F1 is an incredibly exciting sport that attracts hundreds of millions of viewers every year. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes to make F1 so appealing and also safe and we’ve put together a few facts and records around F1 that you may not know about.
- F1 cars are incredibly fast but did you know that it takes just four seconds for a F1 car to accelerate to 100mph and brake back to zero?
- Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton hold the record for most World Championships with each picking up seven throughout their careers. Hamilton has the chance to break that record this season and add to his records of most wins (98), pole positions (100), and podium finishes (169).
- Another record that Hamilton will most likely take from Schumacher is the most laps led. In 306 races, Schumacher led for 5,111 laps but Hamilton is only 12 laps adrift having led in 5,099 laps in 266 races.
- Stirling Moss holds the record for winning the most races but not a world title. Between 1955 and 1961, Moss won 16 races but was never crowned as champion and finished no higher than second in the drivers standings.
- The average cost to build an F1 car is over £5 million and that doesn’t include any essential components that are required. Of course, a considerable amount more is also invested in the research and design of the cars prior to making them.
- Some of the most impressive and advanced engines can be found in F1 cars and they’re not cheap to produce. However, due to the safety of the drivers, each engine can only be used in a maximum of five races.
- Ever see an F1 car’s brake discs glowing during a race? That’s because they can reach temperatures of up to 1000 degrees Celsius! The brake discs need to be hot to perform properly.
- Think you need to shift a few pounds? You may want to consider being an F1 driver as they lose, on average, 3kg-4kg of weight during a race. The high heat of the cockpit, which can reach up to 50 degrees Celsius, along with the several layers of clothing worn by the drivers, mean that they burn a lot of calories. F1 cars can hold up to 1.5 litres of drinkable water for the driver to avoid dehydration.
- Pit stops can be a major factor in determining the winner of a race. Changing of tires, making repairs and various mechanical adjustments may need to be made but the average pit stop time is just 3 seconds! All members of the team must do their job for a successful pit stop.
- The majority of the focus is on the driver of an F1 car. However, did you know that each team can have over 600 members?
- F1 car steering wheels have almost two dozen buttons on them which control things such as engine braking, the radio, shift paddles, brake balance, pit confirm, pit lane speed limiter and more.
