it's been raining in Canada.

Now Derek Daly is talking technical - sporting an impressive tie and mullet :)

Oh my god, James Allen was ESPN's pit reporter in 1995. Didn't realise he had experience when picked up by ITV in 1997 to perform the same role for the UK coverage.

@MKaipio So funny to see @DerekDaly500 and @Jamesallenonf1 there!
Nice to think they're still going strong in F1 16 years later!

Looking back: Schumacher falls to a Hakk attack - the 2000 Belgian Grand Prix

In many ways it felt like the first Grand Prix I'd ever been to. I wasn't strictly, as I'd been to the British Grand Prix in 1993, but I wasn't very old then and was in the company of a parent. This certainly felt like branching out on our own. A 21st birthday present from the parents: a trip to the Belgian Grand Prix at the classic Spa-Francorchamps circuit with my brother. For a young man who hadn't spent many of his days outside Scotland up until this point it seemed like an incredible leap into the unknown. And, what do you know, at the end of it all the race we watched turned out to be a great one, featuring a classic man-to-man battle between the two drivers of the age, settled by a late-race pass that has gone into folklore. Just as well I timed my 21st birthday so well.

So, off we went with a tent, on the train from Edinburgh eventually to Spa via London and a Brussels youth hostel. For much of the journey, even quite close to Spa, it's quite hard to imagine that the beautiful, wooded, undulating landscape that one associates with the Spa circuit is at the end of it. A matter of miles away Belgium instead is characterised by flat cornfields, with the odd (and dare I say a little grim-looking) town. Only on the last leg of the journey, which involved a bus trip, does the scenic Ardennes landscape that we know so well from our television screens begin to show itself.

Credit: Lester Klaassen / CC

The town of Francorchamps is like something from a picture postcard, and when the Grand Prix is in town a large, good-natured and multi-cultural camping crowd, replete with their fair share of, shall we say, larger than life characters, settle and ensure a jamboree atmosphere. But even with this in 2000 one nationality in particularly was dominant. Spa is a matter of miles from the German border, and this was during the high plateau of Michael Schuamcher's popularity. It seemed much of Germany had made the trip, determined to make it another 'home race' for Schumi. The Schumi fans were easily recognisable, complete as they were with what seemed like standard-issue red Schumacher hats (you can say that Deustsche Vermoegensberatung got a decent return on that investment).