Noel Kaludjak of Rankin Inlet has an overall love for sports in general, but, if forced to rank them in order, it may surprise some to see Formula 1 (F1) racing near the top of the list.
Kaludjak, 65, said it was Canadian racers like his all-time favourite driver, Jacques Villeneuve, and Paul Tracy, who really grabbed his attention, along with Alain Prost of France.
He said he started getting into Formula 1 racing about 40 years ago and he's been a fan ever since.
“I love watching the races and I love the technical side; how fast they can change a tire, the airflow, the traction and the way they take the turns,” said Kaludjak.
“I also love how they created the cars and the innovations they've made to them over the years, from way back until now. They've, pretty much, created a faster, better racing car every year.
“The crashes are awesome, but you always hope that nobody gets seriously hurt or worse.
“When Prost crashed his car and didn't live through it, that was a sad time.”
It was ironic for Prost to die in a crash, when he was one of the drivers who worked hard to bring about change and make racing tracks safer, as well as how the driver's helmet was attached to prevent a broken neck in a crash.
Kaludjak said he also enjoyed watching Michael Schumacher race over the years (Schumacher suffered a horrific accident while skiing with his son, Mick, in the French ski resort of Meribel On Dec. 29, 2013, ending his career) and, these days, Canadian and Belgian driver Lance Strulovitch (better known as Lance Stroll) has captured his attention.
He said there are more Formula 1 fans in the Kivalliq now than there ever used to be.
“There were only one or two Formula 1 fans in the Kivalliq for a long time, and we never really shared anything. But now I'm finding out a younger generation of fans are active in the region.
“It seems like quite a few guys are now beginning to become F1 fans because they're showing more and more of it on TV. Back, years ago, they showed only replays of certain races. But, today, we can even watch practice runs a couple of days before a race and qualifying runs, as well.
“It's a lot more fun to watch now, because you can see a lot more of the sport. You also see interviews with the drivers now all the time and we'd never see that when I first started watching.
“Watching sports like hockey can be pretty predictable, but, with F1, anything can happen. You get a yellow flag when there's a big crash and the order of the racers can often change almost from nowhere. It can be very, very tense at times while you're watching and, when you put it all together, it's exciting to watch and it keeps you coming back for more.”
