Motorsport Weekly: F1 Winter Break, DTS, and Becoming a Football Fan

Welcome to your new go-to motorsport/lifestyle weekly newsletter where I yap too much about F1 and my life. March 3rd-March 10th.

Mar 11, 2025

It’s Monday, March 10th. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and I woke up with a huge smile on my face. Why, you might be wondering? IT’S F1 RACE WEEK!

After a long four months, I am so ready for cars to be back on track. In this week’s newsletter, we’re going to talk about F1 winter break, this upcoming season, and my new found love for football.

The Happenings: Melbourne, Australia

Some pop-ups and events you don’t want to miss this F1 week!

Williams Fan Zone: The Atrium, Fed Square (March 10th-16th)
- Carlos will be there 6pm on Thursday!
George Russell’s Car: Melbourne Emporium
Jack Doohan x Before You Speak Coffee: March 12th-16th

I Found Myself Without F1

I found myself without F1, figuratively and literally. After the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the fireworks went off and everyone was crying. Lando Norris was crying because he had just won the constructors, Zak Brown was crying because he realized he might have to get another tattoo, Lewis Hamilton was crying because his last race with Mercedes had come to an end, and I was crying because Lewis Hamilton’s last race with Mercedes had come to an end. Basically, everyone was depressed.

So there I was: no F1, no friends, no relationship prospects. The only thing I did have was seasonal depression. A week went by and in that week I realized just how much free time I had. Between making content, watching every piece of content, watching the races, keeping up with news… F1 took up most of my time. And truthfully, I think I let it consume my life on purpose.

But during this week I decided that this F1 break would be different. I wouldn’t be sitting in bed staring at Pinterest and stuffing my face with Cinnamon Swirl pita chips (I still did this occasionally). I wouldn’t be ghosting my friends and avoiding a night out like the plague. I decided I would use all this free time to have fun and find myself, and find myself I did.

The first month was hard. I spent most of my time bed rotting and going to work part-time to save money for my master’s degree abroad.

The second, third, and forth month, though, I finally started to let myself grow as if I were a scared caterpillar turning into a butterfly. I did more self growth in those months than I have in the past year. Here are some of the key things I learned:

Comparison truly is the thief of joy. Instead of feeling shitty about missed opportunities, I started remembering the opportunities I have had already and appreciating them. Everyone is on their own path. The only person you should be comparing yourself to is the person you were yesterday.
The Let Them Theory. Let them. Let them think you’re a terrible person, let them hate you, let them ghost you, let them be successful, let them be annoying. You don’t have control over other people, but you do have control over how other people’s actions or words affect you.
Be honest and open with yourself. I have had this anxiety crushing me like a weight for the past six months, without knowing why. Sometimes we push the truth away because it’s scary to accept, but the sooner you accept it, the sooner you can feel relief and also face the anxiety head on.
Take care of yourself. Get that manicure. Invest in your skincare. Perfect that nighttime routine. It’s a lot easier to be your best self when you feel your best.
Your phone is your worst enemy. I realized this over the 12 hours TikTok was banned. I had an addiction. Not to drugs or alcohol, but to my phone and doom scrolling. The first couple of days will be hard, trying to fill your time, but it’s worth it. Put the phone down and stop scrolling. Live your life instead of watching other people live theirs.

Now I can start the 2025 F1 season refreshed and more balanced, and I couldn’t be more excited. But enough about me, let’s talk F1.

On The Track

What’s been going on this week in F1?

The week before the first race week of a new season is always busy. Drivers are flying to Australia, the social media admins are working overtime, and everyone is anticipating the new F1 intro to see how stupid their driver will look. But one thing that has been on every fans mind this week: Drive to Survive (you can watch the trailer here)

I’m going to keep it a buck: I didn’t watch the new Drive to Survive season, and I don’t plan on it. Not because I’m above it or because it’s not worth the watch. I’m not watching for the simple reason that my memory sucks, and considering how much they take things out of context and play switcharoo with moments to make them seem different than they are, I don’t want to get tricked.

But just because I didn’t watch doesn’t mean I’m out of the loop. I’ve seen bits and pieces on social media. While I understand the show is supposed to portray the drivers lives behind the scenes and the true realities of the sport (or so they say), there’s still a line, and filming a driver having a panic attack crosses it. Also, if I did watch any episodes from this season, it would be the Charles and Singapore episodes. I’ve heard the Charles Monza win episode is really good!

Slay or Pray

Who’s been slaying this week and who should we pray for…

Slay: New F1 Intro Poses

The F1 intro is known for two things: being like ecstasy to fans, and making the drivers look stupid. Take the 2023 intro for example and the amount of memes that came out of it! (The T-pose)

And while we might not have the intro yet, we’ve got some still images of some of the poses, and they did NOT disappoint. So let’s dissect some of my faves.

Ok prince hair COME THROUGH!! Liam’s hair slayed so hard in this and George’s hair shockingly slayed as well. I’m sorry I ever doubted your luscious locks, George.

This shocked me. This floored me. Dare I say the best still photo we’ve seen. Esteban, I was unfamiliar with your game. This is what they call the post-Alpine effect.

No notes. I swear a bad photo of this man just doesn’t exist.

Pray: Me, a New Manchester United Fan

Why so blurry? Because this is from 5 billion years ago

I’ve finally done it. I’ve become a Football fan. As in soccer. You’d think this would happen a year ago, when I was living in England, a couple minutes away from the Amex stadium, but no.

On Thursday I was strolling through Time Out Market with my friend Jula when we stumbled upon a small bar that was playing a Europa League game: Man United vs. Real Sociedad. We joined with only 20 minutes left, and for the first time, I saw the appeal to football. I always thought there’s no way I could watch a game; they spend 30 minutes doing fuck all trying to score a goal. I mean, surely that’s boring to watch.

Boy was I wrong. Here I was, biting my nails, watching Manchester United try to score a goal again and again (spoiler, they didn’t). But that adrenaline and anticipation you feel watching them almost score, it’s thrilling.

After that game I decided I am going to become a football fan, and better yet, I’m going to be a Man United fan, because they were the first team I watched. Of course, nobody told me they were terrible, but I found that out on my own. All it takes is watching Højlund try to score a goal and you can see just how terrible they really are. I mean, Brighton is 8th in the league and we are… 14th.

In F1 terms, it’s like becoming a Williams fan. They used to be amazing, one of the best in the world, and now they’re just… there. So slay for my new appreciation for football, but pray for me and the many tears I will be shedding as a Man U fan.

That’s it for today! Stay tuned for next week’s newsletter and my Australia race thoughts :)

xoxo