1. The ‘FIA Formula-One’ World Championship initiated in 1950
with the first race held on 13th May 1950 at ‘Silverstone’ Tracks in the U.K.
2. The Monza is believed to be the fastest circuit of Formula
One with the highest speed record of 375 km/h.
3. F1 cars
are powered with advanced engine technologies that give them the power to
accelerate from 0 to 200 km/h and back to 0 km/h in just seven seconds.
4. Brakes of F1 cars take about 55 metres and 1.9 seconds to
bring the car to standstill even on applying full pressure.
5. F1 cars are composed of about 80,000 components. These are to
be designed with 100% accuracy and if in case there is an inaccuracy of even
0.1%, these cars are not allowed to go on the racing track.
6. F1 car engines are composed of about 5000 components that
together generate 750 bhp and have a life span of only one race.
7. Formula One chassis weighs about 35 kg and is the central
structural element of these cars. These chassis are designed with engineering
excellence to withstand powerful forces imposed from different directions.
8. Automatic gearbox is not used in the F1 cars. However, these
days semi-automatic gearbox has become common that helps improve steering grip
and ease of driving.
9. The brakes of F1 cars are derived from disc brakes that are
comprised of carbon fibres to withstand high temperature of about 1000 degrees
centigrade.
10. Over 1 kilometre of electric cable is used to connect about
100 sensors and actuators in the F1 cars. These linked sensors and actuators
are required to monitor and control racing cars.
11.Weight of an F1 car is about 550 kg.
12.The fit in these cars is so tight that a driver has to remove
the steering wheel to get in or out of the car.
13.Race car tyres usually are filled with nitrogen because it
has more consistent pressure. Compressed air inflated tyres can hamper the
performance of these cars due to the varying amount of water vapour present in
it.
14.Tyres of these high-end racing cars have a shorter life cycle
as they lose about 0.5 kg weight during one race.
15.Small aircrafts take off at a slower speed when compared to
F1 cars. This is mainly because of the improved aerodynamic structure of these
cars that generate incredible high downforce.
16.The braking power of an F1 car is exceptionally high. At a
speed of around 340 kph, an F1 car can brake in less than 100 meters so that it
can take a slow corner.
17.The re-fuelers used in F1 cars have a capacity of supplying
12 litres of fuel per second. This states that these cars take just 4 seconds
to fill an oil tank of about 50 litres.
18.The front and rear wing of these racing cars generate good
amount of downforce. These can even generate a downforce equal to that of the
car’s weight when it reaches a speed of about 160 km/h.
19.When the tyre tread temperature reaches about 900C to 1200C,
it delivers peak performance.
20.Emerson Fittipaldi of Brazil is the youngest F1 driver with
an age of 25 years.
21.Michael Schumacher has won seven consecutive awards for being
the world champion in F1 race.
22.Mike Thackwell from New Zealand is the youngest starter who
started racing at an age of 19 years.
23.F1 drivers should be muscular enough to handle the increase
in downforce that causes the effective weight of the car to be increased.
24.F1 car drivers burn approximately 600 kilocalories and lose
about 2 kg of weight in one grand prix.
25. Soaring cockpit temperatures add to dehydration problems. Due
to this, drivers are fed energy-giving drink in the course of race.
