Now don’t get me wrong. I love ‘The Chain’ just as much as any diehard Formula 1 fan. But when I was 5, waking up on a Sunday lunchtime to listen to this ITV F1 intro (Apollo 440 – Blackbeat), pumped me up like nothing else for a Grand Prix.

I suppose my love for Formula 1 was much greater back then. I don’t know whether it was the noise, the commentary – I do miss Murray Walker – or the personalities in the paddock. Maybe it was a combination of all three. All I do know is that I don’t get the same buzz when “Just Drive” starts playing on my Sky box as I did for Apollo 440 in the early 2000s.

Back then, I was also a passionate Michael Schumacher fan. I even dedicated my primary school project to him!

Seeing a scarlet red Ferrari dominate every week to the delight of an excitable old man had me hooked. Schumacher never failed to deliver with his passion on the podium either – it got to the stage where I now associate the German and Italian national anthem with the sport.

It helped that I was at an age where everything was new to me, and that also included gaming. One of my earliest Christmas memories is “Santa” hiding my final present, a copy of Formula One 2002 for the PlayStation 2 underneath a cushion on the sofa, making me think I hadn’t got it. The delight on my face when I discovered it is hard to describe!

The game also came with a free DVD review of the 2001 Formula 1 season. The 2001 season is one of my favourites to look back, I must’ve watched that DVD dozens of times!

It was the last season of the magnificent Mika vs Schumi rivalry. In many ways the two men were polar opposites. Schumacher was very intense and extremely confident in his own abilities whilst Hakkinen was much more laidback and modest outside of the car. But equally, their passion and respect for each other on the race track was unrivalled, and I don’t think I’ve seen a healthier F1 rivalry in my time watching the sport.

When Hakkinen retired at the end of that season, the young Schumacher fan in me was delighted, but looking back, apart from the 2009 season when Button and Brawn performed miracles, I’ve never had the same love for F1 since.

One part of Formula 1 that I’ve missed badly since 2009 is refuelling. I complete understand that for safety and technological reasons there’s no point in bringing it back, but the strategies involved in fuel stops led to some amazing races and performances.

One that obviously springs to mind is the 1998 Hungarian GP. McLaren had a pace advantage over Ferrari throughout that season, but somehow, the magic of Schumi had kept the Scuderia in touch.

That day, a 2-stop strategy appeared to be the optimal. But with Schumacher stuck behind the two McLarens with no way past, he and Ross Brawn recognised that they had to try something different.

Schumacher was short-fuelled on his second stop to get him in the lead, albeit knowing that he’d have to make an extra stop. What followed was a magical 19-lap stint where Schumi pulled out an incredible 25 seconds on the McLarens after setting qualifying lap after qualifying lap. This ensured that he stayed in the lead after his final stop and won the race. Amazing.

If anyone has a spare couple of hours and wishes to reminisce, I highly recommend checking out the link below:

The final piece of my childhood F1 jigsaw puzzle was the ITV F1 coverage that I was brought up with. Many people criticised the ITV team at the time for the constant ad breaks and James Allen’s commentary, but this is harsh in my view.

ITV pioneered much of the great F1 content we see today. They introduced the hour’s buildup show to a race, Brundle’s gridwalk, multiple pitlane reporters and detailed post-race analysis – things that we take for granted these days on Sky and C4.

Whilst things did go downhill towards the end of their broadcasting reign, ‘Lift Me Up’ and Lewis Hamilton idolising became very boring, very quickly, there was a certain charm with their coverage that we perhaps don’t see these days.

This brilliant montage produced at their final weekend of coverage, the iconic 2008 Brazilian GP (which by the way featured my favourite ever lap of F1 commentary – “IS THAT GLOCK!?”), always makes me emotional and backs up that point, especially as it draws heavily towards the Mika/Schumi rivalry that I have such fond memories of.

‘Welcome To The Black Parade’ is such a great song too!

I have high hopes that Formula 1 in 2017 is starting to bring back the passion in the sport that early 2000s F1 gave me. There’s the promise of a real rivalry for the ages between Hamilton and Vettel, whilst the cars look the most exciting they’ve been since 2008. With Liberty Media now fully engaged, the potential is there for years to come.

But as for my childhood? Your memory will carry on…