Winter Unleashed

Wow.

37.1 cm of the fluffy white stuff in just four hours. We hunker down. Roads are impassable, the landscape is a whiteout, and ‘Red’ waits patiently in the garage

I’m learning to wait patiently too, as railing against weather like this is truly pointless. The new year almost always starts like this, January sliding into February, the hard part of winter. This is the stretch where the novelty is gone, the roads are filthy, and the 718 stays exactly where it is for very good reasons. You don’t drive it. You don’t start it. You just think about it a little more often than you admit.

Formula 1 is the first sign that there’s an end point.

The first race is just under two months away, which somehow makes it worse and better at the same time. Close enough to talk about, far enough that it doesn’t help with today’s weather. But knowing the season will start with new cars, new stories, and the familiar rhythm of race weekends puts a marker in the calendar. Soon I shall be gathering with best friends to watch, cheer, and groan! Something to look forward to during the depths of winter.

Something to aim at.

Spring driving comes later. Another month beyond that first race in sunny Australia. Dry roads, clean pavement, and the first proper drive feel impossibly far off right now as I gaze out the window, but they’re no longer abstract. F1 draws the line in the sand. Spring driving waits on the other side of it.

Winter isn’t done yet. There are still cold mornings, grey afternoons, and more than a few quiet hours in the garage - polishing, checking, and reminding myself that this part counts too.

But at least now, there's a timeline.

First race, March 7th!

~ Luke