F1
Home-made vehicles, haystacks and crazy obstacles – it's Oracle Red Bull Racing against Visa CashApp RB in the soapbox race of the year! Can anyone beat Max Verstappen?
Imagine a race that challenges the most fearless drivers around. A race where you build the best possible car to account for aerodynamics, gravity and speed, all to make it from start to finish. A race where reaction time is paramount and, in many ways, simply crossing the finish can be considered a win.
No, we’re not talking F1. Well, not exactly. In this race, Max Verstappen, Sergio Pérez, Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo put their skills to the ultimate test as they race each other in soapbox cars. Watch the F1 stars get super competitive!
The soapbox course in the Olympic Village in Montreal, Canada was designed with a series of challenges for the drivers to overcome. From navigating through a snowstorm, making it past the great Canadian crossing and surviving a chicane and a series of rollers. The drivers of Oracle Red Bull racing and Visa Cashapp RB gave it their all to try and secure the top qualifying time.
Do soapbox derby cars have brakes?
In a soapbox derby, which is a motorless event, each vehicle must be equipped with steering abilities and brakes. However, no mechanical parts or motors are allowed. A soapbox (even a custom-made one) drives a little differently to an F1 car. Before qualifying, Checo and Verstappen were testing out the brakes, looking a little unsure and trying to figure out how to get the most out of it.
When asked about the steering, Ricciardo gave a few insights, saying, "Steering was interesting because it was really heavy, but also really, really sensitive. So, you kind of needed a bit of force to get the wheel turned and then being really smooth was tricky with it, so that was a challenge."
Each driver put down a solid run for their qualifying time in their custom soapboxes, complete with names, race numbers and team liveries, but it was Verstappen (shocker) who took pole. Ricciardo qualified in second, with Pérez in third and Tsunoda fourth, setting up a Verstappen vs Ricciardo final.
In the end, it seemed height and weight were the key deciding factors for soapbox pure performance. As such, the 1.81m-tall Verstappen flew downhill the quickest, with 1.79m Ricciardo in second, with Pérez following closely behind.
Zero horsepower was scarier than 700 horsepower!
"I've never done a soapbox race before. Zero horsepower was scarier than 700 horsepower," said Ricciardo. "We had the weight discussion at the beginning and said that Max would have the advantage over me, and then Checo and then Yuki – and we were right!"
“You never know what’s going to happen," Verstappen said after the race. "It’s always so close with the times, but it felt good. When I heard the time from qualifying I felt confident for the final."
Why is it called soapbox derby?
The name “soapbox” originated from the fact that these little human-powered machines were made from wooden soap crates and roller-skate wheels. The first Red Bull Soap Box Race (it was two words back in those crazy days) was held in Belgium in 2000, and since then it spread around the world.
How fast can soapbox cars go?
The speed of a soapbox car can reach up to 112 km/h. on a steep slope. Yes, you heard that right!
Want to watch how everything went down? Rewatch the soap derby race of the year on Red Bull's YouTube channel or on Red Bull TV.
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