Opinion: can you be a nerd *and* a petrolhead?

It took a few years, but I’ve definitely made peace with the fact that I’m a nerd. I can admit that, yes, I can build a PC from its component parts, I have played Magic: The Gathering more than once and I do have strident opinions about how the Star Wars sequel trilogy ended. Typically my nerd status has only been a good thing when it comes to my enjoyment of cars.

My interest in video games in particular has served to complement my interest in all things automotive; I lost days to the original Gran Turismo on PlayStation in an era when obsessive video game consumption was deeply unfashionable, as opposed to only mildly unfashionable.

Things have changed, though, because in Space Year 2026, a lot of car fans feel like technology, long the preserve of nerds like me, now stands in direct opposition to automotive enthusiasm. In Formula One, diehard fans are complaining that the racing has become about carefully managing battery deployment rather than driving flat out.

On the road, battery electric vehicles are heavier and less engaging to drive than their petrol-powered counterparts and ADAS means we have to endure more bings and bongs than a day out at Loughborough Bellfoundry Museum. Which I can assure you is a real place and not just something I’ve just invented to make a point.

All this feeds into a nagging suspicion among many that we may have already reached and moved beyond ‘peak car’; the point where we enjoyed the maximum benefit of technology but retained a pleasingly analogue driving feel. A lot of people put that sweet spot around 2016, an opinion I’ll cheerfully subscribe to, because that happens to be the model year of my daily driver, a BMW 330e.

But then I do also have to admit that, with its hybrid powertrain, it was truly one of the nerdiest possible options of that era. The poindexter in me adores how it juggles electric and combustion power for both performance and economy depending on my mood, not least because the occasionally surprising surge of the eBoost hybrid deployment reminds me of old school turbo lag.

And maybe, just maybe, I’m fine with this new, even nerdier era of F1 as well. Drivers like Max Verstappen might feel like they’re programming a VCR instead of hustling a racecar, but from the outside, the wheel-to-wheel racing has been massively entertaining. Besides, there is something objectively hilarious about Ferrari’s performance advantage off the line, which looks like they nailed the timing of a Mario Kart rocket start.

Is it possible to be both a true petrolhead and a (library) card carrying nerd? Personally I think I’m striking the balance well enough, but I know some out there feel the technological overreach has gone too far already. I don’t have all the answers, but thanks for sticking around to work through my hang-ups with me. Writing this column is considerably cheaper than visiting a therapist...