From Study Abroad to Starting Grid: How I Became Obsessed with Formula 1

"Why would I want to watch cars drive around in a circle, that's so boring."

Until very recently, I was that girl — the one who saw zero appeal in motor sports. I didn't get it. What was all the hype about?

In my defense, I was never exposed to the world of racing growing up. My parents didn’t have Formula 1, NASCAR, or IndyCar on the TV. Instead, our screen time revolved around University of Texas football (Hook ’em Horns!). I don’t recall any of my friends ever talking about F1 either—no “Did you catch the race this weekend?” hallway conversations.

So, my perception of racing as “boring” and reduction of Formula 1 to simply “cars driving in circles” was, in hindsight, completely unfounded.

Fast forward to now: I’m starting season 5 of Netflix's Drive to Survive Series , I’ve added the Formula 1 race schedule to my Apple calendar, just ordered three F1 graphic tees, and spent last night at the cinema watching the new F1 movie. A good chunk of my free time is now dedicated to convincing everyone I know that Formula 1 is epic.

So how did we get here? How did I go from not knowing a single thing about F1 to full-blown superfan in a matter of weeks?

I’m currently pursuing my M.A. in Sport and Athletic Administration at Gonzaga University. As part of my program, I had the opportunity to study abroad in Barcelona from mid-May to early June. Over three and a half weeks, we immersed ourselves in the city’s incredible sporting culture—attending everything from FC Barcelona fútbol and basketball games to the Tram Barcelona Open wheelchair tennis tournament and the Spanish Women’s National Team match.

We also consulted with organizations like RCD Espanyol, Girona FC, and local community programs like Barcelona Sants Streetball. But one unexpected opportunity came up: the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix, held at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Full disclosure, I had zero plans to attend. The race wasn't built into our program. Instead, it was an optional excursion that several of my fellow classmates wanted to take part in since they were F1 fans. The majority planned on buying tickets for qualifying on Saturday because A) it’s much more affordable than buying a ticket for the actual race on Sunday and B) we had a scheduled trip to Montserrat on Sunday.

In my mind, I was pretty much set on using Saturday as a chill beach day while everyone else was at the race. Yet, as more and more people began buying their tickets, the FOMO started to eat me alive. Eventually, I caved and bought my $50 general admission ticket for Saturday.

I didn’t really attempt to learn the rules or format of the sport before going to Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The only “prep” that was done ahead of time was watching a singular Drive to Survive episode that covered Spanish driver Carlos Sainz’s decision to sign with Williams Racing after losing his seat at Ferrari. My friend Kaitlin and I watched it together—at the time, we were both equally clueless. Now, we’re equally obsessed.

Kaitlin and I obviously had to get a picture with the only driver that we knew at the time.

Saturday morning Kaitlin and I squeezed onto a train that was jam packed with Formula 1 fans decked out in their team’s merchandise. We were two sardines in a colorful can of McClaren orange, Ferrari red, and Aston Martin green.

Once we arrived at the track and met up with our other friends, we enjoyed several sprint races preceding the main event: the F1 qualifying session. I started to learn some very basic information about the format — the entire goal of qualifying is for the drivers to set the fastest lap time because it determines their starting spot on the grid for Sunday’s race.

Blakeley (pictured on the far left) explained the rules of qualifying to the rest of us!

Overall, it was an incredibly enjoyable day. For not knowing any of the drivers, I was surprisingly intrigued by what was happening on track. What caught me most off guard was the speed. Television doesn’t come close to capturing the intensity. I was stoked to watch the cars whizz by in a flash of color and sound.

The day was impactful enough for me to want to start Drive to Survive from season 1 in order to learn more about the sport and gain a better understanding of how it all works.

After a couple of episodes, I was hooked.

There are so many aspects to Formula One that I find fascinating and exciting:

1. The fact that there are only 20 total seats up for grabs — the scarcity breeds a fiercely competitive environment that is unlike anything I’ve seen in sports.

   
   

2. The dynamic between teammates. Although every driver yearns to be the fastest on the grid, the most pressing goal is to be faster than their teammate because the two drivers are racing in the exact same piece of machinery so any difference in performance highlights the driver, not the car. At the same time, they need to work collaboratively to ensure success for the team as a whole. It’s a crazy balance that must be managed.

   
   

3. The role of money in Formula 1 is significant—more so than in other sports. Financial resources are essential for teams to develop and maintain a competitive car. As a result, drivers who bring sponsorship or funding to a team may have an advantage in securing a seat, sometimes even over drivers with comparable or greater talent.

   
   

4. The immense amount of people it takes to run a successful F1 team. Although the drivers, team owners, and team principles are perhaps the most recognizable faces in F1, behind every team is a vast network of highly skilled professionals. This includes hundreds of engineers, mechanics, strategists, designers, data analysts, and support staff who contribute to every race. From factory-based aerodynamicists to trackside tire technicians, each role plays a critical part in the performance and success of the team, highlighting the deeply collaborative and technical nature of the sport.

   
   

5. The personalities behind the helmets are awesome. The grid is filled with charismatic drivers whose friendships, rivalries, and off-track interactions add depth to the sport. Whether it’s playful banter between teammates or tense moments between title contenders, these relationships captivate fans and bring a human element to the high-stakes world of racing.

These are the characteristics that have made Formula 1 my new sports obsession.

Going into my masters program, I was hyper focused on working in professional tennis, and that would still be a dream come true. In fact, I’m working at this year’s U.S. Open and could not be more excited for the opportunity (a blog post will certainly be written about my time there).

But recently, I am equally interested in the idea of working in F1 media.

So who knows what the future will hold and how my career in sports will shake out, but for now, I will continue splitting my time between tennis matches and F1 races.

The face of a new Formula 1 fan.