Formula 1. Drivers or Pilots?

Question

I definitely think pilot is the most accurate description, the only thing that comes close to F1 cars in terms of physical punishment and G forces is a fighter jet. I like the word pilot as well

Answer 1

Both require similar mental attitude but a pilot has to think in 360 degrees where driver only 180 or less .

In terms of "G" loading the plane wins hands down . And as for instrumentation to keep and eye on whilst travelling at those speeds again the pilot wins .

I love F1 but pilots win .

Answer 2

pilots pilots pilots

you right, (besides G force, and strain)

THEY FIGHT AND CHASE

Answer 3

they will always be drivers.

even a cessna 172 has a faster ground speed than an F1 :0

Answer 4

Well, as with many things in aviation or "aeronautics", the word "pilot" originates from the nautical. So, aviation does not have exclusive use of the word. High altitude flight is conducted in an environment (e.g., extreme cold, low pressure and oxygen levels) where human life is not sustainable without fully-functioning man-made systems.  And there are weather and atmospheric considerations. A g-load comparison between F1 and fighters would be fairly straightforward to calculate. However, there is so much more to it than g-load comparisons that a true comparison of all factors isn't really possible.

Answer 5

I've already flown and find it less than exciting. I'd have traded careers with any F1 driver. 0 to 60 and back to 0 in three seconds? Wow. No airplane can do that. And then there's the money. The chicks. I'd have played third base for the yankees too but I could never hit a curve ball.

Answer 6

No way.

An F1 car accelerates at 3Gs, brakes at 6, and corners at 4.  The braking and accelerating G is called 'transverse G' and is the easiest tolerated by the human body when sitting or reclining.

Transverse G is negligible in modern aircraft (unless you are doing a 'cat shot' or an arrested landing even a fighter can't accelerate or decelerate as fast as an F1 car).

http://youtube.com/watch?v=0LVfBwxPw1Q

But aircraft are far more subject to positive and negative G, which has more of an effect on the body.

The most basic aircraft (Cessna) can withstand positive 3.8G.  A utility category aircraft can withstand 4.4, a basic aerobatic aircraft can withstand 6, and a fighter over 9.  High positive Gs cause 'gray out' tunnel vision, 'blackout' and loss of consciousness if the pilot is unprepared.  The only way an F1 driver will experience high positive Gs is on a banked turn, and it will never be more than 2Gs.

Also there is negative Gs to consider, something an F1 driver doesn't experience unless something has gone terribly wrong.  Negative Gs are even harder on the body than positive Gs, causing 'red out' and bursting small blood vessels in the eyes and head.  

While lateral Gs are hard on the body as well and aren't typically experienced in an aircraft, the F1 driver is fully supported in a carbon fibre tub which supports his body during turns.

As far as physical punishment only being equalled by a fighter jet, get an F1 driver to go up in an itty bitty Pitts S2, Extra 300L, or Sukhoi 29 and see if he can withstand the punishment they can deliver.

It takes more than enduring physical punishment to be a pilot.  The typical pilot doesn't endure the forces I just described on a regular basis (otherwise children and grandmothers wouldn't fly on aircraft).  

Pilots are people who navigate machinery over difficult and changing terrain; like riverboat pilots, tugboat pilots, and aviators.  The air, like the sea or riverbeds, is constantly changing and requires special knowledge and discipline to navigate successfully.  The F1 drivers have intimate knowledge of their track and it is well maintained by ground crews.

If I was going to call any driver a pilot, it would be the WRC drivers.

Answer 7

Having been a Formula 1 fan for a very long time, and an aerospace engineer, I can confidently say that the F1 driver doesnt have the workload or stress regimes that the combat pilots have. The demands of a fighter jet surpasses the F1s maximum G-loads quite comfortably.

BTW, they are indeed referred to as pilots at times and maybe as a courtesy, pilots are called drivers too in informal terms.