> 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.

True, but an F1 car is on another level with 900+ hp (including ERS) at 740 kg with driver but not fuel.

I 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.

Top Gear actually did that experiment too [0], and you are proven correct.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGUZJVY-sHo

It’s in the downforce. Up to 6G sustained lateral cornering. That’s worse than fighter pilots, which have their Gs applied vertically.

My 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.

Ok so why are there not upside down tracks in formula 1 this just seems like the obvious next step.

It 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.

Seems 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.

Imagine 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!

Because 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.

We should just go full Trackmania

I would pay to watch a remote-piloted robotic Trackmania if there were good enough systems to transfer track feel to the remote controls.

I hope 0G F1 racing becomes a thing in the space age (basically in space but in an arena filled with air where the only force that keeps the cars from floating is the downforce). Imagine roads at any angle!

You 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

My bike has a power to weight ratio of 1000ps per ton.

Sure. But he went into that 260hp car effectively (physically) untrained. Give him a couple years of actual appropriate physical training and then what kind of car and for how long, is an interesting question. Ultimately, if you've got the brain/reaction times/feel for driving at a high level, what percent of the population has a genetic ability to do the physical parts of it, assuming they are trained? I dunno.

The problem, of course, is that the testing for this is expensive, so it's all theoretical.

This is such a ridiculous discussion, the skills + physical training go hand in hand. You can't tack one on just like that. Many people don't have the drive or fortitude to survive the training let alone the race.

Oh please. The physical component does not require elite genetics, just proper training. Sure, hard work, but nothing out of the ordinary. The reaction time and the general talent for driving however, that's another story.

Watching the formula one show on prime was pretty enlightening as far as physical training goes. He spent a lot of time in the gym maintaining his body.

Link to show?

I'm not sure if it is the same thing that this commenter was thinking of, but the show "Formula 1: Drive to Survive" was a breakaway hit on Netflix (not Amazon Prime) when season one was released last year (which followed the teams across the 2018 season) and brought a ton of new fans to the sport. It is really well done and very engaging. Season 2 just released in February and follows the teams across the 2019 season.

Heres the Netflix link: https://www.netflix.com/title/80204890

I spent quite a bit of time with NASCAR last year (I attended the Daytona 500 and previously visited their HQ and archives). Most of the up and coming drivers are previously accomplished eRacers, but the transition to experiences in a real car are enormously different. Not many make the cut, the tracks rote memory is very useful but real life is exceedingly different

Yeah remembering a NASCAR track is hard.

apart from Netflix's Drive to Survive, there is also Amazon Prime's GP Driver.

https://www.amazon.com/GRAND-PRIX-Driver-Season-1/dp/B078WFL...

That's the one I was thinking of. Thanks!