10 Things You Need To Know About Formula 1

“Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose” - Ayrton Senna

Written by Red Bull Lebanon

4 min readPublished on 28.04.2016 · 10:37 UTC

Few sounds are as impressive as the engine of a Formula 1 car being revved up to its ultimate potential. You do not need to be an expert at this sport to understand its complexity. Since the first Formula 1 race in 1950, quite a bit has changed with regards to safety and technology. Yet the spirit is the same: thrill-seeking individuals with the need for speed.

Whether you are a connoisseur of motor sports, an avid enthusiast, or simply interested to know more, these are 10 facts you probably did not know about Formula 1:

1.Weight’n’wheels

Did you know that F1 cars needed to be of specific weight to qualify for races? Well, they do…

Surprisingly, F1 cars are not so heavy mainly due to the use of carbon fiber. A car as powerful as a Bugatti Veyron only weighs as little as half a modern Mini Cooper, namely as light as 450kg!

Let’s look at durability. The motor of an F1 car lasts about 2 hours of racing before combusting and its wheels about 90 to 120km before they need to be replaced. Compare that to a regular car!

2.Risky Business

The Formula 1 is surely not a low-risk sport. But, what’s life without a little risk?

The most intense accident happened in 1977 at the British Grand Prix, where the crash impact of the car was around 197.8kg, which means the car went from 173.8km/h to a standstill in two seconds. The driver survived and went on to race again. Talk about tough!

3.Don’t Crack Under Pressure

Not only cars and drivers are tough to break, the helmets of Formula 1 drivers are among the strongest things in the world. They have to withstand tests such as being exposed to 800°C, flames and dropping on a metal spike from several meters high at top speed!

4.Cockpit tidbits

In a race, the cockpit heats up to over 50°C, comparable to the hottest deserts.

The cockpit is so tight that the driver has to remove the steering wheel in order to enter and exit.

5.A Driver’s Plight

During a race, drivers lose 3 to 4 kg of body weight caused by the high temperatures in the cockpit. Because of this, drivers drink a lot of water before races. That’s one heck of a ‘diet’!

6.G-Force

Now something a little more technical: Gravitational (G) force is the force of gravity on a body.

1 G is equal to one’s weight, 2 G is twice that weight and so on. During breaking and cornering, the driver experiences a force of up to 5 G. Under hard acceleration, the force of 3 G means that the head of the driver weighs about 23 kg!

7.Down Force

F1 cars reach a speed of around 300 km/h. A small plane lifts off at lower speed!

The shape of the wings in the F1 car push it downwards, creating down force. This force can be so strong that the car could drive almost upside down on the roof of a tunnel without falling! Talk about defying gravity.

Before street races, canal lids are welded shut because the down force of the cars would rip them open.

8.It is a man’s world

Although Formula 1 is also popular among women, mostly men follow the sport. So far, there have only been 5 female drivers and only one ever won a race. Desire Wilson won the British Aurora Series in 1980, which earned her an entry into the history of Formula 1.

9.“Dirty Air”

This is specific Formula 1 terminology and refers to the airflow created behind a Formula 1 car. Due to its speed, it disturbs natural aerodynamics behind it so much that if another car comes too close it may spin out of control due to the lack of air flow. Racers always have to include this in their calculations.

10.Guess what?

The thrill of seeing a Formula 1 car up close, hearing the engines roar, and feeling the gust of wind created by such a car, is unlike anything else. A dream for some and a possibility for others. A sure thing for those who attend the long-awaited F1 Showrun happening in Beirut on May 22.