'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAGCAMAAAG6Kc9iAAAAtFBMVEW/q3BqTjByZkZwYjp2ZkCVh1ivm2IUEAZsXj6pl2y9qXaXhVibi1REPiKnl2J0aDxQSCoKCAZEPCKDZjy5u5eLfEyXh1R4dFCPfFJkWDStm2SXg1R0bER4aj5WTjhaTDKZiVBsYDyTgVStmWqNfk61pXiHdExoUjSRfE6LekhsXkJ+ZkSPek6Hi2inmWC5o2iHdkizsYdmWDxqVjZ8bEZWTDSzt5+Rg1yTgVYaIBqjlWCpk1qurApHAAAACXBIWXMAAA7DAAAOwwHHb6hkAAAAT0lEQVQImQXBBQKCAAAEsCOkRDoERLo7Bfn/v9hgj1jQcQJKDY8fjPZpAY5S+DKi/rgGfKQ547G/KLEhUrMKcbIBWW+5/lUx/ZN3vNIe497qiwbr1ppyYgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Here we take you through some of the most amazing factsofFormula One racing. Be prepared, for this is going to be one hell of a ride.
#11 Some basic facts before we get into the top 10
While the average life of a regular tyre is anywhere between 20,000 to 60,000 km, the Formula 1 tyres have a span of only around 100 km.
The tyres lose weight during the course of the race; in an average race they lose about 0.5 kg of weight due to wear.
During wet conditions, the tyres get rid of almost 250 litres of water per second, which is more than enough to fill a large bath.
The tyres of these cars are filled with nitrogen, as they have more consistent pressure when compared to normal air.
Following the completion of a race, the tyres are still at a temperature of about 120 degrees, which is hot enough to cook an egg.
The steering wheel alone costs about £20,000, and this season it features an additional button too. This button when pressed enables the driver to overtake the car in front of him, only as long as there's not more than a second behind them.
F1 helmets are among the toughest in the world. To be deemed legal, they have to pass a test in which they are subjected to 800 degrees of flame for 45 seconds; the temperature inside the helmet should not exceed 70 degrees at that level of heat. The visor is also fired at by projectiles with speeds exceeding 300 mph. If a dent deeper than 2.5 mm is made, the helmet fails.
The front suspension of the car can withstand up to two tonnes of pressure. To put that another way, the carbon fibre rods which connect the main body with the wheels can easily sustain a bull on top of it.
The chassis of an F1 car is incredible strong, and is made from over a thousand different parts of Kevlar’s, carbon fibre, metals and various honeycomb structures.
All the gear cogs and ratios are replaced after each race due to the high degree of stress that they are subjected to. The gear levers are located on the back of the wheel, while the clutch levers are located below the gear paddles.
#10 Anything less than 100% assembly accuracy can result in disaster
80,000 components are part of a complete Formula 1 car and they need to be assembled with 100% percent accuracy. Even an assembly which is 99.9% correct, will have 80 components in the wrong place, and thus liable to cause the car to come apart during the race.
#9 An ordinary car engine lasts about 3,650 times as long as an F1 engine
After the 2011 regulations, the engine revs of an F1 car have been restricted to 18,000 rpm only. But that's still really, really high; to put things in perspective, a road car engine revs up at max 6,000 rpm.
The piston travels up and down a total of 300 times per second; in other words, a piston travels down and back in three thousandths of a second.
Because of these incredibly high intensity motions, the average life of an F1 car engine is about two hours of racing, compared to ordinary cars whose engines last around 20 years. So if an orindary car is driven for an hour everyday, its engine would last (365/2)*20, i.e., 3,650 times as long as an F1 engine.
#8 An F1 car is an explosive combination of light weight and massive power
The Formula 1 cars are so light in weight that they usually weigh a total of 640 kg including the driver, while producing power close to 800bhp.
The power of a Formula 1 car is roughly equal to that of a Bugatti Veyron, while weighing only half as much as a mini.
#7 F1 takes extreme braking to a whole new level
An indestructible form of carbon fibre is used for the manufacture of Formula 1 disc brakes. A set of that costs several thousand pounds and also requires a month to be made.
When a driver presses the brakes, the discs heat up to a temperature of around 1,200 degrees, which is the average temperature of molten lava.
At full speed, it only takes an F1 car four seconds to come to a complete halt.
Under extreme braking, drivers have acknowledged that the force is so high that their tear ducts squirt water into the visors.
The force that the drivers feel when brakes are applied at top speed, is equal to the force a person feels while crashing his car into a brick wall at a speed of about 300 kmph.
#6 An F1 car can shoot a manhole cover into the sky
On street circuits like Monaco and Singapore, man-hole covers are welded down prior to the commencement of the races. This is because of the suction produced by an F1 car, which is enough to rip a man-hole cover and shoot it into the sky.
#5 Level of safety measures in F1: Pro
Due to improvement in technology and safety through the years, F1 drivers can come out of major crashes unscathed. The biggest F1 crash ever recorded was at the 1977 British Grand Prix, when David Purley hit a wall. A g-force of approximately 179.8 g was generated at the time of impact, and the car went from 108mph to standstill within two seconds.
But the most unique thing about it is that the safety provisions built into the car allowed Purley to recover in due time, and he went on to race again.
#4 An F1 driver has once survived nearly twice the g-force of a US army missile
An average F1 driver is subjected to g-forces in excess of 5g while racing, which means that in the event of a high speed corner, the body of the driver will be experiencing pressure almost five times more than his body weight. (G-force is the acceleration experienced by an object, which is expressed in multiples of gravitational acceleration, i.e., 9.8 metres per square second).
The g-force of 179.8 g experienced by Purley at the time of his crash in the 1977 British Grand Prix was the highest g-force ever survived by a human being in history. To put that in perspective, the high-tech Sprint missile used by the US army involved g-force of just 100 g. And a g-force of 50 g is usually enough to kill a healthy man.
#3 An F1 car can be driven upside down on the ceiling of a tunnel
F1 cars use their wings to create a down force that pushes them onto the track while also aiding in cornering faster while not compromising with grip. It is the exact opposite of how aeroplanes use their wings, which helps them lift in the air.
It has been said that the down force produced by an F1 car moving at speed in excess of 150 mph is so high, that it can be driven upside down on the ceiling of a tunnel.
#2 Lightning-quick refuelling
The pit crew take only about 3 seconds to refuel and change tyres. The F1 cars are refuelled at approximately 12 litres per second. At that speed, an average road car will be full within 4 seconds.
#1 An F1 race is the quickest weight-loss method of all
An F1 driver can lose as much as 4 kg of weight after only two hours of F1 racing. Whoever said hitting the gym was the best way to reduce weight, clearly had no idea about F1.
