An Amateur's view of Formula 1
In the world of blindingly fast cars that equate to space cruisers out of a Star Wars movie, there is a lot more to Formula One racing than what meets the eye. The race is not your typical drag race; it’s an adventure of winding turns and tight corners that
keep the viewers on the edge of your seats as. One can see these cars overcome obstacles with such ease that for a moment, a viewer would think the drivers are robots. Lap after lap, turn after turn, and through the nail biting pit stops, it all seems like
a coordinated dance routine.
The drivers have to endure more than an hour in their cars with temperatures going above boiling point. Quite similar to the steps of a salsa or tango dance routine where the driver and the car tip toes across the track and with swish movements and some
gravity defying pirouettes, they complete their turns around the track. In the end, it all boils down to that one simple chequered flag that crowns the first driver to cross the finishing line after the gruelling set of laps as the winner.
The interesting thing about Formula One is not the speed that gives it the adrenaline rush but in fact from a viewers point of view, it’s more the fact that how man and machine become one in a sport where the drivers’ skill and the machine’s capability is
pushed to the limit. When one gains an interest in the sport, it is almost impossible to ignore the technical side of the sport and also focus on the sheer power that these cars possess.
The effort it takes in making a car run perfectly for one lap let alone a whole race is just staggering. The engineers and the team of mechanics that are in the pits looking at screens and monitors that show tons of complex data, telemetric graphs and statistical
information that keep the team bosses and managers updated on what’s going on inside the car and on the track. A constant radio link with the drivers also tells them about what is going on in the driver’s head and how he’s holding up in these conditions.
After going into these details, one is compelled to do some private research work into how this all works and the pieces that come together to form one amazing spectacle. The initial things that one learns about formula one is that how fast these cars go
with speeds up to 360 km/h and engines revving up to 18,000 rpm which is in fact a limit imposed by the Formula One regulations. The drivers have to undergo almost 5-G’s on some corners.
The proper functioning of the car is highly dependent on the fundamental components such as electronics in the car, aerodynamics, tyres and suspensions. However this is not a new sport and has seen many changes through the course of its long history. The
designs of the cars, the power of the engines, the electronic advancements and technological achievements have revolutionized the sport over the years.
These changes have sometimes been radical and at times subtle. The tracks for the races are placed all over the world spanning different countries and each track is different and unique from the other. Each track challenges the drivers in a different way
and they have to develop a different strategy for them.
At first, when one starts viewing Formula One just as a racing event, we see that it is pretty straightforward at first glance. After watching one race however that opinion totally changes and you get to know how complex this sport is and the amount of effort
it takes to get the simplest things right. The sound of the engines wailing past at every turn is just one of those things that turn a common viewer of formula one into an avid fanatic. It’s a world of adrenaline, champagne, fame, speed, danger and lots of
lovely women. Now who wouldn’t be interested in that?
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