What happens if you would drive an F1 car?

Ever dreamed of driving an F1 car? Unfortunately for you, there is much more to it than you think. You'll be dealing with immense G-forces, massive braking pressures and quick responsiveness. What do you have to do?

drive yourself

Driving a Formula 1 car is extremely challenging. In addition, the chance that you will ever drive one will be very small, or you must already have a lot of money. But imagine that Redbull, Mercedes or Ferrari calls you next week and asks if you would like to drive their F1 car. 

You get in the car and then what?

First of all, there are a few things that need to happen that are beyond your reach, such as starting the engine, putting on the seat belt (you can't do this yourself due to your position) and the headrest is installed. Then the moment has come, you carefully lift the clutch via the appropriate instructions and...? You stall the car. You'll be stalling it at least a few times. 

After a few tries you still manage to drive away. You carefully drive out of the pits and then the adventure begins. An F1 car only has rear-wheel drive, which means that you have to accelerate at the right time. In addition, if you drive too slowly, the car will overheat, the tires will not reach the right temperature and the aerodynamics will not work optimally. So you will have to drive fast if you want to keep the car reasonably under control. When braking before the corner, you also have to do it hard but controlled. Because the car has rear-wheel drive, the driver (you in this case) must ensure that the front of the car remains under control. When braking, you have to press around 130 kilos to ensure that you brake well enough for the bend.

In this video you can see how an inexperienced person makes his very first meters in an F1 car.

Then there is also G-Force and whether you are fit enough to drive the car at all. Depending on the track, you will have to endure huge G-forces. To give an example when you let go of your accelerator you can endure 2G just from deceleration.

Race

You will hardly ever get the chance to drive a Formula 1 car, let alone participate in a race (FIA Super-License is needed). But imagine that you can miraculously drive a GP weekend. First, you will not qualify highly. The question is whether you will meet the 107% rule. The fastest (pole) time is taken and anyone who is 107% outside this time is officially not allowed to participate in the race. During the race you have to pay attention to several things: tire temperature, adapting track (due to weather, etc.), the computer in your steering wheel with all its notifications and functions etc.

Driving an F1 car is not just something, it requires a lot of knowledge and experience. Also being top fit with regard to the neck muscles. Below is a video of someone who has had no neck training at all like you and me. It's funny to watch!

Rick