Formula One Firsts

F1 fanatic and singer/songwriter Alistair Griffin shares his earliest memories of the sport.

F1 fanatic and singer/songwriter Alistair Griffin shares his earliest memories of the sport.

Since his hit record 'Just Drive' emerged as the Formula One anthem of last summer, singer/songwriter Alistair Griffin has found himself continuously associated with the sport. Not that the Yorkshireman is complaining, having followed F1 since his childhood and the glory days of Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost. It's a wonder Griffin has time to keep up with his favourite pastime having officially released the infectious 'Just Drive' last month ahead of launching his debut album 'Albion Sky' in August. And when skysports.com caught up with the strummer he was in the middle of the 150-mile Purple Mountain Coast-To-Coast Bike Ride to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care. But Griffin still found time, once he'd caught his breath and shrugged off any saddle soreness, to regale us with his earliest Formula One memories in our inaugural F1 firsts... Your single has just been released and your new album is on the way. Have you still managed to keep up with the F1 this season? I've been watching this season with keen interest. It's been a bit one-sided to say the least. Sebastian Vettel is world-class champion driver. Respect for him has risen enormously. The Canadian Grand Prix was pretty exciting, we need more races like that. McLaren are trying to keep up but they're struggling. I think Lewis Hamilton would admit that as much as the next person.

Mansell's title hopes explode - 1986

I've followed F1 a bit more lately. I've always watched it, but lately I've watched it with more of a keen interest. The first race I ever saw, I remember watching in the Lake District. It was the famous incident when Nigel Mansell just needed to finish in the top three or something to win the championship and his tyre blew. I would have been about seven. I used to watch him against the likes of Alain Prost and the duels back then were always pretty exciting.

McLaren

Right now it's still probably McLaren, because of the British thing, and I always liked Williams. I feel sorry for the underdogs, like Virgin Racing. I hope they can clamber their way to the top of the grid. I remember when Red Bull first started out they got a bit of stick and people took the mickey out of them and now look at them.

Jackie Stewart

I quite like the old drivers like Jackie Stewart. I obviously never saw him race, but I like watching the old stuff. Nowadays I like both Lewis and Jenson Button. I like Hamilton because he's a bit more of a risk taker and a bit more of a flamboyant driver. The year where Hamilton conked out when he was almost the world champion, that was really gutting.

Michael Schumacher

Schumacher wasn't really one of my heroes when I was younger because you tend to get behind the British drivers. He's not really a villain, but he's got that air of dominance. Although I admired him for his brilliance, I used to get sick of him constantly winning. I did admire his attitude and his arrogance though. You love him and hate him at the same time. I quite like the idea of Schumacher coming back after dominating for years. There's a fairy-tale ending in the making there if he were to come back and win a race. He hasn't got the car at the minute, but I just want him to come back and do really well.

The La's - The La's, 1990

It was The La's first album. I think it was just called 'The La's'. I was probably about 13 or 14. It's still in the collection and I still play There She Goes.

'Just Drive' is out now. Visit Alistair Griffin's official website for more info.