The Formula One Hall of Fame...

as listed by the Official Formula 1 Website, i love the fact that all of the below listed drivers are the true spirit of Grand Prix Racing.

M. Andretti
A. Ascari
J. Brabham
J. Clark
J.M. Fangio
N. Farina
E. Fittipaldi
M. Hakkinen
M. Hawthorn
D. Hill
G. Hill
P. Hill
D. Hulme
A. Jones
N. Lauda
N. Mansell
N. Piquet
A. Prost
J. Rindt
K. Rosberg
J. Scheckter
M. Schumacher
A. Senna
J. Stewart
J. Surtees
J. Villeneuve

just one problem here, the hall fame, so where the fuck is Gilles Villeneuve? anyways people, go to the website and read the profile on Michael Schumacher but the best of all will be the profile on Ayrton Senna da Silva, reading it brought tears for me. especially the part where they reveal how at the beginning of the 1994 season, Senna, at a press release, said how if he died, he wanted to die in an instant death situation, which is exactly how he died at Imola in 1994

my heart, my soul, my tears, goes out to greatest driver of all time. for the first time in my life, i actually cried for someone else. being 14 and naive but May 1st 1994, a day that will always remain close to my heart. you know how your passion can drive you so close to something or someone you feel like you know them personally. sometimes it freaks me out how i when i talk about Formula One, i start to refer to drivers in their first name but the one name i can always never say is Ayrton.

my brother once told me, after the 2001 Malaysian Grand Prix, he said;

'Jes, you do know you're insane, right. you're not a fan of Formula One! you are fucking obsessed with the sport and it is gonna kill you one day...'

i dunno whether the fact that i had dyed my hair scarlet (yes, you read it correctly) for that race had anything to do with why he said that, but i'd like to think i'm devoted to the sport. i'm pretty sure not many people out there are able to say they've been following something since they were 5 years old. it all started when i was 4 years old and my dad bought me a book, '1984 Car Buyers Guide'. after reading that book (i know theres not much reading, just facts about the cars produced in that year) i asked my dad, which was the fastest car ever build? and what he told me changed my life as i knew it;

'A Formula One Car...'

i don't know much, but i'll say this though. the guy who is gonna impress my daughter in the future, better know his F1 facts. when i was young, my dad and i use to play this game on road trips, he would point to a car, and i'd tell him the make and model of the car, sometimes even the engine details of the car. we also played this other game, where by he'd count the amount of buses and i'd count the amount of trucks, whoever got the most, gets to bite the others nose. i used to cheat cause my dad would not only bite my nose but my ears as well. he'd claim there was no way he was gonna eat satay without his cucumber. but as i grew, i didn't have to cheat, my knowledge in cars and F1 had grown with me. but my dad will always know better.

as i grew, i'd admit i became some what of an ass. i disrespected a lot of things my dad stood for, we fought a lot, we never saw eye to eye in a lot of things. but the one thing that kept our bond together, that kept us from ripping each other apart, was the Grand Prix weekends. for that two days, i'd forget that he had grounded me and he would forget that i was an idiot son of his. we became the best of buddies, we became heart and soul of the house, screaming for our champions, cursing our rivals, the beers and high fives. for two days, we'd become father and son again. till today this is what that has kept my dad and i together. now that i'm older and well not that wiser, i respect my dad for he is, i'll be happy if i become half the man he is, and Formula One will continue to be a huge part of our lives. i'm not to keen about boys(i know what an ass i was) so i'd like a daughter one day and i hope i can share with her, what my dad and i shared. and i know the people whom i've influenced to watch F1, Wai Keong, Navein...they'll probably share moments like these too with their children. we'd all have our hall of fames in the history of Formula One.

my life long dream is to take my dad, to one of his favorate Grand Prix's, the Monaco Grand Prix. to be sitting somewhere near Tabac or the Swimming Pool Complex, cheering on the Scarlet cars with our Prancing Horse flag. would be a life long dream of his which i would like to fulfill. but as we all know, to go to Monte Carlo, the most expensive place in the world, i'd probably have to be a millionaire but who knows, dreams do come true and in Formula One, anything is possible. the passion that i have for the sport has sometimes gotten the better of me. i regret doing somethings in my life, because of my furious passion. and i've learnt one thing, something a good friend of mine constantly reminds me of;

'passion and aggression wins you races but control aggression and disciplined passion wins you championships and greatness...'

we all strive for greatness in the Grand Prix of Life, we all want the best, we want that chequered flag, we want that trophy at the top spot, we wanna taste that champaigne, scream our victories, we want our patterned victory leap on the podiums. and i'll tell you one thing, from years of watching Formula One, it's usually just either fractions of a second in front of you or behind, so don't stop pushing, until you see that chequered flag, or your pit crew putting out a board saying;

P1 EASE UP

remember its not always about winning, it's about how you come out at the end of the season, points do count. i think the FIA should pay me for my devotion.

later...