3 ms·

> The drivers are of course the athletes In the modern sport they're a weird hybrid between athlete and pilot. The cars are exceptionally complex and in addit

> The drivers are of course the athletes In the modern sport they're a weird hybrid between athlete and pilot. The cars are exceptionally complex and in addition to the forces you mention there's incredibly complicated input devices embedded into the steering wheel and it's not uncommon to have 15 to 20 different, specific, timed control changes during the course of a lap. A comparison, and I'm not sure everyone will appreciate this, but to my elderly eyes, a major difference is in how drivers look when they get out of a car at the end of a race. Modern drivers spring out of their cars with plenty of spare energy to parade around the paddock. In previous eras drivers would come out of their cars drenched in sweat, often in visible pain, and had to be assisted to get back into the garage. It reflects a fundamental shift in the role and use of technology in the cockpit. I love both sports; however, I do see them as almost two entirely different sports.

rkomorn 1y ago
I'm not sure I'm reading your comment correctly, or getting your point. How does technology affect how they look when they come out?
- speeder 1y ago
  Technology made driving f1 cars less brutal on the body. To start of in the first seasons a lot of stuff was unknown, for example some drivers wanted oxygen bottle so they wouldn't pass out while carefully leaving a fire. Others preferred instead to have the car to be the most easy as possible to leave, if a fire happened. Now there is also head support, while drivers back then had to just use their muscles to hold their head in place. The list goes on... but it still is an athletic sport. When Nico Rosberg decided to win the championship, he had to heavily change his routine to so way more fitness training than he was used to. After he won the championship and immediately retired, he hinted that one of the reasons for retirement is that he didn't want to continue with the heavy body training.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
nemo44x 1y ago
I guess compare the fatality rate to the classic years that made the sport. Guys were literally risking their lives every race and drivers died regularly. It’s no doubt the cars were harder to manage and stressful to push to the limits.

rkomorn 1y ago

I'm not sure I'm reading your comment correctly, or getting your point. How does technology affect how they look when they come out?

speeder 1y ago
Technology made driving f1 cars less brutal on the body. To start of in the first seasons a lot of stuff was unknown, for example some drivers wanted oxygen bottle so they wouldn't pass out while carefully leaving a fire. Others preferred instead to have the car to be the most easy as possible to leave, if a fire happened. Now there is also head support, while drivers back then had to just use their muscles to hold their head in place. The list goes on... but it still is an athletic sport. When Nico Rosberg decided to win the championship, he had to heavily change his routine to so way more fitness training than he was used to. After he won the championship and immediately retired, he hinted that one of the reasons for retirement is that he didn't want to continue with the heavy body training.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]

nemo44x 1y ago

I guess compare the fatality rate to the classic years that made the sport. Guys were literally risking their lives every race and drivers died regularly. It’s no doubt the cars were harder to manage and stressful to push to the limits.