Formula One Racing Essay, Research Paper
Formula One Racing
Formula One racing, or F1, is known to be the most
prestigious type of auto racing in the world.
Unfortunately, in the United States F1 racing is not nearly
as popular as other motorsports such as Nascar. On a
typical Sunday afternoon if one were to flip channels on
the television, Nascar would most likely be airing on a
major station. Furthermore, if one were to watch the race
he or she would notice that the racetrack was packed with
thousands upon thousands of people. A large part of the
lack of popularity of F1 in America is that only one race
is run in the United States. All of the other races take
place in countries such as Spain, France, Italy, and
Canada. With Nascar every single race is run in the United
States, which is obviously a large contributing factor
towards its immense popularity. Despite the fact that
Nascar is the racing preference of most Americans, Formula
One racing is the best and most exhilarating type of racing
in the world.
The action that takes place during an average 190-
mile Formula One race is unsurpassed by any other
motorsport. The typical racetrack consists of 2.5 miles
and 12 turns. During the lapping of this track, the 900-
horsepower 1400-pound cars can reach speeds in excess of
200 miles per hour. Even when cars capable of these speeds
are put into the hands of world-class drivers such as
Ferrari s Michael Shumacher and McLaren s Mika Hakkinen,
mishaps are bound to occur. This is what makes this sport
so exciting to watch. Crashes however, are not the only
exciting events of the race. It is thrilling to watch a
car out brake another in order to squeeze its way ahead, or
to watch the cars bump tires in an effort to occupy the
same piece of race track to be set up correctly for the
turn ahead. Other points of interest are the pit stops and
the strategies that the various teams use in order to make
a fast pit stop. A world-class team such as Ferrari can
refuel a car, change four wheels and t
the driver s helmet in as little as 6.8 seconds.
The technology used in the sport is another drawing point
of its popularity. State- of-the-art computers are used to
track the car s every movement and to mechanically keep
track of every mechanism in the car. The engine of an F1
car only has 2.0 liters of displacement, yet it can crank
out 900 horsepower. The braking and cornering ability of
these cars is also off the chart even when compared with
modern day sports cars. All of this technology does not
come without outrageous cost. A typical F1 car can cost as
much as five million dollars to build and develop!
However, the amount of money available to win far outweighs
the cost of racing.
The talent of the drivers is the most impressive
part of this sport. In order to truly appreciate the level
at which these drivers perform one must have attempted to
race a car at one point or another. The level of
concentration, physical fitness, and talent required to
race an F1 car as the Formula One drivers do is something
that the average human could never comprehend. In the
motorsports world F1 is looked upon as the pinnacle of
motorsport racing, therefore the drivers involved are
considered the best in the business. The competition
between these world-class drivers is intense. Presently in
the 1998 F1 season only 4 points going into the last race
separate the top two drivers. These drivers are Michael
Shumacher and Mika Hakkinen who are separated by the
slimmest of margins.
When people find themselves counting the hours until the
next F1 race and getting up at 7:00 a. m. on a Saturday
morning to watch it, they realize rather quickly what the
best motorsport is. Formula One is as popular in Europe as
Nascar is in the United States. If Formula One gets better
media coverage in the United States, Americans will finally
begin to see what they have been missing. Then more people
will recognize Formula One racing as being the best and
most exhilarating type of racing in the world.