Why Are Formula 1 Drivers Considered Sportsmen?

In recent years, both the organization of races in our country and in 2021 a legendary title fightemergence, as well as Formula 1 With the aim of appealing to a wider audience, the number of followers of this sport has also increased. With the increase in the number of followers, the number of questions to be answered also increased.

One of the controversies that comes with so many people just starting to get interested is “Are Formula 1 drivers sportsmen?” there was a discussion. After all, when we left driving a car There was no such sport. So why are race drivers called athletes? Why don’t those who do not consider pilots as sportsmen not?

First, let’s break down some preconceptions:

“However, straight road, straight road everyone drives” Do not argue with those who say, leave; not worth your effort. “ Cars do the real work, dude!” Don’t take those who say that too seriously. If you’ve built the world’s most adequate car the most fit pilot in the world you want to use. Under Vettel, under Alonso more slowlylook at what they did with cars, I don’t know, who made the most adequate climb of the period with the tractor given by Alfa Romeo last year. to RaikkonenLook, the effect of talent and experience is more clearly understood.

In fact, the most valuable criticism against the competitors is again over another race, horse race it’s coming over. In horse races, the main racer is the horse, Horse of the Year It is said that a precedent is also valid for Formula 1 and that the most valuable thing is the vehicle. Well is this real? Come on, let’s see.

With a simple Google search Jockey of the Year We see that there is such a thing. For example, he won the Jockey of the Year award in 2021. Gokhan Kocakaya had received. Of course, the Horse of the Year is also selected, and the group that actually makes the most suitable car in Formula 1 wins the Constructors’ Championship.

In fact, these criticisms not organic either It was an idea to criticize a pilot’s receiving the Sportsman of the Year award at the time. In fact, it was not an idea that found many supporters in the sports community, but at first glance “Yeah, why should driving be a sport?”he was able to say.

So what does athlete mean?

Although we say sportsman, the word for athlete in many languages ​​is actually is an athlete . in ancient greece athloncomes from the word and its meaning “A person competing for a prize” is From this perspective, pilots are athletes, but MasterChef in TurkeySo humans compete for prizes, are they also food sportsmen?

AthleteWhen we look at the meaning of the word from TDK “a person who does sports” we get the answer. Since this explanation is of no use to us, let’s go and look at the word “sport”. “ All of the actions performed in accordance with certain rules, performed individually or collectively, with the aim of improving the body or mind. “The racers also need to be prepared physically and mentally, races have rules too. From this point of view, they are considered sportsmen. Also, athlete Let’s look at the word. “Anyone involved in athletics,” he says. It won’t work for us again. So what is athletics? Here too “Running, jumping, lifting, throwing, etc., which are used to develop body strength, agility, abilities. The general name for solo personal sports.” There is a phrase. Finally something useful came up. So the pilots:

• body strength
• Agility
• talent development

to do and stand-alone competition required. We count how many people are in the car: 1. The competition part alone is complete. Let’s examine the other three titles together. Even if I compare with myself to see the difference between Formula 1 athletes and a normal person, it will be very useful to know my own scores in some evaluations that we can use in comparison.

Body strength:

First of all, one of the most basic points in this field; ability to bear weight is inner strength and power that can be applied. As cars accelerate, there is a sense of inertia on the runway, as in an airplane accelerating. It is not too difficult to withstand this share. What if the plane suddenly stops? If the plane has to stop so that we don’t get thrown and break a place We’re wearing that belt. In Formula 1 vehicles, you eat 5G of force at the moment of braking. If you hit the wall, 15-16G force will be on you.

To fully understand this, let’s do it this way, multiply the weight of the things on you by that number of how many G forces are acting on it. Your 8-kilogram helmet feels like 40 kilograms when braking. Max VerstappenIf you hit the wall with 51G, that helmet 408 pounds applies force. You and I would probably have broken our neck, the man was on TV in the evening.

Another point is to actually use those tools. how much power not knowing. Holding the steering wheel, even pressing the accelerator to the brake requires significant force. Go to a gym and set the leg press to 100 kilograms. Let’s say we chose an easy track and do a set of 15 in this leg press. Full 90 sets. IN EXACTLY AN HOUR AND A HOUR. Why did I want this, since I didn’t mean your life? In Formula 1 cars, you need to apply 100 kilograms of force for the brakes to work. Pilots brake 15-20 times per minute. Is it necessary to give examples to the rest of the body one by one? I don’t think so, but let me just say, muscles in our body that we don’t know exist even they need to run.

For the sake of fairness, I’ll say I did it myself. in Istanbulpark I’ll throw a sorting variant, but you have to pick me up from the wall in the pit entry variant. Whereas AlphaTauri’sIt is much easier for me to apply 100 kilograms of force because the total weight of the two pilots does not reach my weight.

If we include the concept of resilience, the situation becomes even more dire. Because inside the cockpit 55-60 degrees and the number of breaths per minute of the pilots reaches 40 at the highest speeds. Their pulse during the race between 170-180 is happening. There can be only one reason why I, representing the standard person, stayed in that heat for so long, I’m cooking meat on the barbecue in a crowded group.

Agility:

There are two procedures to measure this. One of them, everyone can try starting challenge . This challenge, in which we try to stop the counter by pressing the screen as soon as the five red lights go out, serves to measure the faces of the fingers.

Pilots do this at the latest. in the 0.3 they can. When I downloaded an application from the internet and tried it, I entered this time period, but considering that I write 3-4 thousand words a day and I have been holding a game controller in my hand since my childhood, it is not surprising that I press the keys quickly. Here is our base game Swamp(not in the coffee shop).

Measures hand-eye harmony In this game, you have to press the flashing keys on the screen in the fastest form and on time. The more button truths you press in a minute, the more convenient it is. F1 drivers in this field 70-80 points while the average person is doing 50. If we multiply my 30-second score by 2, my score is 84. His reputation is goalkeeper Mignolet, who is a goalkeeper with good reflexes. Imagine that there are pilots with faster reflexes than him. Heikki KovalainenIf you have superhuman reflexes, you can do 121.

Ability to develop:

Formula 1 drivers watch in the simulatorand aim to prepare for races. From a very narrow space they have to inspect both the track and their mirrors and react to what they see. This ability, however, gets perfect over time, and it definitely allows champions to appear by passing a level.

Pilots devote themselves to racing professions from a very young age. Every workout they do to become a more fit pilotto enable them to develop their skills.

In other words, when we look at the aspects that make an athlete an athlete, Formula 1 pilots are also at least football players athletes as well as tennis players and other sportsmen. There’s only one area where the average person like me is better than any random person in Formula 1: it eats away at my life. Faster than the Ferrari groupto change tires.