Someone says, “Formula 1 is not a sport but a show. So, why do you watch F1?”. Others disagree and think a “show,” as a word, describes racing in the worst sense. Formula 1 is a sport with the highest level of single-seat, open-wheel professional motor racing contest. But a show should be recognized as an integral part of Formula 1. And it cannot exist without spectacle. Otherwise, it won’t be F1 racing anymore.
It comes from the history of Formula 1.
Formula 1 was a sport at first, but it was a great spectacle, always. Auto racing existed as a sport even before the world fell into the chaos of world wars, environmental issues, and social media frenzy.
As early as the 1800s, the roads of France had become the stage and place for constructors and their drivers to put their engines to the test. The invention of cars gave humans a new avenue to channel their competitive juices, and it was only a matter of time before cars were improved, tweaked, and designed for competition.
The Federation Internationale de l’automobile (FIA) would be created in 1949, and the Grand Prix races will take more structure, with a set of rules called Formula. Just feel the word “Grand Prix,” not the “race,” nor the “rush,” but Grand.
Hence the first-ever Formula One race Turin Grand Prix in 1950, Formula 1 racing is always the fine fleur of auto racing and crème de la crème of famous people.
From the dark accident-prone open roads of France to heated Prost-Senna battles and the dominance of Micheal Schumacher and Ferrari, Formula 1 racing has created an unbelievable atmosphere at every destination point. It explains its second name label – “The Theatre at the Wheels.”
F1 cars are pieces of racing art.
Formula 1 is more than a sport because F1 cars are the superfast racing vehicles in the world.
Imagine the average speed of an F1 car is 265 km / h, which Lewis Hamilton set as the fastest average at Italian Grand Prix in 2020.
The world’s fastest car Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+, can reach 490 km/h in the right hands. But it is different, as unlike we can watch this race monster every two weeks in terms of racing.
In terms of F1 racing, Juan Pablo Montoya holds the official record for the fastest speed of an F1 car. At Italian Grand Prix 2005, he reached 372.6 km/h with his Williams car.
But it is only part of the full potential of an F1 car. So, in 2005 Honda was involved in Bonneville 400 project. Their modified BAR 007 car reached a record 413 km/h on a one-way straight line. The car didn’t satisfy the requirements of the rules, and the record was kept unofficial.
Only cars from drag racing with 530km/h can compete against F1 cars in speed, as the last one is still the fastest car in the frames of sport.
That is for a reason, as the creation of F1 cars is covered with extraordinary magic. Only the latest technologies are used for designing race cars for Formula 1.
Each motorsport discipline uses unique progressive elements: like hybrid powers in WRC or electricity in Formula E. With leading-edge technologies you can’t find anywhere, Formula 1 is the pinnacle of technical progress.
Formula 1 is the most expensive sport.
“Rich means high valuable,” as the marketing managers say. Without understatement, Formula 1 is the most expensive sport in the world. Everything is costly: the grandstand tickets, the car parts, and the driver’s salaries. From hundred to thousand, the amounts may cost millions of dollars!
Let’s compare: the ticket for IndyCar costs about $60. A rally pass will cost you less than $100. The average price of access to the DTM is about $50. Depending on the destination country and city, the average ticket to Formula 1 is about $300 and may be prosperous for million dollars, like for Las Vegas Grand Prix!
Another fact Formula 1 is a costly sport is about drivers’ salaries. Just to compare. Rally drivers participating the entire season in the FIA World Rally Championship may count on a modest salary of $1,000,000. A maximum of $1,000,000 will get a DTM driver for a season.
A bit higher than $1,000,000 for a Formula E driver per year. Only F1 drivers’ salaries are estimated at tens of millions of dollars and may reach $40,000,000. Lewis Hamilton earned around $55,000,000 for the 2022 Formula 1 season.
Worthy to note that the F1 community may only guess the accurate price of an F1 car. Someone estimates it is about $15m, and the other assumpts it is about $400m. Just feel this difference and be sure no one knows the real numbers.
That is why everyone watching Formula 1 stares at every turn and every crash with the breathless. Because every minor damage to an F1 car may cost the team as much as even a few people can earn per year! The expensive sport needs for a rich show!
Formula 1 is a sport with spacing G-forces.
Formula 1 is more than a sport because this is the only sport with such enormous G-Forces. Remember your last ride on the rollercoaster. Didn’t you feel a bit different? Of course, you were because you thought about 4G of force.
However, F1 drivers are experiencing the same feeling, but during the two hours race non-stop. The are two types of G-forces in Formula 1: vertical and lateral. They feel 5G while braking, 2G while accelerating, 0,6G due to bouncing, and from 6G to 9G while cornering.
Back to your feelings, multiply them by ten, and you will have F1 drivers’ experiences during the crash.
Max Verstappen struggled with 51 G-force impact when he struck the barrier sideways after a collision with Lewis Hamilton at the 2021 British Grand Prix. He was disoriented but suffered no significant injuries.
Less lucky was Ralf Schumacher, who felt the G-force of 78Gs. He slammed into a banked corner at a 90° on the 2004 US Grand Prix and got a severe injury to his spine.
His nephew and son of the greatest Michael Schumacher, Mick, faced a horror accident with a 33Gs impact at the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix when he flew into the wall at over 150mph! The medical examination showed no significant injuries.
That is how dangerous Formula 1 as a sport may be. Of course, safety is a first priority in the FIA, but unlikely you can find another sport with such enormous G-forces stand such an obvious thing. Higher G-forces are only in space. “Dramma,” – you may say, but we agreed.
The perfect love-hate relationship between man and machine, which is always unpredictable to end, is always coming as a spectacular show!
F1 drivers are role models nowadays.
Formula 1 is more than just a sport since its drivers became famous people who appear in advertisements, like popular actors or singers. The game was changed in 2016 when Liberty Media bought the rights to Formula 1.
Previously, that was out of edge for F1 drivers to demonstrate their private life on social media. And that was Lewis Hamilton who changed the rules. A rising F1 champion attracted the attention of people worldwide to his position, view on life, hobbies, and relations. In some terms, he was a discoverer of something that today we call a “personal brand.”
However, after a while, each driver started his social media activity to advertise his personal ambitions via Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, and other platforms. The more information fans knew about their favorite, the more active drivers were.
Worthy to note the movement against racism, “Black Lives Matter,” which became famous for Lewis Hamilton’s actions.
That is how racers from Formula 1 became role models. Altogether, F1 drivers became idols with millions of fans worldwide. Pick any other sport where athletes are so influential.
Only football players may compete against Formula 1 drivers for such popularity. However, some drivers are famous even in this discipline too. There are many great football players among current F1 drivers on the grid.
So we follow each Formula 1 team like a family and the driver like a “crush” or a good fellow.
Formula 1 is a sport with a strong strategy.
Formula 1 is more than a sport because it is about strategy. Pick any other racing discipline where it is essential so much.
The strategy in motor racing is a cornerstone of any competition, but only in Formula 1 it has a powerful and decisive sense.
In the FIA WRC championship tires strategy decided a lot. But nothing can compare with Formula 1 and its overcut, undercut strategies.
The F1 team’s engineers division is perhaps the most highly paid staff. With AI software, they curate the direction and keep the plan on.
When millions of dollars are at stake, each second may cost a lot.
What can be the most spectacular than watching how the scheduled ahead F1 team’s plan is disordering.
Conclusion
Formula 1 is more than just a sport; a highly spectacular complex sport with many details interfering with the game. Like in the house of cards, make it lose one thing, and everything will break the entire system. Scecatulare show from the past, Formula 1 can’t exist without a grandiose party of famous people today.
Money, fame, reputation, danger, risk, and high progression are at stake. Such a mix makes Formula 1 a theatre at the wheel.
Scecatulare show from the past, Formula 1 can’t exist without a grandiose party of famous people today. With the best technologies, Formula 1 keeps the brand and is the first to introduce car biofuel. As a costly sport, reducing the budget cap is dangerous for developing technologies and marketing part of Formula 1. Making F1 safer by reducing forces and speeds makes it lose one of its patterns. Being more personality, drivers attract a new audience into the F1 community. While the strong strategy comes to raising the battle for every ten seconds and making sport a real show. Losing one point above, you lose the origin of Formula 1 because the spectacle is an integral part of this sport.
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