Gordon Ramsay: When I was young I supported Senna and Mansell

Gordon Ramsay is known around the world as a celebrity chef who has opened more than one Michelin-starred restaurant, and as a popular host of gastronomic television shows. But he is also a passionate fan of Formula 1, and the public knows much less about this passion of his, so the championship’s official website decided to fill this gap and give him the floor.

Gordon Ramsay: “I grew up literally five minutes from Silverstone, in the small town of Daventry. I was about eight years old when I visited the circuit after school, so I’ve been watching Formula 1 for decades.

I took part in the Formula 1 race at Silverstone for the first time a long time ago, probably in the early 1990s. Then I managed to get to the Monaco Grand Prix, and this is also a unique circuit in its own way, and literally immediately after that I flew to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix. In the 1990s, these three races were the highlights of the calendar.

I remember all this as if it were yesterday. Even now that I get the chance to race on these tracks, it still feels like my dream has come true.

When I was younger I supported Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell, they were my favorite drivers.

I loved Senna’s steely calm and his clever tactics to keep his opponents off balance. And Mansell was just an incredible guy who was a great pilot, and he was from Birmingham, so he was considered kind of a national hero. Since I also grew up in much the same area, I was interested when I found out he also lived nearby.

What struck me most about Senna was how he drove to the limit, even though he knew how difficult it was to drive those cars, and this fearlessness of his was a sign of a true genius…

When Senna became world champion, with the Brazilian flag in his hands, it was an incredible sight. Many years later I was able to buy a McLaren Senna sports car, a car named after him in tribute to his incredible achievements, and when I drive it on the track I still feel a chill run down my spine…

All my life I have dreamed of going on holiday for a year and attending all the races on the Formula 1 calendar. It’s great that it now consists of 24 Grand Prix. And even if my wife would kill me for this, our kids would love it because they love Formula 1 too. In general, I will try to attend as many races as possible.

I have a close relationship with Formula 1 and see the standards in catering rising. One of my favorite races and one of the most interesting is the Las Vegas Grand Prix, as well as the US Grand Prix in Austin. In general, I attend an average of 10 to 12 races per year.

Las Vegas is like a second home to me. For the upcoming race weekend we are preparing a completely unusual program, it is called “Ramsay’s Garage”, and everything will take place in the pit lane next to the Formula 1 teams’ venue.

We will have a very interesting menu consisting of incredible dishes, fantastic snacks and desserts. This will be a truly spectacular event and I am already looking forward to it.”