Hi there! Welcome to Pitwall Prose where we discuss all things Formula One. I’m a new fan to F1, 2023 was my first full season. Yes, poor me I missed out on a lot. 2021 was so close yet so far. How did I get into the sport you ask? Netflix’s Drive to Survive.

Let me set the scene. It’s an unremarkable winter day in early 2023 and I’m bored out of my mind; desperate to find something new to sink my teeth into. See, I love diving headfirst into things that I have no clue about and learning all I can about the topic. I love the process, it’s a hobby of sorts. So imagine my surprise when I stumble across a documentary (yes, I know in hindsight that term was used quite loosely) about a sport called Formula One. As an American the only motorsport I could name was NASCAR and I knew next to nothing about it. I’d never really heard of F1, so my interest was piqued.

I sit down and click on the first episode. Some guy named Daniel Ricciardo tells me he’s a car mechanic, flash forward 5 seasons of ups and downs and I’m watching him get let go of the sport in a gut wrenching montage. What? I’m in taters, I was so invested in this guy’s story. There are so many parallels between his life and my own. This is the worst full circle moment in the history of forever. My thoughts go from “This can’t be how it ends” to “how dare they” to “I must get to the bottom of this [saga]”.

Yes, I have since begrudgingly acknowledged that Daniel Ricciardo is not the main character of F1. Although the happenings of the 2023 season were not very convincing in that regard, it had all the makings of a scrappy protagonist going against all odds to make the comeback of a life time.

I digress. In between all of the Daniel Ricciardo were tales of triumph and defeat, a changing of the old guard, a last dance or two, and all around the passion of fighting for a dream. I was hooked. And so I began watching the 2023 F1 season.

The sport is thrilling, the stories interwoven throughout are captivating and inspiring and intrinsically human. The hope for Pitwall Prose is to capture the magic as it unfolds. To follow the tale of our friend Daniel Ricciardo, among others, and enjoy the journey as the tournament takes us from one corner of the world to another.

How I see it, the story is essential to the sport. Without it, there’s nothing to root for. Pitwall Prose will try to tell you that story; the tale of 10 teams entering an arena with their chosen 20, armed with intricately crafted machinery and the guile of their pitwall, all vying for the ultimate prize for man and machine. I hope you’ll join me!