Quote:
Originally Posted by DrFerry
It was huge fun and exhilarating, but yes the average Joe can drive an F1 car. The next questions are: For how long and how well?
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Quite striking were the images of the F1 drivers after the 'Miami heat' of the 2022 Miami F1 race: they were all knackered.
Verstappen:
"It was a physically tough race; I think I must have lost around 3 kgs."
Martin Brundle:
"It's a long time since I've seen these super-fit and perfectly prepared F1 drivers look so battered after a 94-minute race.
I know that horrible post-race feeling well, where your core is so hot and continues to well up, you're missing a lot of fluid, and every organ, muscle, and tendon is complaining heavily in its demand for essential ingredients.
You just can't get away from your own body as the pain builds and the adrenaline fades. I felt for Max Verstappen sitting on the buggy post-race with the camera zoomed in, I'm sure he just wanted to lie down, roll around, and groan a bit.
Occasionally after two hours in the humidity of Singapore they look pretty wrecked, but the grip level of the track and low degradation tyres, and therefore the relentless pace, was tough. There's always an airless nature racing against the walls of a street circuit, and inside the cockpit can be 50+ degrees [Celsius] as the aerodynamicists never want to waste much air and drag on the driver, who are then wrapped in multiple layers of clothing, gloves, helmets, boots, balaclava.
The FIA has insisted recently drivers wear no jewellery or watches, and do wear fireproof underpants, or no underpants just fireproof leggings, which presumably they consider 'low hanging fruit' in the search for incremental safety. Frankly, if your underpants are on fire you've got much bigger issues, and when you step over the side of these cars you've mentally already done a great deal of management as to how much risk you're prepared to take.
I believe a lot of the clumsy contact we saw towards the end of the race was due to overheating drivers, which can make you feel light-headed and your judgement fades a little."
From our 'armchairs', we can witness the 'entertainment' of cars lapping tracks, shouting some commands to our screens, but without the faintest idea what the forces are that those F1 drivers are processing at that time as regards focus and physicality. Their cockpits are a daunting 'work space' challenging body and mind - with the intimidation of cameras, 'expert' commentators and viewers worldwide watching and scrutinizing all their moves up close. Yes, these elite drivers are paid top dollar for their performances, but it's a very demanding dog-eat-dog environment where they must give their level best time and time again if they want to remain relevant enough to preserve and keep funding their seats.
(source:
https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/24...stery-persists)
