My Passion with Joanne Wilton: Getting good vibrations from the exciting world of Formula 1

I’m not sure where my love of Formula 1 racing first came from. My parents were never particularly interested in it and I had no friends who encouraged me to watch any racing events.

I’ve always enjoyed driving, however, and after catching bits of Formula 1 racing on the television, I soon became an addict.

After years of being glued to the TV screen, avidly watching each race I finally got to go to Silverstone this year to see the Grand Prix in real life. Nothing compares to it.

It’s the noise I love the most – the vibrations make the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. When you hear the noise of the cars starting, you can feel the atmosphere around the track change.

The speed at which the cars go by is so incredible, and the danger element makes the whole experience so exciting.

It’s amazing how much of an adrenaline rush you can get just from watching others race around a track.

Although my parents were never particularly into racing, I’m determined to get my two children into Formula 1 – that way there’s no fighting over the television when a race is on.

They loved going to Silverstone with me this year and next year we’re making it an even bigger family affair with my dad, brother and nephew agreeing to come along with us too.

Rather than just visiting for a day, we camped opposite Silverstone for the whole three days and made a really big deal out of it.

We had been looking forward to watching it live on the track for such a long time and, although I never miss an episode of Top Gear, it really doesn’t compare.

Formula 1 seems to be a lot more accessible these days which I think is why it’s so popular.

The atmosphere at the Grand Prix was very friendly and welcoming, despite all the anticipation and excitement in the air.

My favourite driver of all time has to be Ayrton Senna, although I’ve yet to watch the recent film.

I have, however, got it firmly on my to do list and hope to watch it with the children sometime soon.

My dream is to one day drive around the track myself. I don’t consider myself to be much of an adrenaline junkie, but I would love to experience the thrill of driving a car that quickly around such a famous track.

For my dad’s birthday we got him a racing experience day which meant he got to drive round a track in an Aston Martin.

Of course, I was extremely jealous as it’s something I really want to do.

I’m dropping hints already for my Christmas presents. Fingers crossed.