But the dream came true for Earls Barton's Jodie Hemming earlier this week with her first test drive in a Jordan racing car which has previously been used by Rubens Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher and Martin Brundle.
With a 100 per cent record in the Formula Jedi 600 Championship this season, Hemming is now preparing for next year in the Euroboss Series designed for pre-1998 F1 cars.
She said: "I was really looking forward to it and I felt quite nervous the night before.
"That's the standard thing for me as I wake up every hour ahead of race meetings anyway. This time I got up at 5am and people close to me will know it's very rare that I get out of bed on time.
"I was so excited while I packed the car away to get ready for this first test drive. I got into the feel for it quite early because I just couldn't wait.
"And when I got out on the track it was unbelievable. To be on the same track as Michael Schumacher races every year in the British Grand Prix is a huge achievement in itself let alone driving an F1 car.
"Of course, Silverstone is my home track and I felt so proud to be driving out there.
"It is a fantastic feeling to be literally following in the footsteps of all those top drivers. But here I am in a Jordan car. It's amazing.
"Next season is going to be tremendous at another level. My main aim is to enjoy it and anything on top of that would be a bonus.
"This is a long learning curve for all of us in the team. I know that I have to work hard behind the scenes as well by going to the gym because I feel quite unfit now.
"As I pulled around Copps Corner at Silverstone there were 6G forces which means there is a lot of work just to keep my head up. As a driver you need to have strong muscles and I also run about two miles every day.
"Being a girl involved in motorsport doesn't really bother me. I just want to be competitive and obviously this is a male-dominated sport like so many others.
"At the end of the day I'm another driver and once I get behind the wheel it doesn't matter if I'm male or female because I can be on equal terms to everyone else."

JODIE HEMMING will aim for a record-breaking 15th successive win next week to complete her championship campaign.
So far this season she has finished first in all 13 races in Formula Jedi 600 – taking the title at Cadwell Park in July midway through the whole series.
The final two rounds are being staged at Brands Hatch on November 6 and 7 before Hemming moves up to the televised Euroboss Series next year on the major UK circuits plus two races in Germany.
Her interest in racing started at the age of ten when she learned to drive on waste ground. Then she went into karting for several years, finishing third in the Formula Junior TKM level.
Hemming went into Jedi single-seater racing in cars which are manufactured in Wellingborough and resemble a scaled-down F1 version at 1000cc and 600cc. She races the 600cc car with a top speed of around 135mph.
Last year she was the only girl competitor in a field of up to 25 starters on the grid. In her first full season at this level Hemming finished fourth as the championship went down to the wire at Snetterton.
Hemming's highest finish overall against the 1000cc cars with a mixed grid has been fourth with the lowest being ninth. She was fifth in the biggest field of 30 competitors at Croft.