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An Expensive
Formula
MIND MAGAZINE | From March
to October, on every second Sunday, the attention of millions of people
is directed on a single event: The Formula One Grand Prix. Since its
creation in 1950, only the drivers at the top of their art are taking
part in this competition where the cars are equally as good. The
competing racing teams spend lavishly to bend the laws of physics and
sometimes, also, those of sportsmanship. The only rule that stays is
Darwin’s “survival of the fittest”. There is little room for mistakes in
this world of extremes.
For example, you think the richest athlete in the world is playing in
the NBA in Los Angeles or plays first base for the Texas Ranger? Well
the biggest paycheck in sports doesn’t go to the bank accounts of
Shaquille O’Neil or to Alex Rodriguez’s. The title goes to Michael
Schumaker: with a payroll of around 75 million a year, Shumaker
well-remunerated talent awarded him five championships, three of which
with team Ferrari. The only original racing team left in Formula One,
Ferrari is also the most notorious of the 10 competing teams. Each team
as 2 drivers, most of them started their driving career before they
turned 13. Driving a Formula One car is a dangerous job; a driver’s life
totally relies on his car. Sitting in a F1 cockpit means that your life
is at risk at every corner.
In fact, one amazing thing in a sport with so much danger is that
enormous efforts are made to insure safety. F1s will have to pass
through hundreds of safety tests monitoring everything from the paint
that covers the body of the car to the always-impressive crash tests.
Although there is little in common between an F1 super car and a regular
car, many of today’s safety components on a regular vehicle like ABS
breaks or radial tires are coming straight from Formula One. Of course,
the safety of the drivers and spectators is the prime interest of the
governing authorities. To make sure this rule is followed, the circuits
are designed to protect the people sitting in the stands from debris by
high fences and by reinforced car parts.
The driver can count on an ultra resistant survival cell using carbon
fibre and Kevlar for the nose of the car (protecting the lower body) and
reinforced steel to make the cockpit and the protective ring that
protects the head of the person sitting in the driver’s seat. Also,
fireproof clothing is on the driver’s back, and a team of highly trained
emergency personnel is ready in case something goes wrong.
To make the quickest laps on circuits where extremely fast segments are
just metres away from very tight curves, F1s must be designed to sustain
enormous pressures. A Formula 1 car is filled with innovations: it has
the approximate weight of a Toyota Corolla, but it is nearly 10 times
more powerful. Yet the biggest difference is on the price tag, while a
regular small size car would sell out of a dealership for about $15,000,
a Formula One costs one to two million dollars, just in parts. This is
not counting the assembly and especially not taking into account the
all-important engineering and research coast. A typical Formula One team
has a budget of about 400 million to spend on the development of a
single car, making F1 an expensive game, but the technology behind this
is a serious business.
But Formula One car is slightly smaller in size and its top speed is not
nearly as high as its IRL, NASCAR or Champ Car counterparts. So, what
makes a Formula One so special, besides the quality of its pilot? F1s
are designed to be the quickest on the circuits with very different
conditions: from the slippery asphalt of Interlagos circuit in Brazil,
to the super sharp curves of Monaco and not forgetting the
ultra-demanding circuits of Spa-Francorchamps and Imola, F1s will take
to the road rain or shine. The handling of a F1 is the most precise you
can find in any type of racecar, the tires and the dynamics of the
vehicle is the fruit of leading edge technology. Most importantly, the
engine is designed to generate power and finesse altogether. Formula One
cars are equipped with V10 aluminium engines and anyone who has been to
a race track or anywhere near it will confess the astonishing sound
produce by those machines.
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