Monday 21 April 2014

Racing - Formula 1


Imagine this.

Blazing heat, heavy humidity, glaring lights, squealing tires, burning rubber, high speeds, curvy tracks (curvier than Pamela Anderson), fans waiting with bated breath, ear-shattering screaming engines, high adrenalin levels, innumerable laps on the track, all ending with split second photo finishes. That is Formula 1 racing in a nutshell.
Source : Google Images

All those broadcasts on TV does not even begin to capture the magic that is there in being physically present at the race.

The very first F1 race I was lucky enough to get a ticket for, gave me a glimpse of why there is so much hoo-ha about F1. Nothing, absolutely nothing, had prepared me for what I saw and heard. It turned out to be an experience of a lifetime. 

I came away with a new found understanding of those fans who watch each and every single practice session, each and every lap of the complete race, without batting their eyelids. My eyes were riveted to the track. I could not take my eyes of the track even for a second lest I miss the screaming machines zipping past. Pure adrenalin rush. I also found a new respect for the F1 drivers themselves.

A few days prior the race, during my walk, I chanced upon an F1 race car on display. This car belonged to one of the sponsors. I had a chance to view that car up close. I felt like a kid who had been given a new interesting toy. It was an awesome feeling to be so close to that sleek powerful machine. Given that I had never seen one before, it felt incredible.

Source : Google Images
Nearby, there was a contraption about 1.5 metres high and about 1 metre in width made of some aluminium pipes with several joints, several lights and sensor pads at each light, all connected to a computer. A person standing in front of it, at the word 'Go', has to touch the light which lights up and that could happen in any random order. Then the computer calculates how many lights were touched and how quickly, etc. So, basically a person has to be very alert and react quickly. This goes on for a minute or two, after which the score as regards reaction time and other parameters are given.

I got a pretty low score. I was told that the scores of F1 car drivers would all be very close to the highest levels, which means, they have to be very agile, have amazing eyesight & hearing, physically very fit, extremely alert, have very, very short reaction times, make split second decisions, have immense concentration, be aware of safety, perfect coordination of the senses, get used to the temperatures, heat, etc. And all these have to be maintained at peak condition throughout the race, not just for a minute or two, all the while manoeuvring the speeding complex beast. Just imagine THAT!

I wondered at the gruelling training that these F1 drivers must undergo to achieve such peak physical and mental fitness, to keep winning races consistently. And what kind of toll it would take on them and for how many years can they sustain such peak conditions.

Here's to all those Formula 1 drivers! Hats off to you!

And Michael Schumacher, get well soon.

Source : Google Images



20 comments:

  1. Thank you Prats for this one :-) Its an amazing sport indeed... It has always been mans dream to go faster and faster and since only a few of them can actually attempt it, rest of us can only stand back and watch with awe !! With forces up to 6G that the F1 driver has to bear, its a tremendous stress on the driver's neck.. Over the last decade, a lot of safety features have been introduced (some of them, apparently taking the sheen away from the F1) to protect the drivers in the event of an accident.. who can forget the gruesome crash in '94 that killed Ayrton Senna... these days, even a crash like that probably would not kill the driver or even break his/her neck.. Thanks to science and the R&D that has gone into F1... I hope that F1 comes back to India !!

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    1. Thank you Ravi, for the ken. After that one race, I do try to catch as many as I can on the TV and I try not to miss even a single lap :)

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  2. This is one sport I find really hard to watch. I'm sure those that love it get a great thrill from it, but this one just scares me. And yes Get well soon Michael Schumacher.

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    1. It being a scary one is what makes it watch worthy, Suzy :)

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  3. Amazing and a dare devil sport which I don't understand much. My brother is a big fan of this sport. And yes, hope to see Schumacher back in the circuit.

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  4. I am really not into the sports and not at all in F1 racing but am glad you wrote about it. I learnt a few things about the racers. And I really hope Michael Schumacher gets better soon!

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    1. Thank you Sfurti! Even I am not a big fan of sports. But somehow, I fell for this one, maybe because there are way too many things involved.

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  5. Brilliant. Would have been a life time experience. Other than on TV or in magazines never concentrated much on F1. I only know schumacher and Narain Karthikeyan
    Yep get well soon schumacher !

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    1. Thank you! Oh, it certainly was, Afshan! Even I had heard of Schumacher and Karthikeyan before, but this one experience made me a bit more aware of the sport and the other players involved.

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  6. I could never understand what the big deal was about F1. My kids and I can forget about watching TV when the F1 season is on. Looking at the sport through your eyes, I can get an idea of what the excitement is all about.

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    1. Thank you Cynthia! Before I watched the race live or did the reaction time exercise, I was not all that interested in this sport. In fact, am not all that interested in any sport. But going through that exercise changed my perspective which in turn changed the way I watched the race itself. I came away a little enlightened. :)

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  7. Fantastic! After the movie RUSH it was easy for me to imagine...#AtoZchallenge ☮Peace ☮ ღ ONE ℒℴνℯ ღ ☼ Light ☼ visiting from http://4covert2overt.blogspot.com/

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    1. Thank you for visiting Egan! It surely is an experience. :)

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  8. Was caught up in it when it came to Singapore.

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    1. Thank you for visiting Michelle! It is certainly an event to be caught up in :)

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  9. I've only watched the sport on TV and it has petrified me cross- eyed. The risks the racists take! It's enough to make one feel ill!

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    1. Hahaha! Oh yes, these people are big time risk takers. What I understand from my friend is that more safety features are getting built which does reduce the risk. So, Dagny, no need to get petrified when watching next time. :)

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  10. You seem to be passionate about racing ! Wishing Michael Schumacher speedy recovery !

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    1. I just enjoy this one sport, but if you ask me any statistics or rules, I start seeing stars. :)

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