F1 Magazines

When I travel or just like to read a magazine it's always Formula One related. The picture above shows just a few that I found lying around my house. In the middle there's a huge stack of F1 Racing (all of the 2012 issues and some from 2013). 

I used to subscribe to F1 Racing but not anymore. Now I just buy them from a store if I manage to find an issue. It's hard to find the magazine if you don't live in London for example. When I was there I saw them in every supermarket. But in other countries you have to look for them in bookstores for instance. 

I remember when I read my first F1 Racing magazine in 1997. An issue was accidentally delivered to my house and I couldn't resist. I was a teenager with no money so when could I ever read a magazine like that? 

I don't remember what they were talking about in that issue but I bet it had to do with, Villeneuve, Hill, Schumacher and Häkkinen. Back then everything was about them. Just like today it's all about Vettel, Räikkönen, Alonso, Hamilton and Button.

There is a few Finnish Formula One magazines as well. Actually they are bonus issues that you can buy together with other newspapers. In the Scandinavian countries there isn't really any F1 magazines so basically I bought everything there was.

It's not very hard to guess which magazines are from Finland. Finns who don't follow Formula One at all know who Kimi is and that's why he is on the covers. Some people hate motor sports but they might just be interested of Kimi Räikkönen.

I have found some magazines in Finland about motor racing in general but not a single one that would be just for F1 fans. If I am wrong then please send me a message. I like to read in finnish as well and not only in english.

All in all I prefer magazines more than reading from the internet. Sitting in front of the computer hurts my eyes sometimes when reading a magazine is relaxing. You can sit in your favorite chair or just chill on the sofa.

That's what I'm gonna do right now! See ya!

Mika Hakkinen teaches Captain Slow to drive - Top Gear

This Top Gear episode is hilarious. Mika Häkkinen always makes me smile with his lack of words and corky finnish accent.

I shall post some more videos later today for you to watch.

Tomorrow I am going to talk about all the newest F1 rumors out there.

Kimi Räikkönen is loved in Asia

Here is a Gangnam style video with "Kimi Räikkönen" or his driver's outfit at least.
It's funny if you can picture Kimi actually dancing in this video when he is so.. you know.. Kimi.

Kimi has a lot of fans in China and specially girl fans. Why is that?
Do girls in China like blonds from the north or do they just like Kimi Räikkönen?
Or is it so that mostly girls like F1 over there and they choose to cheer for him?

When Kimi comes to the airport in China there is hundreds of girls screaming for him.
No other driver gets this treatment over there so why Kimi? I don't know the answer so I am really asking.
I would understand if he represented an Asian team or engine manufacturer but he doesn't.

Ayrton Senna was also really popular in Japan but that was because of McLaren who used Honda engines back then. The japanese were really proud of the success Ayrton had. But then again Alain Prost drove for the same team but Ayrton had more fans even though they were teammates. Maybe Ayrton was such a big character just like Kimi is today.

I understand that you have to choose another driver to cheer for if your own country doesn't have a driver in F1 but why do they mostly cheer for Kimi? There is nothing wrong with it I am just asking.

I was very excited myself as well when Kimi started in F1 back in 2001. I knew how unexperienced he was when he came to F1. It is quite strange actually because Kimi had competed in only 23 Formula Renault races before F1.. AND KIMI WON 13 OF THOSE 23 RACES! That's crazy!

He started his F1 career almost by accident. Sauber asked the Robertson brothers (Kimi's managers) if they could talk about getting a deal with Button who they also managed at that time. But Button was not available and Sauber really needed a driver after Mika Salo left the team.

The Robertsons told Sauber that he should see this incredible new talent they had found. Mika Salo heard about this and told Sauber that he knows who Kimi is. He is a new star and that he should grab him quickly.
Sauber and Ferrari used to test together back then and they gave Kimi a chance to test with them in Italy.

Kimi jumped in the Sauber and broke Barrichello's lap record after a few laps. A rookie was faster than Schumacher and Barrichello with a Sauber when they had Ferraris! This sounds crazy but it happened.

Schumacher asked "Who is he?" and they answered "It's Kimi Räikkönen a new Mika Häkkinen". Then Schumi looked impressed and answered "He's fast!".

One year with Sauber then McLaren grabbed him even though he had a 3 year contract. Money talks.. Then Ferrari got interested and got him after Kimi had lost several championships because of retirements. Kimi won his first race at Ferrari and became champion at the end of the year.

So if you think about Kimi's story it's easier to understand why he has so many fans in Asia and anywhere else. It's like a movie story! He was poor and started to drive, was a good driver from the beginning and now he is a millionaire world champion.

All great champions have great stories. I must say that Kimi is one of my favorites as well.

But I love F1 and not just one driver.. Even though he is great.