Brought to you by the Sidepodcast Community, a list of 100 incredible reasons why Formula One is a brilliant sport to watch. This came about as part of the Sidepodradio charity marathon, but is useful as a list in its own right, if you ever start having doubts about this crazy sport we love to hate.

1. Christine (Alex)
2. Because the cars are really, really, really loud (Alex)
3. Finns (Amy)
4. It’s better than talking to the in-laws when they come over for Sunday lunch (Maverick)
5. If you love the phrase “for sure”, you’ll love F1 (Christine)
6. Ted Kravitz (Gavin)
7. Because every now and then it gets a bit exciting (Gavin)
8. It has inclines, and not just up, but down as well (Murray Walker)
9. Schumacher’s neck injury prevents him from taking part (Maverick)
10. Constant surprises (Alianora)
11. Everyone eventually gets their day in the sun (Alianora)
12. Feeling more intelligent than the “big bosses” feels good (Alianora)
13. There are some drivers who know how to celebrate good stuff happening (Alianora)
14. In learning about F1, you end up learning about everything that matters and quite a few things that don’t (Alianora)
15. Rob Smedley (Alianora)
16. Banter with Sidepodmates (Alianora)
17. No other sport has Lord Rubens Barrichello (Lukeh)
18. They turn right (Nikki)
19. You learn other countries’ National Anthems (played really badly by people with birds on their heads) and the F1 Anthem (Janna)
20. Because the Sidepodcast Community can think of 100 reasons in 12 hours (Gavin)
21. Because it will have Franck Montagny next year (Gavin)
22. Anthony Hamilton’s “Stare of Death” (Gavin)
23. Because even F1 drivers name their cars (Gavin)
24. Dumbo Flugel! (Gavin)
25. Jenson Button (Lou)
26. Ross Brawn and his amazing strategies (Lou)
27. Croftie and Ant Davidson on Five Live (Lou)
28. Because one day DC will tell EJ he didn’t invent everything (Sara)
29. Stefano and his amazing jokes (Sara)
30. Because Kimi sometimes remembers how to race (Sara)
31. Because you can laugh at Bernie’s wig (Sara)
32. Kimi’s hair (Sara)
33. Murray Walkerisms can still be heard (Sara)
34. Jonathan Legard is comedy gold (Alison)
35. Who knew driving around in circles could be so much fun (Alison)
36. The occasional punch-up (Alison)
37. Because changing who won weeks after the event adds a whole extra twist (Alison)
38. Deep down, everyone loves a pile-up (Alison)
39. Watching Eddie Jordan makes you feel superior (Alison)
40. Martin Brundle!! (Alison)
41. Jake and his amazing tallness (Sara)
42. You can comment on Sidepodcast before, during & after (Bassano)
43. F1 wives and girlfriends (Bassano)
44. Walking and talking (Pat)
45. Nnneeeeeoooowww (Pat)
46. We get to see lots of different places all over the world (Pat)
47. We get to talk about F1 with people from different places all over the world (Pat)
48. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! (Gavin)
49. Sidepodradio (Gavin)
50. Sidepodpanel (Gavin)
51. You never know what the latest leaked FIA document will contain (Journeyer)
52. There’s half a chance that someone can take out half the field (Journeyer)
53. Laugh at F1 Rejects (Journeyer)
54. Because Christine sung Felipe Baby live for us! (Gavin)
55. Gridwalks (Andy)
56. The randoms Martin finds on the grid to talk to during said gridwalk (Sara)
57. To finish first, first you have to be Finnish (Amy)
58. Grands Prix are a good reason to visit the other side of the world (Amy)
59. Careful handing out of penalties always ensures the title battle goes down the last race (Maverick)
60. The Trulli Train (Alex)
61. The fact you can name people after public transport vehicles (Alex)
62. Trying to work out which drivers really are on Twitter (Alex)
63. Because from now on, all Grands Prix are guaranteed Flavio Briatore free areas (startledbunny)
64. Comedy moments like Felipe Massa being chased down the Singapore pit lane by his pit crew (Maverick)
65. Mystery guests like Witness X (Maverick)
66. Not everywhere is as bad as Valencia (Maverick)
67. What other sport encourages so much discussion about slightly different chemical compositions of rubber? (Maverick)
68. F1 does a lot of work for charity, for example Yuji Ide (Maverick)
69. Eau Rouge, Spa-Francorchamps (Maverick)
70. Pouhon, Spa-Francorchamps (Maverick)
71. Becketts, Silverstone (Maverick)
72. Turn Eight, Istanbul (Maverick)
73. 130R, Suzuka (Maverick)
74. Parabolica, Monza (Maverick)
75. The Chain (Maverick)
76. Cooking with Heikki (Amy)
77. Renault have discovered a way to make their livery even more laughable (Maverick)
78. The joy of watching the car of your least favourite driver stop working when they’re in a good position (Scott in Italy)
79. Number 78 on the last lap (Scott in Italy)
80. Champions Wall, Montreal (Aitch)
81. Loews Hairpin, Monaco (Aitch)
82. Lies, Spies and Singapore Surprise (Maverick)
83. Lap 1 of the Belgian Grand Prix alone (Maverick)
84. Wet races (Maverick)
85. Very wet races (Maverick)
86. Wet, then dry, then wet, then dry, then wet, then dry, then wet races (Maverick)
87. You just never know… the lights could fail in Singapore (Maverick)
88. Suzuka is back! How awesome is that! (Maverick)
89. Giancarlo, you need-a to keep-a poosheeng! (Gavin)
90. No refuelling (Aitch)
91. Slicks (Aitch)
92. Because everything ends up done at the last minute and works anyway… sort of.
93. Sometimes dreams come true.
94. New venues to admire/laugh at.
95. The only sport where a tram, or a backmarker, can seriously affect the outcome of the race without meaning to do so.
96. The community is absolutely amazing.
97. Getting up at 4am (Pacific) to watch a race with everybody in the comments is better than watching it alone (Aitch)
98. A GP is not like football, and there is always a result, eventually, providing nobody cheats (startledbunny)
99. A GP is not like cricket, doesn’t last 5 whole days, and there is never a draw when the match has ended (startledbunny)
100. Because you can guarantee at the end of the race, someone will try and drop the champagne over the side of the podium, and the waiting mechanics will drop it.