On the grid

I've been a massive fan of Formula One racing since the age of nine with my very first experience of F1 motor racing happening with my grandfather, a moment which I'll always fondly remember. Over the years I've seen the sport evolve, the ups and downs and massive highs such as a team or driver's triumph over adversity and lows such as the death of drivers on the track, Ayrton Senna, Jules Bianchi, Roland Ratzenberger, Elio de Angelis, Gilles Villeneuve, Ronnie Peterson and others...motor racing, pushes the limits of man and machine and is a dangerous business.

I love the sport though, the politics, intrigue, cutting edge technology, incredible talents both on and off the track and the way so many people have to come together all at the same time and in perfect synergy to win.

I'm not really a one-eyed supporter of a particular team or driver but have my favourites. I guess I just like to see a great race, a good show, and over the years there's been some incredible races, some I've watched on TV and others I've attended personally. Having said that, I like to keep an eye on the Australian drivers because I'm proudly Australian and I know just how difficult it is for a driver from here to make it into Formula One and what it takes to be successful.

In my time of watching F1 racing I've watched six Australian drivers compete in the F1 World Championship although there's been a total of eighteen of them since the championship began in 1950 including three time world champion Sir Jack Brabham. Only two Australian drivers have won the world championship being Sir Jack Brabham and Alan Jones (who I have met personally while I was at a Grand Prix race weekend).

What I've never seen is three Australian drivers on the grid at the same time and there's a chance that this exact thing could happen in 2025.

Currently, there's two Australian drivers in Daniel Ricciardo (Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team) and Oscar Piastri (McLaren Racing). Next year Jack Doohan (Son of Motorcycle world champion Mick) will join the grid (BWT Alpine F1 Team) which would make three Australian drivers out of the twenty drivers on the grid. Of course, F1 is fickle and with Daniel Ricciardo not performing at his peak this season there's a chance he'll lose his seat. I hope he doesn't as I think it'll be cool to see the three of them on the grid but F1 can be brutal and sub-optimal performance is not rewarded.

There's still nine races to go in this year's world championship, the longest season ever with twenty four races in total held all over the world, so anything could happen and all will be revealed in due course; I have my fingers crossed for the three Aussies on the grid in 2025 though, even if just for the cool-factor.