You Never Walk Alone, as BTS said. Or wrote a whole album about. It's the end of an era This used to be a somewhat Tumblr-famous F1 account. I barely keep up with F1 these days. But very thankful for all the F1 friends I made over here, especially those ladies who helped me maintain this account. It's time to tread a new path: from F1 Gridwalkers to never walking alone with BTS.
Sebastian Vettel becomes Formula 1 2013 World Champion, the youngest ever 4 times Wolrd Champion in the History of Formula 1 . This is his 4th consecutive title at the age of 26 years and 116 days.
Thirteen Thoughts: the Rush (film) edition. It’s a sort of a film review. Or something.
No "spoilers", I swear. =))
1. Ever since I found out that Ron Howard was directing a F1 film, I was excited. I started following him on Twitter and saw all of the pictures that he was posting and everything. And I even got more excited. I was looking forward to the film. I mean, it’s an F1 film! A film! About F1!
I love films and I love F1. These are two things I would like to see together, you see?
So every time that RH posted something Rush-related, I was getting more and more excited.
And when I watched the film, it did not disappoint. It delivered in all the right places. 5/5 stars, 2 thumbs up, 10/10 points, etc, for Rush.
2. I had a lot of Feelings while watching Rush because well, because it’s F1. Duh.
And because Hans Zimmer (one of my favouritest film score composers) composed the theme for Rush. And his theme was amazing, as always.
I was able to listen to his score prior to watching the film and while I absolutely adored it then, it was nothing compared to being able to listen to it during the film. As I always say, film scores are very important in films. They add so much character, so much drama to the film. And Zimmer’s theme did just that. It was nice to hear it during the crucial parts of the film.
3. I always try to watch films during the morning screenings these days. I can’t have it any other way these days because since I am a hyperobservant person, I notice everything and if I watch with a packed theatre, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate much because I would be noticing every little thing that the people around me are doing. I will be able to feel their Feelings and hear their Thoughts and most of these Feelings and Thoughts are just really irksome. You know how Sherlock Holmes (BBC) once said ‘Shut up, I can hear your thoughts’ or something along that line? I can do that, too. And it’s distracting. And annoying.
So I make it a point to watch during the mornings when I know people won’t flock to the cinemas yet. Because it’s the morning. Most people like to watch during the evenings. I like it when there are only a handful of people in the cinema. It’s intimate. That’s just the way I like it, you know? It’s like having a relationship with the film. It’s just you and the film, trying to understand each other. (Wow, I am so poetic right now.)
And I like watching alone, too. I love having family and friends watch with me but I prefer watching alone.
I was going to watch Rush during the 11:20 am screening but I was too groggy to take a bath so I said I’d watch the 2:00 pm screening. I woke up too late for that. So I ended up watching the 4:40 pm screening. I was worried that there’d be tons of people. But there were only about 10 of us in the cinema!!! I was relieved, to say the least. =)
There was this couple who sat in front of my row (I had the whole row to myself heeheehee) and the woman kept using her mobile phone and it wasn’t even in silent mode so after a while, I made a big show of standing up and transferring far from them because I can’t stand it when people use their phones in the cinema. I hope they saw me stand up. I am such a Bitch. Don’t worry, I already know.
4. Speaking of Bitches, Niki Lauda and James Hunt are such big ones, noh? I like it so much. It was fascinating to see them Out-Bitch each other. I liked it. I really do. I found it interesting to watch.
5. I came into the film not knowing much about Niki and James. Sure, I know them because they’re part of the history and heritage of the sport. But I don’t know a lot about them. Unlike other people who like to front that they know so much about racing history and heritage. It’s one thing to be knowledgeable of the history of the sport but it’s another thing to front as if you were alive during that era. You are 20-30 years old. Sit down.
I came in not knowing much about Niki and James but I came out very much interested in them. How I wish I’d been alive during that period in motorsport history and how I wish I could have seen them race (even just on television).
6. They have such big personalities, Niki and James. People like to make out how James has more personality and more likeable than Niki but Niki’s prissiness and pissyness is his personality. I think that if I were alive during that period, I would definitely be a Niki fan. (Because I’m a Bitch, too.)
Niki and James have more personality than all of the current F1 drivers combined, yeah? Seriously. You do not see any F1 drivers with personalities and characters like these 2. I mean, sure, one F1 driver wants us to think that he’s a James Hunt but he can only Try, srsly. Sorry (not really) to his fans.
7. It is true what a lot of other people say these days: some F1 drivers don’t have a lot of personalities at all.
With the exception perhaps of Sebastian Vettel. People love Sebastian because he has some sort of personality that he brings to the races (on and off the track). People hate Sebastian because he has some sort of personality. And for some inexplicable reason, they hate the personality. [As for me, I'm a big Sebastian Vettel fan but sometimes, I get irked with him, too. Or rather, I get irked at his most ardent fans who can never see anything wrong with him. We all know Sebastian is another Bitch. =))]
Sebastian can never win the whole F1 world, noh? =)) But I wouldn’t have it any other way anyway. His haters can just go to the left or something.
It’s true what they say: people can’t stand other people’s genius.
But as for me: I recognise talent/genius when I see one (because I am one as well, HAHAHAHAHA. Just kidding [not really]). And I will always be in awe and respectful of other people’s capabilities.
8. This is one thing I hate about this sport: the inability of other fans to appreciate the talents and genius of the other drivers. Sure, okay, some people bought their way into the sport. But you have to admit, it still takes some special skill/talent/genius to be able to drive a complicated beast like a F1 car. This is not basta-basta only. (How do I translate basta-basta in English? So-so?) Being a F1 driver isn’t just a so-and-so profession, okay? And I appreciate and admire and respect ALL of the drivers’ talent and genius.
Sure, I like to tease some other drivers and I like to taunt their fans but truly, I am not dismissive of their talents. It irks me when other fans shit on the other drivers like the latter did something wrong to them. I just don’t understand it. Some people just take it too personally.
And I always like to say this when I can no longer tolerate all the shitting on other drivers: THESE DRIVERS ARE STILL BETTER THAN YOU. THERE IS A REASON WHY THEY’RE DRIVING THOSE CARS AND YOU’RE AT HOME, SWIGGING BEER AND EATING POPCORN, AND ARMCHAIR F1 STRATEGISING. They’re still better than you so you can sit down now, please, thanks.
9. It is the Singapore Grand Prix weekend this er weekend and I’ve always said that this is one race I would very much like to attend one of these days. I no longer feel the same way. Actually, I no longer feel the same way about F1 as well. More on this later.
I don’t know. I just don’t feel like it’s something I should prioritise in the near future. There are other Things to do and I am working my way towards these Things and I feel that all resources and effort and time should be directed towards these Things. =)
So I find it a bit insulting when people ask ‘OMG YOU HAVEN’T BEEN TO A RACE YET???’ like that makes me less of a fan than they are. And I also find it really vexing when people think I’m missing out on something or being left out by not being in a race or not being able to attend one.
I mean, seriously? Seriously? Go sit down, really.
(I am always telling people to have a seat, noh? I should bring chairs around and offer it to people when I find their opinions appalling.)
Like, you think I only live for this sport? Like, you think I don’t have any other interests aside from this?
There are other things to look forward to and it’s not the end of the world when I don’t attend a race in the near future. I really don’t care, actually. You can take my word for it.
It’s just that I’ve been receiving a lot of condescending sentiments about this from some people.
I can barely stay awake during races and now you’re telling me I should go to a race because I’m not a complete fan otherwise?
Sod.
Off.
10. Which brings me to another Thought: the fans. The F1 fans.
A big part of the reason why I can’t be bothered with anything F1 these days is because of the fans. Some of these fans are just really vexing. I already illustrated in 2 Thoughts above how they can be really irksome.
Sometimes I just can’t deal with them anymore. I always tell myself that I should get a bracelet with an engraved message saying ‘DO NOT ENGAGE’. I am quite a volatile and frank person (otherwise known as a Bitch) and I will always say I want to say and you wouldn’t like it when I engage with you about some appalling opinion you might have. I told myself I’d be nicer and less volatile and stuff and I’M REALLY TRYING so a lot of the time, I just don’t engage anymore. I’m not going to get embroiled in any shitty opinions other people might have. Because duh, it’s tacky. They’re tacky and their opinions are tacky.
Yeah anyway. Sometimes I just can’t be bothered with F1 because I can’t deal with the other F1 ‘fans’. I do a lot of eyeball calisthenics whenever I have to read their opinions about something and stuff.
11. Back to the film:
I adore Chris Hemsworth’s portrayal of James Hunt. I believed that he was a F1 driver and not Thor. Hemsworth will have a big career ahead of him if he can convincingly portray someone other than Thor. Unlike Tom Hiddleston who can (and will probably) never shake Loki off him. We’re getting a bit tired of the Loki shtick, Tom. Let it go.
But Daniel Brühl though. Daniel Brühl. Heeheeheeheehee.
I’ve always liked him ever since Inglourious Basterds (i.e., I like his acting abilities and more important, his face). I don’t know about you but when I went out of the cinema concocting a crush on Daniel. I’m pretty sure he’s going to be one of my Obsessions pretty soon. Heeheeheehee. I know now what the film critics have been saying: he was really good in Rush. (And medyo guapo pa din even though he had those veneers on for prosthetics.) He’s a really good actor. I hope he gets awards for his portrayal of Niki Lauda. =)
12. As I’ve said in the Thoughts above, I don’t feel the same way about Formula One these days. And in these time when my interest in the sport is waning, Rush reminded me of why I started watching it in the first place, why I like/love the sport. It made me remember why F1 enthralled me in the first place.
I hardly watch the races on the telly these days. And I really find my grasp on the sport slipping away, away, away. I know I’m being super dramatic right now but it’s true: I can’t find anything to interest me in the sport as much as I used to. I’m afraid that I’m being more of a casual fan now. And I don’t want this to happen because I gained so much when I started paying attention to the sport. I’m afraid to let it truly go. It’s been a pattern in my life wherein I would get super Obsessed with a sport then after a while, I would start to get indifferent. It’s happened before. F1 is actually the longest sports phase in my life right now. And I don’t want to let it go. But it’s slowing slipping away. Little by little.
But Rush reminded me of the reason why I started watching the sport. And I hope it helps keep me awake during races these days. Or stop me from switching channels.
13. I cannot articulate what F1 actually brought into my life. I can’t give words to what this thing is that F1 helped me gain. I also can’t articulate why I started watching the sport in the first place.
But let me share something:
The scene which really had a big impact on me during the film was the Japanese Grand Prix. James was racing within an inch of his life and the weather was super gloomy and dark and it was raining so much and it was scary and everything. But they were giving it all, these drivers. They were just driving superbly. They keep going on and on and on.
A lot of people say that racing is just going around in circles. Well I have two things to say to them: 1) F1 drivers don’t race in circles, they race in road courses, in complicated tracks, do your research; and 2) I’d like to think of ‘going around in circles (or more accurately, the road courses/tracks)’ as driving on, just battling on, and going on and on and on and never stopping until you reach your goal or something.
One of the reason why I got hooked on the sport in the first place was that Malaysian Grand Prix race in 2009 wherein the drivers were driving amazingly at the dripping wet track. I was like: Omg, how are they doing this? And then later on, as I started immersing myself in the sport: these drivers are really special. They’re the only ones who can drive like these, especially during the rain. I admire their tenacity. I do, I really do.
Maybe that’s what F1 helped me learn: to just drive on, to go on, to trudge on, to battle on, to keep on going, no matter what.
(And also, some of the F1 drivers are really guapo. We all know that’s the reason I watch anyway. Totally.)
How mainstream sports reporting gets female fandom wrong
'The dominant stereotype (of female sports fans are) as follows: “Women don’t understand sports. Women don’t care about sports. If women watch sports, they only do so because a man pushes it on them. Women are interested in fashion, cleaning, shopping, and men.”'
Great read about female sports fans. It talks about a different sport but I think can be applied for female Formula One fans as well.
Following Mark Webber’s decision to retire from Formula One racing at the end of the year, Infiniti Red Bull Racing would like to thank him for the extensive contribution he has made to the team during the seven seasons he has driven for us.
During that time, the Australian has achieved nine wins*, 35 podiums (36 in total during his F1 career) and 11 pole positions. Mark's dedication and success has also been a major factor in the team achieving three Constructors’ World Championships (2010, 2011 and 2012).
Christian Horner “I am sure Mark thought long and hard before making what has no doubt been a very difficult decision. His achievements in Formula One are extensive and I am sure he will continue to push hard and build on that record until the end of the season. We support Mark’s decision, he has been an excellent addition to the team since joining us in 2007 and we wish him all the best in the next stage of his career.”
The decision on who will replace Webber will not be made until later in the season.
*Mark’s Formula One Wins:
Germany 2009
Brazil 2009
Spain 2010
Monaco 2010
Great Britain 2010
Hungary 2010
Brazil 2011
Monaco 2012
Great Britain 2012
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