Obviously, destiny had other plans for him.
In a post on his account on X, formerly Twitter, actor-host-entrepreneur Matteo Guidicelli shared a personal story of his that he rarely told the public.
“I wanted to be the first Filipino in Formula One,” he revealed, but he quickly noted that it did not become anywhere near reality.
“The dream started in the late ’90s. Weekends, the whole family in one room, Ferrari flags up, everyone in Ferrari merch, screaming at the TV for Michael Schumacher,” he recalled.
“At 11, I started racing. I grew up on track with incredible Filipino racers: Michele Bumgarner, Mark Bumgarner, and Marlon Stockinger, to name a few. I was named Karter of the Year several times, then competed in the Asian championships and the European Championship.”
However, it was the moment he entered Europe when he realized that it was not meant for him.
“Then showbiz opened a door, and the route changed. After Schumacher’s accident, I drifted from the sport altogether,” he said.
Matteo, who recently finished a leadership program at Harvard Business School, dissected the business side of Formula One (F1).
“Today, F1 is the thing. Everyone wants to be at a race. What changed? Not the racing. Racing has always been racing. What changed is that F1 opened its doors,” he said.
He then noted how the new owners adapted to new mediums sich as streaming and social media, which helped them reach more audiences.
Matteo continued, “Same sport. Different story. A great product isn’t enough, and nobody builds the story alone.”
On a personal level, he then asked about the drivers themselves, remembering that during the time when he used to raced, there was no room for anything but the race weekend.
“Can you keep that focus when you’re also the content?” he pondered, adding that he would like to have a chat with any racer such as Bianca Bustamante to understand what goes through their minds and what happens behind closed doors.
His revelation-cum-analysis comes as the Formula One (F1) Singapore Grand Prix gets underway this weekend, with the grand final taking place on Sunday, October 11.
Currently, Matteo is active on television as host of his weekly talk show Matteo G. Primetime, which had just premiered on ABS-CBN platforms and TV5 on Saturday, October 10.
