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> That's honestly not much of a counterexample, since you're talking about a 260hp car. Good on him for doing as well as he did, but it seems unlikely he'd be p
by xyzzyz 7y ago
> That's honestly not much of a counterexample, since you're talking about a 260hp car. Good on him for doing as well as he did, but it seems unlikely he'd be physically able to handle a Formula 1 car at all.
That was 260 hp car that weighed 607 kg. Power to weight ratio is key here, and trust me, this is nothing like your usual full size car that also sports ~250 hp, but weighs 4 times as much. It might not be F1, but it is a real deal.
- frankchn 7y agoTrue, but an F1 car is on another level with 900+ hp (including ERS) at 740 kg with driver but not fuel.
- flyinglizard 7y agoIt’s in the downforce. Up to 6G sustained lateral cornering. That’s worse than fighter pilots, which have their Gs applied vertically.
- hermitdev 7y agoMy car has g-force sensors. I know from experience, it can only handle 1 lateral G before it starts to slide (in a 4-door sedan wrighing around 3500 lbs). Thats with Z-rated tires. What F1 and Indy cars can pull off is absolutely amazing. Most of what they can do is purely because of the aerodynamics and the insane downforce they produce. I remember hearing somewhere that an Indy car produces enough downforce at speed, it'd be able to drive upside down and stick to the inverted road.
- ItsMattyG 7y agoOk so why are there not upside down tracks in formula 1 this just seems like the obvious next step.
- im3w1l 7y agoImagine the leader car having any kind of issue at all, thus bringing the pack to a stop. The lift would disappear and everyone would fall to the ground. With nets it might be quite a spectacle but still safe!
- pzs 7y agoIt would make an already dangerous sport even more dangerous. Also, just because it may be theoretically possible it doesn't mean it is practically achievable. Think about what would happen if the driver can't approach the loop that turns the car upside down with enough speed, or within the angle range that's needed for the car to stay on it because of another car, or some problem... Basically any small mistake would be fatal.
- bscphil 7y agoSeems like some would have done it as a stunt at least, for sure. I agree with you that having it in an actual race would be infeasible.
- huffmsa 7y agoBecause you'd have to ensure you're going a minimum speed before that section of track. Means you can't continue I'd you're slowed down for a yellow flag or someone threw you off your line. The physics works, it just doesn't add to the race other than spectacle.
- fredzel 7y agoWe should just go full Trackmania
- magicalhippo 7y agoYou see it on the necks of the Formula 1 drivers, they're quite massive. Doesn't come for free of course, some hard work-outs behind that: https://youtu.be/t0SoPeY8zE8?t=67 https://youtu.be/t0SoPeY8zE8?t=67
- mattrp 7y agoI remember reading once they generate more a G of force just letting off the accelerator. Back in the day, Nigel Mansell had to leave for a few months for an injury. His next race back he retired because his neck muscles had lost conditioning despite working out every day.
- berti 7y agoTop Gear actually did that experiment too [0], and you are proven correct. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGUZJVY-sHo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGUZJVY-sHo
- mseidl 7y agoMy bike has a power to weight ratio of 1000ps per ton.