"Lawrence and Lance doing us proud as Canadians" – six fans tell us why they're in Montréal
From F1 fans to close friends. We caught up with a group of AMF1 Team fans to hear their story – one of friendship, dedication, and shared passion for the sport.
"It's about getting together and having a really good time."
As fans of Formula One we are all united by our passion for the sport, and this weekend thousands of you are taking to the streets of Montréal and the stands of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to show your support for Lance, Fernando and the team.
Ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix we met with a group of six friends, Zack Vilvang, Ben Pullinger, David Sadowski, Tony Theng, Derek Luksun and Jeff Ilich, who were brought together by their fandom and are celebrating their love for F1 trackside this weekend.
United by their passion for the sport. This is their story...
If a group of guys can dress in onesies and get away with it, then why not?!
"Some of us have known each other for 25 years. It's been amazing to be part of this group. We've kept in touch for a long time and got through the covid pandemic. We play racing games together – we all got simulators and race together.
"Race weekends are like a celebration for us – a chance for us to come together and do something we love. We watch the races every Sunday with our kids and chat about it on WhatsApp. We play F1 Fantasy against each other, and we talk about everything from aerodynamics to memes. That's the fun of the sport. That's why we thought it would be awesome to go to the Canadian Grand Prix.
"It's our first time at this race together. For us it's amazing, this is the biggest sporting event we have in the country. It's outstanding, it brings the world together, it shows off our country. The track is great: lots of high-speed straights, low-speed corners. We think it will really show what AMF1 Team can do.
"And with Aston Martin having a Canadian owner and Canadian driver, it's amazing. We're in their hometown – Lawrence and Lance doing us proud as Canadians.
"We thought it would be awesome to go to the track dressed like this. If a group of guys can dress in onesies and get away with it, then why not?!
"We're celebrating our love for F1, our love for Aston Martin; we're big Fernando and Lance fans, obviously.
"To see a resurgent Fernando Alonso is one of the greatest things in sport. Seeing a guy who is 41 years old out there with all this knowledge, helping Lance during the races – watching the races on big screens while driving too! Seeing this guy out there with this level of skill is amazing.
"We'd love to see Lance on the podium. It would surpass Nick Taylor winning the Canadian Open. It would surpass it tenfold, and he'd be a living legend. He already is in many respects.
"This racetrack is a celebration of a legacy of Canadian drivers and Lance would cement that.
"Coming back from where he started in the year with that injury and doing what he did, and then for him to overcome it and turn it around with P6 last time out in Spain. He always has a lot of attention on him and seeing him performing under pressure once again would be awesome."
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