Technology Fueled Addiction - Formula One

Finding a new hobby has never been easier. With a slew of information available on the internet with everything from Wikipedia articles, to YouTube videos, to Google News Alerts, you can always stay on top of things.

When I started watching Formula 1 mid way through the 2008 season, I would have never imagined that it would be as addicting as it is. With the help of a few technologies, I was able to educate myself about the sport and continue learning.

I found it so easy to get addicted to this sport because of the different ways I could learn about it:

• Wikipedia - There are a ton of articles about Formula One. Descriptions of memorable races, team controversies, important facts, rule changes anda slew of statistics
• You Tube - More videos of F1 races, reviews, track analysis and podcasts than you can shake a stick at.
• My PVR - Personal Video Recorder with Bell TV. This has been one the main contributors to the addiction. Since it's not as popular here in North America, these events are broadcasted at obscure times in the middle of the night, and since most of the races take place in Europe, they might be live on TV but again in the wee hours of the morning. I record the practice session, qualifying and the race.
• Websites - There are a TON of websites dedicated to discussing F1. Everything from interviews, track analysis and indepth info on the technology side of the sport.
• Formula 1 Website - I was able to watch the last grand prix - LIVE, because it was in Brazil, so the time different with EST was only 2 hours. The F1 website had a widget with LIVE stats. This blew me away. I was able to see the cars PIT before it happened on TV. (1-2 second delay). Watching the laptimes and sector times for the last few laps was one of the most hair-raising sports moment I've experienced.

With the weird 2009 regulation in store, I'm getting curious to see what will happen. It's going to be another exciting year, and I can't wait till March for the season to begin.