I raced against Michael Schumacher in F1, now I’m a DJ with dreams of performing at Glastonbury
A FORMER F1 driver who competed against Michael Schumacher is now a DJ with dreams of performing at Glastonbury.
Jaime Alguersuari competed in the highest level of international racing from 2009 to 2011 and enjoyed a number of tussles with the German racing legend.
Alguersuari became the the youngest driver in the history of the sport when he made his debut as a 17-year-old for Toro Rosso in Hungary 14 years ago.
Sadly for the 32-year-old, his F1 career soon came to an end following an acrimonious split from Toro Rosso and Red Bull in 2011.
After falling out of love with the sport and a brief stint in Formula E, the racing whizz turned his attention to music.
He told the : "It was a very simple call. At a certain point I wasn’t having fun anymore. I wasn’t really into racing anymore.
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"I was in Formula E and the season didn’t go well. It was the first season of the championship, my car had many problems and I wasn’t really enjoying driving at all.
"I thought if I have to choose between music and racing, I’d rather go into my music now rather than continuing to do something without love and passion and wait until I’m 45 when it’ll be too late for music."
The one-time British Formula 3 champion added that that he is enjoying the "different chapter" in his life.
He continued: "At some point six or seven years ago I thought I’m really going to give it a go because I love this and enjoy making music, the whole process is amazing. It’s like going into a third dimension, it’s very difficult to describe because art is very different to racing.
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"Creating something out of nothing and making it work, signing it to a record label and seeing other people that you don’t know enjoy it and seeing the project working is cool and amazing.
"I am enjoying the whole process, it’s really nice to see a different chapter in your life."
Having been into music his whole life, Alguersuari's interest first piqued when his parents used to holiday in Ibiza.
The former F1 ace had his own drum machine and was making tracks before sending them off to record labels.
But while competing against the likes of iconic Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, his love of music could not take centre stage.
'NOTHING IS FOREVER'
The Spaniard adds: "When I stopped F1 things started coming much easier. I spent more time in the studio, listened to different tutorials and studied music methods.
"It was not easy to make music while I was racing, I had to dedicate my time to my first capabilities and my main job.
"I’ve been into the Hollywood world of racing, which is great, I hoped one day to be world champion but it didn’t happen and now I see that there is something else in life.
"I believe that nothing is forever and now I’m facing this amazing creative time with a different culture and people from where I’m from in the sports world."
The entrepreneur has attempted to disassociate himself from his racing past so that people judge him solely for his music.
He now goes by the name "Squire", riffing on the second part of his surname.
The former racing star wrote his first album during the Covid lockdown and performed with legendary British DJ Carl Cox in Ibiza.
"One of the biggest highlights for me was playing with Cal Cox last year," he continues.
"He has always been a reference for me and he has been very attached to Ibiza and to a club called Space Ibiza.
"It was a big achievement for me. He is also a big lover of motorsport and involved in different activities so it’s super nice to be close to him."
"I would love to play at Glastonbury, it’s one of those festivals that every artist looks."
Jaime Alguersuari, 32
And Alguersuari says that Glastonbury is the next festival on his bucket list as he chases his dream.
He said: "I would love to play at Glastonbury, it’s one of those festivals that every artist looks. I want to go to many places in the world like Australia and Japan and experience new cultures and meet new people."
Now with his own record label, Alguersuari has been in the studio creating new music since September.
He has some exciting plans in the pipeline but most importantly of all he truly enjoys what he is doing - and it shows.
"I used to go down the street and people used to stop me for pictures and autographs," he adds.
"It doesn’t happen anymore. It’s cool, though, you can see how the world changes.
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"If I went back to F1 I know I’d be just as competitive as I was back then, maybe even more. But this is the treasure of life because I’m into something else. Being successful was not my first goal in racing.
"I put my helmet on because I was happy doing that, and I really enjoyed doing it. I want to be happy doing what I’m doing and enjoying the whole process. I’m so happy."
